(Before) A League Of Their Own

(Before) A League Of Their Own

Most us have seen the baseball movie “A League Of Their Own” starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna. But did you know there was another league (of sorts) of female baseball players that was formed in 1913? Or should I say "team" as there was only one squad that would split in half to play games with the usual names of the “Red Stockings” and “Blue Stockings.” Since the players wore generic baggy blouse tops and bloomers for bottoms, they of course were easily identified by the color of their stockings.

For practicality both the red and blue teams were called the New York Female Giants. There is some evidence that suggests the team was formed secretly by John McGraw, NY Giants baseball manager, as a ruse to get publicity for his all-male team and/or to make a little money on the side hustle. Why else would he allow the name NY Giants to be used when he owned the trademark?

The 32 female players were mostly girls from local high schools and older women athletes from other fields of sports. In fact, the women were competitive and not simply pushovers to provide comedic entertainment.

For example, one Ida Schnall who was the dedicated team captain was an accomplished swimmer, diver and tennis player. She was also a fitness instructor and ballroom dancer. Evidently, she joined the team to bring awareness to the struggle of female athletes such as herself who were barred from Olympic participation at the time. Frustrated with the sports world and said to be extremely attractive (in 1915 she was voted “America’s most beautifully formed woman”), she eventually moved to Hollywood and became a silent film actress.

There were also persistent questions as to whether all the “women” were really “women” at all. At least some of the team were posing as women in drag with wigs. This was highlighted in one game when the “girl” playing center field threw the ball from deep in the outfield directly to home plate on only two bounces.

The team actually drew well with one game on Sunday, May 25, 1913, at the Lenox Oval, a sports field at Lenox and 145th Street in New York City having an overflow crowd of 1,500 spectators. The NY Female Giants even travelled on occasion as was the case later that summer in Washington, DC, where they played before an even larger crowd of 4,000. It should be noted that the game had an ugly early ending when one of the supposed women lost her wig in a slide into second and many in the crowd stormed the field saying they had been cheated.

Few other details of the New York Female Giants have survived to this day such as how many actual games were played, box scores or batting statistics. Evidently, their games were shunned by the large New York City newspapers of the day and no reporters were sent to report on the happenings. Surprisingly, there are at least 25 photos of the team and its members that are known to be in existence.

What we do know is that the New York Female Giants were disbanded in the same year they were formed. The team did set the precedent for women on the baseball field which for the most part has translated in the popularity of softball as a women's sport. With that said, I personally wonder how long it will be until a woman makes it onto a MLB roster. There is little doubt in my mind that a woman pitcher especially one who can throw a deceptive pitch like a knuckleball could have success.