People have been writing about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League since it began in 1943, but the 1992 premiere of Penny Marshall's feature film, A League of Their Own, brought an explosion of publicity focusing on the league and its players. Below is a thorough, but not exhaustive, bibliography of books, articles, videos, and other media on the subject.
Kenosha Museum, 5500 First Avenue Kenosha, WI 53140; 262-653-4140
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, 25 Main Street, P.O. Box 590, Cooperstown, NY 13326; 888.425.5633 (toll-free); fax 607-547-2044; www.baseballhalloffame.org
The History Museum (South Bend, Indiana), 808 West Washington, South Bend, IN 46601; 574-235-9664;
www.centerforhistory.org (official repository of AAGPBL material)
Joyce Sports Research Collection, 102 Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556; 574-631-6506; fax 574-631-6308; www.sports.nd.edu/index.html
Penn State University, State College, PA
Public Museum of Grand Rapids, c/o Van Andel Museum Center and Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, 272 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5371; 616-456-3977; fax 616-456-3873; www.grmuseum.org
Racine County Historical Society and Museum, 701 South Main Street, PO Box 1527, Racine, WI 53401
Rockford Museum, Rockford, IL
Smithsonian Institute, SI Building, Room 153, Washington, DC 20560; 202-357-2700; www.si.edu
A.A.G.B.L. Cards, Kalamazoo, MI. Four sets of commemorative cards published in 1984 (red set), 1986 (blue set), 1988 (green set), and 1990 (yellow set). Approximately 85 cards in all; now out of print.
Larry Fritsch Cards, Inc., 735 Old Wausau Road, P.O. Box 863, Stevens Point, WI 54481; 715-344-8687; www.fritschcards.com. Series 1 published in 1995 (234 cards); Series 2 published in 1996 (106 cards); Series 3 published in 2000 (72 cards)
The Ted Williams Card Co. A handful of "Women of Baseball" cards published in 1994. Now out of print
Adler, David and O'Leary, Chris (Illustrator), Mama Played Baseball, Harcourt, San Diego, 2003. (children's picture book)
Berlage, Gai, Women in Baseball: The Forgotten History, Praeger Publishers, Westport, CT, 1994
Browne, Lois, The Girls of Summer: The Real Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1992.
Brown, Patricia, A League of My Own, Memoirs of a Pitcher for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, McFarland & Company, Inc., 2003.
Fidler, Merrie A., The Origins and History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 2006.
Galt, Margot Fortunato, Up to the Plate: The All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Lerner Publications Co., Minneapolis, 1995.
Gilbert, Sarah, A League of Their Own, (novelization of the feature film) Warner Books, 1992.
Gregorich, Barbara, Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball, Harcourt, Brace and Company, San Diego, 1993.
Hanmer, Trudy J., The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (American Events), New Discovery Books, 1994 (for middle-school readers)
Helmer, Diana Star, Belles of the Ball Park, Millbrook Press, Brookfield, CT, 1993 (for young readers; out of print)
Johnson, Susan E., When Women Played Hardball, Seal Press, Seattle, 1994
Kovach, John, Benders: Tales From South Bend's Baseball Past, Greenstocking Press, South Bend, IN, 1987
Macy, Sue, A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1993 (for young-adult readers)
Madden, W.C., The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book: Comprehensive Hitting, Fielding and Pitching Statistics, McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC, 2000
Madden, W.C., The Hoosiers of Summer, Guild Press, Indianapolis, IN, 1994
Madden, W.C., The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary, McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC, 1997
Miller, Ernestine, Making Her Mark, McGraw Hill Companies, 2992
Okkonen, Marc, Baseball in Muskegon: An Illustrated Chronology, (publisher unknown), 1993
Pratt, Mary, A Peach of a Game, Autobiography, Self-Published, Quincy, MA, 2004
Rappaport, Doreen, Callan, Lyndall, and Lewis, Earl B. (Illustrator), Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship, Dial Books, New York, 2002 (children's picture book)
Roark, Dorothy, Uncertain Destiny-A True Story, The story of the author's life in the coal-mining regions of PA. and her eight years barnstorming with her father's all-male baseball team and play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Self-Published, 2005
Roepke, Sharon, Diamond Gals, Sharon Roepke, Kalamazoo, MI, 1986 (booklet)
Sargent, Jim, and Gorman, Robert M. The South Bend Blue Sox: A History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Team and Its Players, 1943-1954. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2012
Stevenson, Rosemary and W.C. Madden, Don't Die on Third, Autobiography, Self- Published, 2006
Trombe, Carolyn, Dottie Wiltse Collins, McFarland Publishing Company, 2005
Corey, Shana and Gibbon, Rebecca (Illustrator), Players in Pigtails, Scholastic, New York, 2003. (children's picture book)
Kann, Bob, Joyce Westerman Baseball Hero, Badger Biographies Series, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2012
Fidler, Merrie, The Development and Decline of the All-American Girls Baseball League, 1943-1954, Master of Science Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Physical Education, 1976.
Hensley, Beth H., Older Women's Life Choices and Development After Playing Professional Baseball, Ed.D Dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 1995. (Available from ProQuest Digital Dissertations, http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations, Publication #AAT 9538244.)
Pierman, Carol J, "The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: Accomplishing Great Things in a Dangerous World," in Across the Diamond: Essays on Baseball and American Culture, ed. Edward J. Rielly (Binghampton, NY; Haworth Press, 2003): 97-108
Sexton, Maria, Implications of the All-American Girls Baseball League for Physical Educators in the Guidance of Highly-Skilled Girls, Type C Project, Advanced School of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1953
Shattuck, Debbie, Playing a Man's Game: Women in Baseball in the U.S., Master of Science Thesis, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, 1993
Wilson, Brenda S. and Skipper, Jr., James K., "Nicknames and Women Professional Baseball Players," Names (academic journal), Vol. 38, No. 4, December 1990
Marshall, Penny, director, Abbott, Elliott, and Greenhut, Robert, producers, A League of Their Own, Columbia Pictures, 1992
A League of Their Own (30-minute TV series), April 1993 to August 1993, CBS. Six episodes were filmed; only five of them aired
All American: Souvenir Program, 1986
Allure, June 1992
American Magazine, June 1945, "Beauty and the Bat," by James Gordon
Boston Globe Magazine, August 7, 1988 (by Ruth Bayard Smith)
Chicago History, Spring 1989 (by Susan Cahn)
Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine, July 5, 1992
Cobblestone, July 1985, "Wow, Can She Throw That Ball!" by Sue Macy (article on Ruth Williams Heverly)
Daily News Magazine (Los Angeles), January 22, 1984, "Diamonds and Lace," by Sue Macy
Dugout: Baseball Beyond the Box Score (Brock Publishing, Ontario, CA), December 1994
Holiday, June, 1952, "World's Prettiest Ballplayers," by Carl L. Biemiller
Hot Wire: Journal of Women's Music and Culture, late 1986
Journal of Sports History
Law Library Journal, Vol. 93, No. 1, Winter 2001, pgs. 209-219, "A Law Librarian at Cooperstown."
Life, June 4, 1945, "Girls Baseball"
McCall's, September 1950, "Hey Ma, You're Out," by Morris Markey
Milwaukee History Magazine (quarterly publication of the Milwaukee County Historical Society), July 1994, March 1995
Parade, 1948
Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine, June 1993
People Weekly, August 17, 1987, "This Mother Could Hit" (about Helen Callaghan St. Aubin)
Reminsce Extra, October 2000, Pg. 61, "Women Can Play Baseball.and Did"
Scholastic MATH Magazine, April 22, 1983, "Who's First on First?" by Sue Macy
Scholastic News (Grades 3/4), March 5, 1993, "Annie and the Babe," by Sue Macy (fictional play)
Scholastic Scope Magazine, April 3, 1992, "A League of Their Own," by Sue Macy
Scholastic Search Magazine, April 30, 1982, "War, Women, & Pro Baseball," by Sue Macy
Sport, August 1990, "The Girls of Summer," by Jerry D. Lewis
Sport Life, October 1949
Sports Heritage Journal, May/June 1987 (by Jay Feldman)
Smithsonian, July 1989, "The 'Belles of the Ball Game' Were a Hit With Their Fans," by Jack Fincher
Sports Collectors Digest, August, 1988
Sports Illustrated, 1985 (by Jay Feldman)
This Week Magazine, July 30, 1949
Time, June 14, 1943
Touching Bases (Official AAGPBL Players Association Newsletter), April, 1988, to present (many articles about the players from local newspapers are reprinted here)
Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, Spring 1993 (by Barbara Gregorich)
U.S.A. Today, June 1992
Women Sports, April 1976 (by W.G. Nicholson)
Women's Sports, October 1982 (article on 1982 reunion by David Young)
Women's Sports and Fitness, October 1987, November/December 1991, April 1992
July 1982 - first national reunion in Chicago
September 1986 - second national reunion in Ft. Wayne, IN.
Filming of two documentaries; November 1988 - recognition by the Baseball Hall of Fame
June 1992 - release of the film A League of Their Own
August 1993 - the 50th reunion in South Bend, IN.
Altus Times (Altus, OK), October 23, 1988, July, 1992
Battle Creek Shopper News (MI), August 20, 1992
Chicago Tribune, July 12, 1982
The Christian Science Monitor, June 16, 1992
Daily Star (Oneonta, NY) October 25, 1991
Detroit Free Press, June 29, 1992
Detroit News, March 5, 1992, July 21, 1992
Freeman's Journal (Cooperstown, NY) October 23-31, 1991
Grand Rapids Press (MI), May 23, 1991, July 1, 1992, August. 8, 1993, September 9, 2001
The Journal Times (Racine, WI), August 28 & 29, 2000
Kalamazoo Gazette (MI), June 28, 1992, July 1, 1992, July 3, 1992
Kenosha News (WI), June 27, 1992, July 7, 1992, August 29, 2000
Lansing State Journal (MI), July 5, 1992
Michigan City News Dispatch (IN), July, 1992
The Newark Star-Ledger (NJ), July 1, 1992
The News Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN), June 26, 1992, June 27, 1992
The New York Times, July l, 1992
The New York Times (Sports Sunday), July 7, 1992
The Palisadian-Post (Pacific Palisades, CA), 1989
The Reporter (Fond du Lac, WI, AP article), July 8, 1992
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 19, 1992
Sarasota Herald Tribune, June 16, 1992, August 27, 1994
The South Bend Tribune (IN), August 23, 1981, August 1, 1993, August 6, 1993
The Springfield State Journal-Register (IL), June 19, 1987
The Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), July 8, 1992
The Tampa Tribune, October 26, 1991, November 6, 1991
Tribune Plus (Mesa, AZ), August 6, 1992
USA Today, June 26-28, 1992, June 30, 1992
Waukesha Freeman (WI), July 22, 1992
Western Herald (Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI), September 30, 1993
"All-American Girls Professional Baseball League," in Women in American History by Encyclopedia Britannica. Online at http://www.britannica.com/women/articles/All-American_Girls_Professional_Baseball_League.html. Video file attached to article shows a few minutes of a spring training game between the Fort Wayne Daisies and Racine Belles
Soundtrack from "A League of Their Own". Hans Zimmer, arranger, performer, producer. Sony, 1992. (Includes the "AllAmerican Girls Professional Baseball League Song," but doesn't include Madonna's "This Used To Be My Playground.")
Morning Edition, National Public Radio, July 1982 (reported by Linda Wagner, program #820714)
Morning Edition, National Public Radio, August 27, 1991
A League of Their Own: The Making of a Movie, Columbia Pictures, 1991
Burns, Ken, Baseball, Public Broadcasting System, 1994
Michigan Oral History Association (MOHA), "The Girls of Summer: The Grand Rapids Chicks of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League." Panelists Dotty Konwinski and Marilyn Jenkins with Moderator Gary Burbridge, Series III (1994), #3-2, 58 minutes. Order from MOHA, 5580 West State Road, Lansing, MI 48906; 517-321-1746.
Olson, Gordon, The Girls of Summer: The Grand Rapids Chicks 1946-1954, The Grand Rapids Public Library and Museum, Grand Rapids, Ml, 1990
Siegel, Lois, Baseball Girls, National Film Board of Canada, 1996
Taylor, Janis L., An Oral History of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League: Interviews With 40 Players, an AAGPBL Players' Association Inc. production on file at the Northern Indiana Center for History, South Bend, IN, 1994.
Taylor, Janis L., When Diamonds Were a Girl's Best Friend, Taylor Productions, 1987
Taylor, Janis L., When Dreams Come True, University of Northern Kentucky, Covington, KY, 1988
Wilson, Kim and Candaele, Kelly, producers, with KCET, A League of Their Own, Community Television for Southern California, 1987. (documentary that inspired the feature film of the same name)