The pennant hung on the wall above the bed in a plastic sleeve. Its colors somewhat faded from exposure to the sun. Still, both the graphics and signatures were visible, making it a cool piece regardless. We discovered a Rockford Peaches baseball pennant from the team made famous in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own. Making it special, however, were the autographs on it, from former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players. You can say we hit a home run!
Girls play professional baseball
American professional baseball during the Second World War had a fight of its own. By fall 1942, many minor league teams disbanded as droves of players and staff entered military service. The immediate future of Major League Baseball (MLB) looked bleak in the eyes of Chicago Cubs owner Phillip K. Wrigley, heir to the Wrigley gum fortune. Wrigley formed a committee to discuss possible ways of maintaining public interest in the sport. One idea was to form a professional women’s softball league which would enter MLB parks if attendance fell.
The idea became reality and in Spring 1943, the All-American Girls Softball League came into existence. Throughout the years the league underwent a series of name changes, six in total, until finally in 1988 when it received recognition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and it became known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) ever since.
Finding talent to fill the league’s ranks was a major endeavor. Scouts scoured softball leagues all across North America, in both the United States and Canada, and tryouts were held in dozens of major cities. Prospective players underwent Spring training at Wrigley Field in May 1943, and those lucky enough to survive final cuts, joined four teams in cities in close proximity to Chicago: the Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, Rockford Peaches, and South Bend Blue Sox.
Of all the teams that once played in the league, fifteen in total, forever memorialized are the Rockford Peaches. A fictionalized account of the Peaches appeared in the 1992 box office hit A League of Their Own, which starred an ensemble cast including Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna.
Ironically it was in the post-war period that professional women’s baseball enjoyed its best years. Under the ownership of Arthur Meyerhoff, Wrigley’s advertising agent, who acquired the organization in late 1944, the league enjoyed immense public attention and centralized organization. At its peak in 1948, game attendance reached 910,000 paid fans. This prosperity was unfortunately short lived. In 1950, team managers bought the league and four years later, came disbandment.
An autographed pennant
Of the eight players that signed the pennant, one signature is illegible, only two actually played for the Rockford Peaches. The rest played on other Midwest teams in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The pennant itself is a reproduction likely from the 1990s. Most likely the owner attended a convention of former AAGPBL players who would sign souvenirs for fans.1 Along with it came a baseball card autographed by Mary Moore, both moisture and sun damaged. It serves as an example of the need to properly store collectible cards. Moore, as of 21 March, 2023, is one of the last surviving women’s league players.
Ultimately both pennant and card sold for $200. The buyer was all-too-eager to add the items to his sports collection. Original signed souvenirs from the days of the AAGPBL, 1943 to 1954, command considerably more money but as times goes by, and as long the American public maintains interest in baseball, the value of most professional women’s baseball items will continue to increase.
Delores Brumfield (1932-2020), infield/outfield: South Bend Blue Sox (1947); Kenosha Comets (1948-51); Fort Wayne Daisies (1952, 1953)
Shirley Burkovich (1933-2022), infield/outfield: Chicago Colleens (1949); Springfield Sallies (1950); Rockford Peaches (1951)
Helen Filarski (1924-2014), infield/outfield: Rockford Peaches (1945-46); Peoria Redwings (1947); Kenosha Comets (1947); South Bend Blue Sox (1948-50)
Karen Violetta Kunkel (1934-2017), utility: Grand Rapids Chicks (1953)
Jane Moffet (1930-2018), catcher/first base/outfield: Springfield Sallies (1949-50); Chicago Colleens (1950); Kalamazoo Lassies (1951-52); Battle Creek Belles (1952)
Mary Moore (b.1932), second base: Springfield Sallies (1950); Battle Creek Belles (1951-52)
Dolly Niemiec (1931-2018), second base/third base: Chicago Colleens (1948); Springfield Salles (1949); Grand Rapids Chicks (1950, 1951-52); Battle Creek Belles (1951)
