California Women's
      Baseball League






1867 — The Dolly Vardens of Philadelphia became the first professional black women’s team

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 disproving 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; she signed with the Philadelphia Reserves

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 to 1916 — 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 1st 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

1934 — Olympic hero Babe Didrikson pitched exhibition games for the Athletics, Cardinals, and Indians

1943 to 1954 — 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 Ricky Henderson is 2nd 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

1947 — Eulalia Gonzales became the first Cuban woman to play baseball in U.S.; played with the Racine Belles

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 are 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

1973 — Pawtucket Slaterettes became the first all-girls’ baseball league

1974 — Girls 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 to 1978 — Pam Postema umpired, with high marks, in the Rookie Gulf Coast League

1979 to 1980 — Pam Postema umpired in Class A Florida State League

1981 to 1982 — Pam Postema umpired in Class AA Texas League

1983 — Pam Postema moved up to Triple A Pacific Coast League

1984 — Bob Hope founded the Sun Sox, a Class A minor league all-women’s team; tried to enter the team into the Class A Florida State League; the
league didn’t award Hope the franchise, because of male chauvenism; Henry “Hank” Aaron was the team’s Director of Player Personnel

1988 — 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); 6 players
from the AWBA were extras in the movie “A League of Their Own”

1988 — Julie Croteau played semi-pro baseball for the Fredericksburg Giants of the Virginia Baseball League

1989 — Pam Postema was invited by baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti to umpire spring training games again

1989 — Bart Giamatti died; therefore, Pam Postema was released from umpiring in the minor leagues, and this ended her dream of umpiring in the major
leagues; she umpired for 13 years in the minors

1989 — Julie Croteau became the first woman to play collegiate men’s varsity baseball; she did so 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 MSBL World Series (Men’s Senior Baseball League)

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; team existed for 4 years. Approx 1,150 women tried-out for Coors Team, only approx 20 players were picked to begin their inaugural
season with Coach Phil Niekro.

1994 — WNABA (Women's National Adult Baseball Association) 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 Mike Ribant, “a San Diego business man”; it became the first professional women’s baseball league since
the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL); the San Jose Spitfires won the Championships that year over the Los Angeles Legends

1998 — After beginning its second season, the Ladies League Baseball expanded to 6 teams and goes 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 were the U.S.,
Australia, Canada, Japan — the U.S. won the gold medal

2001 - Melanie Laspina started the California Women's Baseball League in Northern California. League was based around players from Ladies League
Baseball that folded in 1998.

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 marks the first time in U.S. 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 from July 30 to August 8; 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 (a league that Kovach
founded in 2002) as a model league to develop girls’ Little League baseball programs around the country; Little League started a boy’s softball program in
2000 because 500 boys were playing in Little League softball leagues around the U.S., but the organization failed to start a girls’ baseball program, when
thousands of girls are playing baseball in Little League baseball leagues around the U.S.

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, 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. Japan once had a female professional baseball federation in the 1950s.

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.

2010 – Tamara Holmes became the first USA Baseball Women’s National Team player to hit an out-of-the park home run in World Cup action. Holmes
also became the first player to go yard in consecutive at-bats as the outfielder drove in six runs on two hits, including belting a grand slam in her second at-
bat.
2010 – ESPN does segment on 13 year old Chelsea Baker. Chelsea has not lost a sanctioned game in four years with the Plant City Little League Team.
Chelsea was coached by the late professional knuckleball thrower Joe Niekro.

2011 - California Women's Baseball League celebrates their 10 year anniversary as one of the longest standing women's baseball leagues in the nation and
expands the league to the greater Los Angeles, Ca area to form 4 additional teams in Southern California.

2011 - Justine Seigel is the first women to pitch batting practice in pregame warm ups for the major league.

2016 — Women’s baseball will try to be included in the 2016 Olympics

HISTORY AND MILESTONES
IN WOMEN'S BASEBALL