A Whole New Ball Game

In May 1943, Betsy Jochum arrived at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs. But she wasn’t there to watch a baseball game. She and nearly 300 other women had been invited to try out for the first professional baseball league for women.

“Women playing on Wrigley Field—could you imagine that?” Jochum told Scholastic News.

Jochum, who had grown up playing softball in Cincinnati, Ohio, impressed the coaches with her speed, hitting, and fielding. She was chosen to play for one of the new league’s four teams, the Blue Sox of South Bend, Indiana. 

“It was the greatest feeling in the world,” she said. 

The new league came to be known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Seventy-five years later, Jochum and the league’s other players are remembered as pioneers for women in sports. 

In May 1943, Betsy Jochum arrived at Wrigley Field. That stadium is the home of the Chicago Cubs. But Jochum wasn’t there to watch a baseball game. She and nearly 300 other women were invited to try out for the first professional baseball league for women.

“Women playing on Wrigley Field—could you imagine that?” Jochum told Scholastic News.

Jochum had grown up playing softball in Cincinnati, Ohio. She impressed the coaches with her speed, hitting, and fielding. She was chosen to play for one of the new league’s four teams, the Blue Sox of South Bend, Indiana.

“It was the greatest feeling in the world,” she said.

The new league came to be known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Seventy-five years later, Jochum and the league’s other players are remembered as pioneers for women in sports. 

During her first season with the Blue Sox, Jochum earned $50 per week—more than a lot of jobs paid back then. While growing up, she had never imagined that she’d get paid to play baseball. At that time, there were no pro sports leagues for women.

In fact, women weren’t considered for jobs in many industries. That started to change after the U.S. entered World War II in 1941. Millions of men joined the armed forces to fight overseas, leaving a shortage of workers on the home front. Across the U.S., women stepped in to fill those jobs (see “Rosie the Riveter,” below).

The war also had a big effect on Major League Baseball. By 1943, more than half of the league’s players had traded their baseball uniforms for military uniforms. This worried Philip K. Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs. (He also owned the Wrigley chewing gum company.) With many of the top players off to war, Wrigley feared that Americans would lose interest in the sport that is often called the national pastime. He started the AAGPBL with the hope that women would help keep baseball going, just as they were carrying on the work in offices, on farms, and in factories. 

During her first season with the Blue Sox, Jochum earned $50 per week. That was more than a lot of jobs paid back then. While growing up, she had never imagined that she’d get paid to play baseball. At that time, there were no pro sports leagues for women.

In fact, women weren’t considered for jobs in many industries. That started to change after the U.S. entered World War II in 1941. Millions of men joined the armed forces to fight overseas. This left a shortage of workers on the home front. Across the U.S., women stepped in to fill those jobs (see “Rosie the Riveter,” below).

The war also had a big effect on Major League Baseball. By 1943, more than half of the league’s players had joined the military. This worried Philip K. Wrigley. He was the owner of the Chicago Cubs. (He also owned the Wrigley chewing gum company.) With many of the top players off to war, Wrigley feared that Americans would lose interest in baseball. So he started the AAGPBL. He hoped that women would help keep baseball going, just as they were carrying on the work in offices, on farms, and in factories. 

The AAGPBL kept going after the troops came home following the end of World War II in 1945. The league’s popularity reached its peak in 1948, when more than 900,000 fans attended games.

Jochum retired from the Blue Sox after that season. She used the money she had saved during her playing career to pay for college, and she later became a teacher.

In 1954, after 12 seasons, the AAGPBL came to an end. It had struggled to compete with Major League Baseball, which by then had started showing games on TV. But even though the league didn’t last, it helped change many people’s attitudes about sports.

“They realized that women can play as well as the men,” said Jochum.

The AAGPBL kept going after the troops came home following the end of World War II in 1945. The league’s popularity reached its peak in 1948. That year, more than 900,000 fans attended games.

Jochum retired from the Blue Sox after that season. She used the money she had saved during her playing career to pay for college. She later became a teacher.

In 1954, after 12 seasons, the AAGPBL came to an end. It had struggled to compete with Major League Baseball, which by then had started showing games on TV. But even though the league didn’t last, it helped change many people’s attitudes about sports.

“They realized that women can play as well as the men,” said Jochum.

1. Why were players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League considered pioneers?

2. Why was the women’s baseball league created?

3. Look at the photo at the top of page 5. What detail from the article does the photo help explain?

4. What is the main idea of the section “A Lasting Impact”?

1. Why were players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League considered pioneers?

2. Why was the women’s baseball league created?

3. Look at the photo at the top of page 5. What detail from the article does the photo help explain?

4. What is the main idea of the section “A Lasting Impact”?