During WWII, with no men to play, baseball fields sat empty. MLB team owners devised a plan to fill their stadiums. They decided to give women a crack at the bat. By creating the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
It let female baseball players realize their dreams of being professional athletes. Despite this, the league owner was worried about the players appearing as lesbians. He thought women playing baseball was unfeminine and athletic women were lesbians.
In order to appear more feminine, women had to wear skirts and lipstick while playing. If any player cut her hair short, she was kicked out of the league. Many of the players in the league actually were lesbians. But had to live ‘in the closet,’ for fear of losing their jobs.
The league used bigger balls, smaller fields and a different pitching style. It was relatively successful, until after WWII, attendance slowly dwindled. After the league ended in 1954 players had to go back to working regular jobs. Decades later, many of the players finally came out. And they could finally be their true selves.
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