Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
Yearbooks and scorecards from the Racine Belles
Racine Belles
The All American Girls Softball League was formed in 1943 by Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley. Consisting of four teams--the Kenosha Comets, the Racine Belles, the Rockford Peaches, and the South Bend Blue Sox--that played eight games a week, the All American Girls Softball League drew young women from around the country. The name was soon changed from softball to baseball to reflect the modifications that Wrigley made in the game to make it more like regular baseball. The All American Girls Professional Baseball League was a quick success and the league expanded with new teams in Milwaukee, Fort Wayne, Muskegon, and Peoria. By 1949, the league had eight home teams and two touring teams of rookie players. Unfortunately, attendance started to drop in the early 1950s, and in 1954, the league folded. The Racine Belles won the league's first championship in 1943. They captured the title again in 1946 and 1947. These records include yearbooks from 1946-1949, scorecards, and two issues of a Racine Belles newsletter.
| Related Topics: |
Wisconsin's Response to 20th-century change The Rise of Professional Sports |
| Creator: | Racine Belles |
| Pub Data: | Racine Belles Records, 1946-1949. Wisconsin Historical Society. (Parkside Area Research Center SC 87) |
| Citation: | Racine Belles Records, 1946-1949. Wisconsin Historical Society; online facsimile at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1141 Online facsimile at: http://wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1141; Visited on: 4/19/2024 |
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