WOMEN'S BASEBALL
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LEAGUES
American Girls' Softball League (AGSL) / American Girls' Baseball Conference (AGBC) / Eastern States Girls' Baseball League (ESGBL) - New York Metropolitan Area
1945–1954
Founded in 1945 as the American Girls' Softball League (AGSL), the organization later became known as the American Girls' Baseball Conference (AGBC) before adopting the name Eastern States Girls' Baseball League (ESGBL). In local newspapers, the ESGBL was also referred to by several variations, including the Eastern Girls' Baseball League, East Coast Women’s Baseball League, and Eastern Shores Girls' Baseball League. Based in the New York metropolitan area, the league transitioned from softball to baseball in 1949.
From its inception, the AGSL / AGBC / ESGBL was fully integrated. Marie Roach began the 1945 season with the Greenwold / Long Island Jewels, becoming the first Black woman to play in the league. She was soon followed by Yvonne “Coky” Coker, who joined in August of that same year. Coker went on to become one of the league’s early stars, playing for several teams: the West New York (NJ) Traders (1945), the New York / Staten Island Farmerettes (1946), and the Long Island Clovers—later known as the Hostess Girls and Freeport Forest Jewels (1947–1952). In 1953, her final year, she played for the Bronx Alpines.
The AGSL / AGBC was the first major women’s softball or baseball league in the U.S. to feature African-American players on its teams.
California Girl's Professional Baseball League (CGPBL) - Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
1946
In 1946, Marty Fiedler, known as the “Ziegfeld of Softball”, launched a four-team women’s softball league in Southern California. Despite being called the California Girls’ Professional Baseball League, the league was baseball in name only, as the women played fastpitch softball. The bases were 68 feet apart, the pitching distance was 42 feet from home plate, pitchers delivered the ball underhand, and an 11-inch softball was used. The league played at four venues: Lakewood Stadium, Montebello Ball Park, Santa Monica Municipal Stadium, and Gilmore Field, home of the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. The teams represented Long Beach, Hollywood, Montebello, and Santa Monica. Two of the teams are known to have been the Long Beach Reds and the Hollywood Starlets; the names of the Montebello and Santa Monica teams have not yet been identified. The league lasted only one season.
Central Indiana Girls' Baseball League (CIGBL) - Indiana
1948–1949
The AAGPBL operated a five-team minor league in Indiana for two seasons (1948–1949). The league, known as the Central Indiana Girls Baseball League, featured the Alexandria Smart Alecks, Anderson Squaws, Middletown Gardens (Muncie) Cardinals, Muncie VFW Jinx, and Upland Manufacturing Company Highlanders. Upland Manufacturing Company claimed the 1948 championship, while Middletown Gardens won the 1949 championship.
Chicago Girls Baseball League (CGBL) - Chicago Metropolitan Area
1948–1950
The four-team Chicago Girls Baseball League (CGBL) was formed in 1948 as a farm system for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Mel Thillens, owner of Thillens Stadium on Chicago’s North Side, sponsored two teams: the Northtown Co-eds and Northtown Debs. The Blue Island Recreation Commission, from Blue Island, Illinois, sponsored the other two: the Blue Island Dianas and Blue Island Stars. In 1949, Rayson's Sports took over sponsorship of the Northtown Co-eds. The CGBL lasted for three seasons.
Eastern Girls' Baseball League (EGBL) - Pennsylvania
1950
For one season in 1950, a semi-pro women’s baseball league operated in Pennsylvania. The Eastern Girls’ Baseball League featured the Allentown Chicks, Norristown Nifties, Perkiomen Demons, Ben Salem of Andalusia, and Sellersville-Perkasie. The league served as a feeder circuit to the AAGPBL.
Japan Women's Baseball Federation (JWBF) - Japan
1950–1959
In 1950, four teams formed the Japan Women's Baseball Federation (JWBF). The Tokyo Romance Bluebirds, founded in 1949, were joined by the Homers, Pearls, and Red Sox for an opening series on April 10 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Stadium. Over the summer, more teams joined the league, and several corporations began sponsoring individual clubs. In August, the Romance Bluebirds withdrew from the JWBF and, along with 10 other teams, established a rival organization, the All-Japan Women’s Baseball Association (AJWBA), in September. However, the AJWBA folded just two months later, in November. That same month, the JWBF concluded its season with a final tournament, where the Red Sox captured the championship. By 1951, several teams had disbanded, reducing the league to six clubs. Okada Batteries, the team formerly known as the Pearls, won that year’s title. Ahead of the 1952 season, the league reorganized as an amateur organization, marking the end of women’s professional baseball in Japan until its revival in the 21st century. The JWBF continued to oversee the amateur game through 1959. That year, it was succeeded by a new organization, the Japan Women's Baseball Association (JWBA), which governed women's baseball in Japan until 1971.
PLACES
Explore the ballparks and stadiums where women’s baseball teams took the field. This map documents the places where women played the game, from historic ballparks to fields that have long since disappeared.
TEAMS
Every league was built by teams that took the field. Explore the women’s baseball clubs that competed across the United States and around the world, from professional teams to independent and regional ballclubs.
Hagerstown Mollys
New York Nifties & Philadelphia Fillies
1952–1953
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