Timeline
Important events and milestones in women's baseball:
1867 — The African American Dolly Vardens of Philadelphia became the first paid baseball team on any level — two years before the first men’s professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings.
1875 — The first women’s baseball game for which fans were charged and women players were paid was played between the Blondes and the Brunettes in Springfield, Illinois on September 11
1876 — The Resolutes, modeled after the Vassar College team, developed their own version of uniforms which included: long sleeved shirts with frilled high neckline, embroidered belts, wide floor length skirts, high button shoes and broad striped caps
1880 — A Smith College team was disbanded after disapproving mothers complained about the children playing the sport, saying it was not appropriate for women to play
1898 — Lizzie Arlington became the first woman to sign a professional baseball contract, while pitching for the Reading Coal Heavers of the Atlantic League.
1890s to 1935 — Women’s “Bloomer Girls” clubs barnstormed U.S. and played men’s town, semi-pro, and minor league teams; Bloomer teams had an average of 3 males on them; Rogers Hornsby and Smokey Joe Wood got their starts with Bloomer Girls teams, dressed as women
1900s — Bloomer Girls introduced night baseball games
1904 — Amanda Clement was the first woman to be paid to umpire a baseball game; she umpired professionally for 6 years after that
1908 — Maude Nelson was the starting pitcher for the men’s Cherokee Indian Base Ball Club
1908 — The U.S. baseball national anthem, “Take me out to the ball game,” was inspired by and written about a young girl’s love of the game
1911–16 — St. Louis Cardinals were owned by Helene Britton
1920s — Philadelphia had factory teams for women, women’s leagues, and the Philadelphia Bobbies for non-working women
1920s — Mary O’Gara took Philadelphia Bobbies to Japan to play men’s teams
1928 — Lizzie Murphy became the first woman to play for a major league team in an exhibition game; she also became the first person, of either gender, to play for both the American League and National League in All-Star games
1928 — Mary Gisolo joined the nationwide American Legion Junior Baseball Program and she helped to lead Blanford Cubs to the Indiana state title
1930s — The “Bold Years” for women’s baseball; women baseball players toured internationally, played junior baseball, and signed minor league contracts
1931 - Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis voids the contract of Jackie Mitchell of the Chattanooga Lookouts, just days after she struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gerhig in an exhibition game.
1934 — Olympic hero Babe Didrikson pitched exhibition games for the Athletics, Cardinals, and Indians
1943–54 — The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was started by Philip Wrigley, owner of Chicago Cubs and Wrigley's Chewing Gum
1944 — Dottie Wiltse pitched for the AAGPBL up until she was 6 months pregnant
1946 — Edith Houghton became the first woman to scout for the major leagues
1946 — Sophie Kurys set the stolen base record for the AAGPBL with 201 stolen bases in 203 attempts; this record continues to be unequalled in baseball history, as Rickey Henderson is second in stolen bases with 130 (1982)
1947 — The Racine Belles of the AAGPBL started the Junior Belles baseball program; 100 girls tried out and 60 were selected to play on 4 teams; the Grays, Greens, Reds, and Golds
1948 — The Junior Belles became more popular, as more girls tried out for the teams; other AAGPBL teams, such as the Lassies and the Comets, began to sponsor girls’ junior baseball teams
1948 — After 5 years of playing, the AAGBL (also known as the AAGPBL) starts throwing pitches overhand instead of underhand
1950 — Racine Belles and Junior Belles folded due to lack of money
1950s — Toni Stone, Connie Morgan, and Mamie “Peanuts” Johnson played on men’s professional teams in the Negro Leagues; they weren’t allowed to play in the AAGPBL because they were African American
1952 — George Trautman voided Eleanor Engle’s minor league contract with AA Harrisburg Senators
1952 — June 23, organized baseball banned women from the minor leagues; the ban remains in effect today
1955 — Bill Allington formed two women’s teams called Allington’s All-Stars which barnstormed the U.S. playing men’s town and semi-pro teams, like the Bloomer Girls did; lasted until 1957
1969 — Bernice Gera became the first woman to sign a professional umpire contract
1971 — Gloria Jean “Jackie” Jackson tried out for Pittsfield Senators; she received an offer from the Raleigh Durham Triangles, but the offer was revoked one day later
1974 — Women won the right to play baseball in Little League Baseball through Title IX
1976 — Christine Wren umpired in Class A Northwest League (minor leagues)
1977–83 — Pam Postema umpires at each level of minor league baseball, beginning in the Rookie Gulf Coast League and moving up to the Triple A Pacific Coast League in 1983.
1984 — Bob Hope founded the Sun Sox, a Class A minor league all-women’s team and tried to enter the team into the Class A Florida State League; however, the league did not award Hope the franchise
1988–89 — Pam Postema was invited by baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti to umpire spring training games and the Hall of Fame game
1988 — American Women’s Baseball Association (AWBA) founded in Chicago; first organized women’s league since AAGPBL (1943–1954)
1988 — Julie Croteau played semi-pro baseball for the Fredericksburg Giants of the Virginia Baseball League
1989 — Following the death of Bart Giamatti, Pam Postema was released from umpiring in the minor leagues, concluding a 13-year career in the minors
1989 — Julie Croteau became the first woman to play collegiate men’s varsity baseball at St. Mary’s College (NCAA Division III)
1990s — American Women’s Baseball League (AWBL; also known as American Women’s Baseball, AWB) was founded by Jim Glennie in an effort to unite women’s baseball teams and leagues around the country and to provide support to them
1992 — A League of Their Own movie about the AAGPBL was produced by Penny Marshall
1993 — Sal Coats became the first woman to play in the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series
1994 — Bob Hope formed and Coors Brewing Company sponsored the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s baseball team which played men’s college and minor league teams; the team existed for 4 years
1994 — Women's National Adult Baseball Association (WNABA) formed; 16 women's teams played in a women's world series in Phoenix in 1994
1995 — WNABA had 100 affiliated women's baseball teams in 16 states in the U.S.
1995 — Ila Borders became the first woman to pitch and win a complete collegiate baseball game; Ila also was the first woman to win a collegiate baseball scholarship
1998 — Ila Borders became the first woman to win a men’s pro game while pitching for the Duluth Dukes independent minor league team
1997 — Ladies League Baseball was formed by San Diego businessperson Mike Ribant; it became the first professional women’s baseball league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
1998 — After beginning its second season, the Ladies League Baseball expanded to 6 teams and went nationwide, but folds shortly after “due to lack of attendance”
2000 — The American Women’s Baseball League (AWBL) took women’s baseball team to Japan to play Team Energen, the Japanese women’s national team
2001 — The first Women’s World Series (WWS) was played at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; countries that participated included the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and Japan — the U.S. won the gold medal
2003 — Pawtucket Slaterettes all-girls' baseball league celebrated its 30th season of all-girls' baseball
2003 — Women’s baseball became an official sport (39th) of the AAU; this marked the first time in United States history that a U.S. national organization began sanctioning and supporting women’s baseball
2003 — The American Eagles of American Women’s Baseball Federation (AWBF) became the first women’s baseball team to be sanctioned by USA Baseball
2004 — The first-ever Women's Baseball World Cup was played in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; the event was sanctioned by the International Baseball Association and Federation (IBAF) and was hosted by Baseball Canada
2004 — USA Baseball sanctioned the first official national women’s baseball team; the team competed in the 2004 WWS (in Japan) and in the 2004 Women’s World Cup of Baseball
2004 — John Kovach, manager of the South Bend Blue Sox Women’s Baseball Club, director of the Great Lakes Women’s Baseball League, and AAU Women’s Baseball Youth Baseball Chair, worked out a proposal with Little League, Inc. to use the Michiana Girls’ Baseball League as a model league to develop girls’ Little League baseball programs around the country; Although Little League started a boy’s softball program in 2000 because 500 boys were playing in Little League softball leagues around the U.S., the organization has not started a girls’ baseball program despite the thousands of girls playing baseball in Little League baseball leagues across the United States.
2007 — Chicago Pioneers girls' baseball team became the first-ever U.S. Girls' Baseball National Champions after defeating the Pawtucket Slaterettes during the 2007 Women's Baseball National Championship/Girls' Baseball National Championship in Ft. Myers, Florida
2008 — Eri Yoshida, at 16 years old, becomes Japan's first professional female baseball player to play in a men's league by signing a professional contract with the Kobe 9 Cruise of a new Japanese independent league. In April 2010, she signed a contract with the Chico Outlaws and became the first ever to play professionally in two countries.
2009 — Justine Siegal became the first female coach of a men's professional baseball team. In 2011, she was the first woman to throw batting practice to a MLB team, the Cleveland Indians at Spring training. She also threw BP to the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and New York Mets.
2010 — Tiffany Brooks signs a professional baseball contract with the Big Bend Cowboys of the Continental Baseball League. This makes her the first female baseball player to play in an American men's professional baseball league since Ila Borders, and the first in the 21st Century. A woman professional baseball league opens in Japan.
2011 — The first ever members clubs are announced for Southern Ontario's Woman's Baseball League. Those clubs being located in London, Guelph, St Catharines and Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada. This is the first ever professional league for women, aged 18 and over, in Ontario and will start playing in 2012.
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