A League of My Own

Growing up, Pat Brown had two dreams: to play baseball and to attend college. She was told she couldn’t play baseball because she was a girl and couldn’t attend college because she had no money, but in spite of the obstacles, she achieved both of these dreams, playing for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1950 and 1951 and going on to attend college. She is among the few women professional baseball players to be included into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“As the only former AAGPBL player to have written about the League,” Brown says, “I feel like I have finally pitched my no hit game.” This is a memoir of playing baseball on the sandlot, discovering and playing in the AAGPBL, and playing basketball in college. Brown shares her thoughts on the League’s history, including what Philip K. Wrigley sought to do by creating the AAGPBL, what happened after Wrigley left to give more attention to the Chicago Cubs, and why the League ended. She also considers the future for women’s professional baseball.
Interviews with such former AAGPBL players as Helen Hannah Campbell, Patricia “Pat” Courtney, Madeline “Maddy” English, Lenora “Smokey” Mandella, Jacqueline “Jackie” Matson, Jane Moffet, Mary “Sis” Moore, and Janet “Pee Wee” Wiley are included.

The late Patricia I. Brown was a retired lawyer and associate law librarian at Suffolk University Law Library. She is included in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Patricia I. Brown
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: 84 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2003
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1474-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8314-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Introduction      1

Part I: Inside the AAGPBL: A Ballplayer’s Memoir
1. Beginning and End of My Sandlot Days      5

2. Discovering the AAGPBL      13

3. Rookie School      21

4. The Kenosha Comets      30

5. The Chicago Colleens      40

6. The 1950 Tour Begins      49

7. From the Battle Creek Belles to College      75

8. After College, What?      93

9. Recognition for the AAGPBL      107

Part II: Thoughts on League History

10. What Did Wrigley Want?      133

11. What Happened After Wrigley?      139

12. Why Did the League End?      145

13. Is There a Future for Women in Baseball?      151

Part III: Interviews with Former AAGPBL Players

Helen Hannah Campbell      155

Patricia “Pat” Courtney      161

Madeline “Maddy” English      164

Lenora “Smokey” Mandella      169

Jacqueline “Jackie” Mattson      172

Jane Moffet      174

Mary “Sis” Moore      179

Janet “Pee Wee” Wiley      184

Epilogue      189

Appendix A: Annotated Rules of Conduct      191

Appendix B: Night Baseball at Wrigley Field: The Women Did It First     197

Bibliography and Source Material      201

Index      203

“lively account…strong offering…this book gives a flavor of the women who played in the league, their spirit and their times. Go out and buy this book”—The Diamond Angle; “unique historical view…poignant insights”—The Winthrop Sun Transcript; “unique”—The Sun, Suffolk University Newsletter. “information Brown provides is insightful and entertaining…Brown writes from the heart…an ideal read”—The Saratogian.