Oh Say Can You See? How

Wrigley Changed Histo

ry?

WRIGLEY HIMSELFA man named Philip Knight Wrigley started the All-

American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943, which lasted until 1954.

He was a recluse, but in some ways; brilliant.He owned the Wrigley Gum company and the Chicago Cubs.

How Wrigley Took AdvantagePresident Franklin Roosevelt sent a letter to Philip Knight

Wrigley regarding Major League Baseball. He said that MLB would be canceled for the duration of the war if Wrigley does

nothing about it. So, he capitalizes on the situation with cleverness and creates the All-American Girls Professional

Baseball League for money and to save Major League Baseball. BUT, when the war was about to near its end a year after the

beginning of the AAGPBL, Wrigley left the league.

Wrigley Was Also A…SEXIST. He forced the women who played to

wear short-skirts EVEN WHEN they didn’t have to. Although pants were frowned upon in this time period, getting frequent strawberries is a

reason enough to wear pants. The women (some, not all) strawberried, when they slid,

every single game.

Revolution, Reaction, Reform

Wrigley revolutionized what women could and could not do in America. He reformed the many false statements of

America towards women. Many reactions followed the start of the

league.

The Several OpinionsSome

people liked the league,

some people did

not.TWO REACTIONS FOLLOW

Author:Paul Goodman and his Judgment

Paul Goodman wrote in his book Growing Up Absurd: the Problems of Youth in the Organized

Society, “…how to make something of one’s self. A girl does not have to; she is not expected to make something of herself. Her career does not have to be self-justifying, for she will have children, which is absolutely self justifying, like

any other natural or creative act.”

Author:Barbara Gregorich’s JudgmentIn an email interview, Ms. Gregorich said, “That

makes me think Wrigley was a sexist: he believed that women had to dress a certain way,

even when performing games or work that demanded a different style of dress. Because he had the power of money, he hired only players he considered ‘feminine,’ and he made them

conform to his rules --- and his rules went way beyond playing baseball.”

The Killings of the League

The invention of the television ended the

league. MLB had returned to the nation and was

projected on to the television screens. This

was in the fifties.

Sparks

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League had sparked Title IX. How women could play baseball then, lead to the belief (should be

fact) that women can ALWAYS play the same sports as men. This lead to the riots for equality

in sports.Title IX is a law that allows everyone to play in sports, regardless of their genders. It made more equality come upon males and females. It was passed in 1972.

Links To A Couple Of Websites

• aagpbl.org• nocryinginbaseball.com• http://

baseballhall.mlblogs.com/tag/all-american-girls-professional-baseball-league/

Famous Relevant Quotes “Maybe it is because no one really thought women could play baseball and we proved we could. Maybe it is because of the time in history that we played, when women only had the opportunity to go to college to be teachers or nurses, and there was little opportunity for them to become anything else, let alone a professional baseball player. It was not that our talents were so unique, but that we had developed those skills in a world that forced us to be different in order to have the opportunity to play in sports.” –Jean Lesko “The league members would look like ladies but play like gentlemen.” –Philip Wrigley“Baseball is too much of a sport to be a business, and too much of a business to be a sport.” –Philip Wrigley“It made an impression on me. I always figured if you were going to be in the public eye, you might as well have a little class.” Former Outfielder, Thelma “Tiby” Eisen.

AAGPBL SONG P.1It was a women’s league That began in 1943With Philip Knight Wrigley He was clever and greedy

He was Philip Knight Wrigley who began a women’s leagueFor himself to guarantee riches and moneyPeople thought it was for equalityThey did not know it was only for greedSo Wrigley became delighted in gleeWrigley saw only attractively skilled players in the leagueBusiness was slow at first and later famous was the gameSome of the women united in the Hall of Fame when they were invited and cameTo celebrate their names and end in flames! In ’81

AAGPBL SONG P.2It was a women’s league That began in 1943With Philip Knight Wrigley He was clever and greedy

It occurred in 1943 when Roosey came with a pleaTo Wrigley; the genius who would come up with great ideas so non-malicious----lyToo bad it ended in ’54, since the ladies really liked to score!Anyways Wrigley became deceased recentlyBut that gum chewing company still lives with great prosperity!It was the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League A women’s league, which some found really mean (meaning terrible)The forgotten history……

SHORT VERSION OF BIBLIOGRAPHY• GrawOzburn, Clement C. "The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League:." UWLAX.edu. Jodi

Vandenberg-Dawes, 2004. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. In Clement G.'s college-like paper, I had learned of one man's opinion that differentiates between

Ozburn's. Paul Goodman mentions in his book, Growing Up Absurd: The Problems of Youth in the Organized Society, "....how to make something of one's self. A girl does not have to; she is expected to make something of herself. Her career does not have to be self-justifying, for she will have children, which is absolutely self-justifying, like any other natural or creative act." I had never known before reading this paper that people had actually used "bad words" something so clever. This information lead to a major part in my paper.

• Gregorich, Barbara. "Was the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Revolutionary?"" E-mail interview. 1 Feb. 2012.

This email interview with Barbara Gregorich forced me to believe that Wrigley was not all that great. He was sexist, in ways, and had been seeking money through the league. By only selecting "pretty girls," and by forcing them to wear unbelievably short skirts defines Philip Knight Wrigley as a sexist. I mean seriously, he made it so women would be likely to strawberry whenever bothering to slide. Also, Wrigley tried to make it convincing that he wanted sexes to be more equal, but really didn't care. He was a man of money, and was not about to just give it all away.

• Women in Baseball." Www.nocryinginbaseball.com, News, Reviews, Merchandise, Books and Links to The best Sites on the Web! Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://www.nocryinginbaseball.com/women/women.html>.

In order to keep to President Roosevelt's word (to do something to keep the game of baseball going while Major League Baseball suspended due to World War II), "Wrigley joined forces with Branch Rickey and created the first professional baseball league for women (page one of article)." The category of women's sports had reformed, now including professional baseball. The pay schedule, for each individual player, was from fifty-five dollars to one-hundred twenty-five dollars a week. In addition, meal money of about two dollars and twenty-five cents was provided each day for each of the players. The league of these women players has been alive and running from 1943 (during World War II) to 1954. Although these were female players, over five-hundred ten of them were recognized on a plaque in the Cooperstown, New York Hall of Fame.

• "Ted Williams : Boston Red Sox Legends : Fenwayfanatics.com." Boston Red Sox @ Fenwayfanatics.com. 2004-2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.fenwayfanatics.com/redsox/legend/ted_williams/>. Baseball star Ted Williams had joined in the war effort during World War II. He had abandoned the Major League of Baseball to help make the United States of America win the war. He had served for approximately three years.