The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids , Michigan . They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953.
23-595: The National Girls Baseball League (NGBL) was a professional women's baseball league which existed from 1944 to 1954, with teams based in Chicago, Illinois . The National Girls Baseball League started a year after the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), which was featured in the film A League of Their Own . The National Girls Baseball League differed from the AAGPBL in that
46-610: A non–raiding agreement. Red Grange served as commissioner of the National Girls Baseball League until 1949. Grange was replaced as commissioner by Arch Wolfe, who had worked for the Chicago Cardinals . Wolfe had served as president of the league, with Ed Kolski serving as secretary and Emery Piarchy as treasurer. In the winter of 1952–1953, players from both the AAGPL and National Girls Baseball League played together in
69-633: A softball league, the Metropolitan League. Parichy and Bidwell hired Red Grange to preside over the league. The National Girls Baseball League was formed in 1944 and played 11 seasons. It was formed as a result of scouts for the Chicago–based All–American Girls Professional Baseball League scouting and recruiting talent from the Chicago softball Metropolitan League, run by Parichy. It was decided to then turn
92-694: Is a handful of women playing baseball in Vietnam currently on the Fishanu team at Hanoi University and on the Hanoi Baseball Club . Internationally, the World Baseball Softball Confederation is the world governing body for women's and men's baseball, as well as women's and men's softball. The WBSC was created in 2013. Important events and milestones in women's baseball: Organized international competition in women's baseball began with
115-570: The Chicago White Sox of MLB . “They packed the place,” said Al Maag, of the NGBL attendance. Maag was the founder of the Chicago 16-inch Softball Hall of Fame, which posthumously inducted and honored Charles Bidwill with the Richard J. Daley Friend of Softball Award in 2013 for his contributions to women's baseball and softball. The National Girls Baseball League had six teams, all owned by Emery Parichy:
138-421: The 1952 National Girls Baseball League season, Jesse Owens was on hand to present Dolores Moore with the league's Most Valuable Player Award at a ceremony. Moore's manager Woody English , became the manager of the AAGPBL's Grand Rapids Chicks and added Moore to his roster. After the 1954 season, the National Girls Baseball League folded amid declining attendance. Increased TV viewing of Major League Baseball
161-953: The 2001 Women's World Series played in Toronto 's Skydome, (now known as the Rogers Centre ). Women's World Series events were held in 2002 ( St. Petersburg, Florida ), in 2003 ( Gold Coast, Queensland ), and in 2004 ( Uozu-city, Japan ). These Women's World Series events were organized by the American Women's Baseball Federation and the Women's Baseball Association of Japan. They paved the way for official International Baseball Federation sanctioned Women's World Cup competitions.EDELMAN, R. O. B. E. R. T., & Elsey, B. (2020). Sport in Latin America. In Oxford Handbook of Sports History (pp. 362–363). essay, OXFORD UNIV Press US. In 2004 five countries competed in
184-604: The AAGPL. Offered a higher salary, a signing bonus, with no extensive travel, Wagner valued being home every night, being closer to school and her studies. With a salary of 125 dollars a week, Wagner put herself through school at Elmhurst College and then the University of Illinois-Chicago , where Wagner earned her MD in 1955. Wagner helped her team to the Championship in 1950 and made the All–Star Team in each of her four seasons in
207-512: The All–American Girls Professional Baseball League. The integrated National Girls Baseball League offered higher salaries and emphasized closer road game schedules in an attempt to secure the best players. League rosters included an African–American, Betty Chapman; a Chinese–American, Gwen Wong; and Nancy Ito, a Japanese–American. One player, Freda Savona, was rumored to earn $ 500 a week. Connie Wisniewski jumped to
230-463: The Bloomer Girls, Blue Birds, Chicks, Queens, Cardinals, and Music Maids. The Forest Park based Bloomer Girls were moved by Parichy to Chicago from Boston in 1937 and used the "Parichy Bloomer Girls" moniker, playing home games at Parichy Stadium. The league played at ballparks throughout Chicago, including Soldier Field and Wrigley Field . The National Girls Baseball League was in competition with
253-599: The Metropolitan League to a professional league. The National Girls Baseball League consisted of teams from the greater Chicago, Illinois area and regularly drew over 500,000 fans annually. Unlike the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, the National Girls Baseball League kept the traditional underhand softball pitching format. "For two seasons our league outdrew the White Sox in attendance," noted player Freda Savona, in reference to
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#1732898226007276-499: The NGBL kept and allowed the traditional underhand softball pitching format. Football legend Red Grange served as commissioner of the National Girls Baseball League. The National Girls baseball League was founded in 1944 by Forest Park, Illinois contractor Emery Parichy, Charles Bidwill , who was owner of the Chicago Cardinals football team and politician Ed Kolski. Parichy had built Parichy Stadium in Forest Park in 1934 and owned
299-419: The NGBL when the AAGPBL switched to overhand throwing and Audrey Wagner was a notable AAGPBL player who switched to the NGBL. Pro Football Hall of Fame member Red Grange served as league president. Retired major league baseball players Buck Weaver ( Black Sox Scandal ) and Woody English were team managers. In 1946, after two years of conflict over players, the administrators in the two leagues reached
322-560: The National Girls Baseball League. Lois Roberts Strenkowski played barefoot for the duration of her time in the National Girls Baseball League and throughout her career. Playing for the Cardinals team in the NGBL, she made $ 65 per week playing for two seasons through 1951. In June, 2010, on her 90th birthday, celebrated at Dodger Stadium , Strenkowski was given the honor to announce the Dodgers' opening words, “It’s time for Dodger baseball.” After
345-497: The National Girls Baseball League. In 1952, Wagner led the league in doubles, triples, home runs and total bases, and was second in the batting, with a .364 average. Sophie Kurys stole 1,141 bases in her career. She joined the National Girls Baseball League in 1951, moving from the AAGPL with her teammate Joanne Winter . Together, they helped lead the Admiral Music Maids to the 1951 championship. Kurys played three seasons in
368-644: The Netherlands, Canada, Cuba, the United States, Venezuela, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Japan, and South Korea. The first Pan American Women's Baseball Championship (I Campeonato Panamericano del Béisbol Femenino) was played in Valencia , Venezuela , from 13 to 20 November 2009. Teams that competed were Cuba , Venezuela , Puerto Rico , Colombia , Brazil , and the Dominican Republic . Women's baseball
391-505: The first Women's Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada: the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Taiwan. Subsequent tournaments have been held every two years, with the US winning the first two in 2004 and 2006, and Japan winning five consecutive gold medals from 2008 to 2016. In 2016, the field included twelve teams, more than had competed in any previous Women's Baseball World Cup: Australia,
414-509: The four–team International Girls Baseball League (IGBL) based in Miami, Florida . The league was formed by Frank Darling, the owner of the NGBL’s Music Maids. Darling served as the president, while Harry D. Wilson, also from the NGBL, served as league secretary. Darling recruited players from both leagues and created the team rosters and schedule. Connie Wisniewski, a former AAGPBL player of
437-788: The playoffs every year until the league folded following the 1954 season. Grand Rapids had its share of league stars including Players of the Year Connie Wisniewski in 1945 and Alma Ziegler in 1950. League pitching titles were won by Chicks pitchers in 1944 and 1945 by Wisniewski, Mildred Earp in 1947, Alice Haylett in 1948, and Ziegler in 1950. Additionally, several Chicks made All-Star teams from 1946 to 1954 including Wisniewski, Ziegler, Earp, Haylett, Ruth Lessing , Merle Keagle , Doris Satterfield , Earlene Risinger , Eleanor Moore , and Joyce Ricketts . The Chicks played their home games at South High School in Grand Rapids, with
460-543: The year, played in the 1950 National Girls Baseball League. Wisniewski played for the 1950 Music Maids, winning 30 games as a pitcher. Wisniewski returned to the Grand Rapids Chicks of the AAGPL in 1951. Freda Savona was called the “Babe Ruth” of the NGBL, setting home run records and batting over .400 in 1951. Audrey Wagner joined the Parichy Bloomer Girls and the National Girls Baseball League in 1950 from
483-606: Was a factor. In 2013, in a women's professional softball league game, the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch Softball played tribute to the Parichy Bloomer Girls and the National Girls Baseball League by wearing replica Bloomer Girls' uniforms. The league allowed underhand pitching and used a 12" ball. Uniforms generally consisted of long knee socks, jerseys over long-sleeves and shorts. YEAR / CHAMPION / RUNNER-UP The National Girls Baseball League
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#1732898226007506-617: Was added to the Pan American Games in 2015. Grand Rapids Chicks The franchise originated in 1944 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Chicks . Although the Chicks won the 1944 AAGPBL championship, they could not compete with the minor league Milwaukee Brewers for ticket sales, and the franchise moved to Grand Rapids. They enjoyed continued success following the move, making
529-786: Was the subject of a documentary. "Their Turn at Bat: The Story of the National Girls Baseball League" is a documentary film by Adam Chu. Women%27s baseball Women's baseball is played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States , Australia , Japan , Taiwan , Cuba , Hong Kong , and Canada . Those countries have national governing bodies that support girls' and women's baseball programs. Other countries/regions that currently have organized women's baseball are Germany , France , Netherlands , Croatia , India , South Korea , Venezuela , Argentina , Puerto Rico , Colombia , Brazil , Dominican Republic , and Pakistan . There also
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