Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

This is the perfect book for fans of female baseball history. It's also an ideal addition to the modern Me Too movement as it captures the sexism and other social issues that caused problems for the talented women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Reading through this book is almost like walking through an incredibly detailed museum dedicated entirely to this topic. It was quite enjoyable and sheds a lot of light on this interesting time in history.

I love this book so much! So much more than just baseball, this book deals with sexism, racism, beauty standards, and more. The unique combination of visuals with quotes from a variety of different perspectives really bring this book to life. Approachable for readers of all ages.

ARC provided by #NetGalley in exchange for review

"You have to understand that we'd rather play ball than eat.." - Lavonne "Pepper" Paire

"World War II was the really big one for my generation... Times changed, women had to leave the home and the kitchen. Now the men are coming back, you women get back in the kitchen! I'm sorry, you've opened the door of opportunity and we're not in the kitchen, we're out in the world being productive and doing other things and having other opportunities." - Delores "Dolly" Brumfeld

Oh. My. Godddddd. This book has EVERYTHING. Through a really unique, engaging and seamless interplay of visual queues and actual quotes from payers, coaches, newscasters, and press reports, this book tells SUCH A STORY, dipping in and out of individual players lives and struggles to the evolving attitude toward women playing baseball on a level that, at its peak, drew A MILLION SPECTATORS.

Neither does the book shy away from the negatives. From facing sexism in the form of impractical but ~*feminine*~ uniforms, to patronizing over-policing of players' private lives, to the struggles of players to balance their spouse's wants and feelings. There's even this eye-popping quote from Paire later in life: "I stopped talking about our league for a long time, because whenever...someone would ask me how I knew so much about the game, and I'd say, 'Well, I played girls' professional baseball years ago.' And they'd say, "You mean softball?' I'd say, 'No, I mean baseball.' And they'd do a double take and say, 'You man softball.' And I'd say again, 'No, I mean baseball.' And after I'd say it about the fourth or fifth time, they'd say, 'You mean... baseball? Like men's baseball? Like with a hard ball?' And from the look in their eyes, I could see that they still didn't believe me. You can look 'em right in the eye and say'baseball,' and they'll look you right back and say 'softball.' Well, you get tired of doing that, and I can't carry my scrapbooks around on my back."

And sexism isn't where it stops. Orrock opens a truly haunting section on the struggles of African American women to be part of this new movement with the paragraph, "For the first time, a generation of young girls had grown up watching women play professional baseball, and by the early 1950s, many other women who had also grown up playing baseball were finally aware that the All-American Girls Baseball League existed and that a career in baseball was possible. <b>Unfortunately, many of those women would never have the opportunity to play.</b>" Follows is the story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, an African American woman who showed up to an AAGBBL tryout and was turned away, after having "groen up playing baseball with the boys, just like every other All-American."

But because all of these warts are shown as what they are, part of the history, the story just resonates that much more deeply. I didn't think I was in a place where what basically amounts to a baseball picture book would bring tears to my eyes, but here we are. This book was one hell of a ride, and I'm totally buying myself a physical copy even though I rarely do so for myself anymore.

And if I, a total sportsball neophyte and committed non-interestarian feel this way about the book? A must-read for anyone who is even remotely inclined to pay attention to sports.

:I just know that I loved the game, I always loved it all my life...And the All-American League was beautiful." - Jean Faut

As a big fan of A League of Their Own, I was super excited to find this book. It’s written in an approachable manner that will appeal to all readers. The illustrations 😍 are outstanding especially the beauty guide. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this book when it gets published

This might be the perfect gift for a tweener or young teen to introduce them to the AAGBL particularly if they’ve never watched “A League of Their Own.” Most of the story is told using caricatures of the players interspersed with a few photographs. It almost seems to follow in the footsteps of the movie.

The entire time I was reading the book, I couldn’t decide whether I found the book delightful or whether it was insulting to the players because they are reduced to being cartoon characters. Using this format prevented the author from delving deeply into the history of the incredible women of the AAGBL. So we miss out knowing more about how it felt to have men they didn’t know running their lives, from the clothing they wore to being told how to comport themselves, to being yelled at by men in the stands, to women demeaning them for playing ball in short skirts, to having male coaches.

It would have been incredible if the author had gone beyond the outline of the movie and given us fewer cartoon characters and more substance.

My thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for an eArc.

I have been fascinated by the women that played baseball during the war since watching their story portrayed in a A League of Their Own. The author of this book focuses on the way these women were treated during their time playing and after. The sexism was apparent in everything from their uniforms to their curfews and monitoring of their social lives. After the war, the women were expected to go back to their lives as they were before and many struggled with that. I really enjoyed this book and thought the author did a great job writing it.

I enjoyed reading this book but like others I was hoping for more depth. This book is a good starting place for any one not familiar with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The book is illustrated with fun cartoons by the author and quotes by the players. The book is easy to read and offers a glimpse into the league. At the end of the book are more resources for those looking for more. Enjoy