Women in Baseball

An essay I had wrote when I was in 8th grade about the history on women in baseball.

History of Womens Baseball

You hear the cheering, open the box of crackerjack, and sit back and watch womens professional baseball. Did you ever imagine doing this as a child? Well starting back in the 1940’s it wasn't just the males who dominated all sports, women too showed how much strength and ability they have to do the sports just as much as men.

In 1943, Philip Wrigley brought up the topic of not just having men play baseball but women giving it a try. Hundreds of thousands of women and teens tried out for the league. The first four to become signed on became the first team. Their names were Shirley Jameson, Clara Schillace, Ann Harnett, and Edie Perlick. The first year they tried out was with the United States.  The best teams were the Rockford Peaches, Kenosha Comets, and the Racine Belles. They went to the tournaments and Racine won making them the first world champions in women's baseball.

The season soon continued, still thousands and thousands of women from all over tried out. It was a fun time. A time to make friends. A time for laughter. The second season was more serious though. Philip wanted these girls to look strong. He even gave some of them tobacco to enhance the look of a guy playing on the field. “I didn't want weak looking girls” said Philip. The girls however didn't wear baseball pants. They wore skirts. They wore skirts because it looked feminine. They didn't want to completely look like males.

The women played a bit differently than the boys do though. They did play in their skirts which made it a bit different clothing wise. They also changed some of the rules. They didn't have strikes, which is very different. They swung the bat until they got a hit even if it was a foul. They also had more people out on the field than men do. I don't know if that's because women are a bit weaker than men but they had more girls out there.

The baseball seasons continued through 1954. They decided to stop playing baseball because women started to play other sports like football and lacrosse. Men also started playing women’s sports such as swimming and gymnastics, even some men started doing dance. It has just become a world where all men and women can equally play the same sports. Yes, men might be better at dominating football and women might be better at dance but it just shows that women are able to play the same sports that men can do.

Author's Note

I wrote this about a year ago. Reviews? Comments?