2008 Woodie Awards
Women in old baseball
Skyline professor Katharine Harer completes latest book
Karen Mondale
Date created: 5/21/04 Section: SPORTS
While the WBL wasn't necessarily created to replace male baseball teams, nonetheless, there was a void. Mr. Wrigley had a field that stood empty, and, as people generally could not afford much, baseball games provided much needed entertainment in the states in which they were held.
The players chosen were all white. Besides being good at playing baseball, the women who made it to the League had to be reasonably attractive. They had to wear dresses and dress-suits in public and never wear pants. They were sent to charm school. Their uniforms comprised of skirts above the knee, which meant their knees were scraped and bruised a lot. However, the players in the League were OK with the extra focus on their appearance and charm because they knew it brought more crowds to the games. They also simply accepted it because they had to.
Tough Before Feminism
"When I say they're tough, I'm not saying they were mean. They were, and are, courageous and strong," Harer said about the women When asked what was the single most intriguing thing from the interviews. "They had no identification with it as feminists
gained later on. They were strong because they had to be."
According to Harer, the women put up with a lot and did not question it. As women who had grown up in the Depression and World War II, they had to be tough to survive and not because anyone told them it was good to be so. When they went back to ordinary life, they did not return as celebrities. They usually didn't even talk about their experiences playing baseball because many felt as though no one would believe them.
When the league folded, it was credited to dwindling interest and, as some players claim, to mismanagement by new people in charge. Thirty years later, the players re-connected and formed an organization to help keep in touch, have reunions and support each other whenever assistance is needed. One of their most enjoyable activities is visiting schools to tell their stories to kids, especially loving to inspire the girls. They also continue to search for team members they call the "lost girls."
Harer is currently searching for a publisher for her book. Many of her five published books of poetry can be found in the Skyline College Library.
The players chosen were all white. Besides being good at playing baseball, the women who made it to the League had to be reasonably attractive. They had to wear dresses and dress-suits in public and never wear pants. They were sent to charm school. Their uniforms comprised of skirts above the knee, which meant their knees were scraped and bruised a lot. However, the players in the League were OK with the extra focus on their appearance and charm because they knew it brought more crowds to the games. They also simply accepted it because they had to.
Tough Before Feminism
"When I say they're tough, I'm not saying they were mean. They were, and are, courageous and strong," Harer said about the women When asked what was the single most intriguing thing from the interviews. "They had no identification with it as feminists
gained later on. They were strong because they had to be."
According to Harer, the women put up with a lot and did not question it. As women who had grown up in the Depression and World War II, they had to be tough to survive and not because anyone told them it was good to be so. When they went back to ordinary life, they did not return as celebrities. They usually didn't even talk about their experiences playing baseball because many felt as though no one would believe them.
When the league folded, it was credited to dwindling interest and, as some players claim, to mismanagement by new people in charge. Thirty years later, the players re-connected and formed an organization to help keep in touch, have reunions and support each other whenever assistance is needed. One of their most enjoyable activities is visiting schools to tell their stories to kids, especially loving to inspire the girls. They also continue to search for team members they call the "lost girls."
Harer is currently searching for a publisher for her book. Many of her five published books of poetry can be found in the Skyline College Library.
