For the last 15 years, Rebecca Tulloch of Bartlett has educated audiences regarding the 11-year history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).
As a new Major League Baseball season dawned with Spring Training’s start, an audience of 25 heard about the Rockford Peaches success in the AAGPBL from Tulloch at Huntley Area Public Library Feb. 11.
“I began to research the AAGBL league in 2009,” Tulloch said. “I was interested in WWII historical reenacting and I wanted to do an impression that would share something about how women contributed to the war effort on the home front. Like most people, I had been familiar with the Penny Marshall film, “A League of Their Own” and I thought that doing an impression that shared the real history with audiences would be a lot of fun.”
At her library talk, Tulloch wore a uniform like the AAGPBL players wore, this one with the No. 8.
“I have had the No. 8 (uniform) since I got my uniform in 2009,” Tulloch said. “That is when I formed “A League of Our Own WWII Girls Baseball Living History League”. The No. 8 had been worn by Eileen Burmeister who was a member of the original 1943 Rockford Peaches. Eileen “Burmy” played for the Peaches in 1943 and 1944. She played many positions, and was noted to be a powerful batter. No. 8 was also the number worn by the character “Dottie Hinson”, in the movie, “A League of Their Own” played by Gena Davis.”
“A League of Their Own” was largely accurate, Tulloch told the audience.
“The movie did a great job of recreating the AAGPBL, but many of the characters were really composites of people,” Tulloch said. “The idea (of the league) was founded by Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs and the bubble gum company, and endorsed by other owners and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with the purpose of keeping morale up at home during World War II.”
The Rockford Peaches were one of the most successful teams of the four-team league that began in 1943. They won league championships in 1945, ’48, ’49 and ’50 and played home games at Rockford’s Beyer Stadium. The original teams were in Kenosha, Racine, and South Bend.
“The idea was to place the teams in towns with 100,000 people with a lot of factory workers for the war effort,” Tulloch said. “As Wrigley said, ‘if there can be Rosie Riveter for factories, there can also be Rosie the right fielder.’ They tried to play close to the rules of softball, and players had a variety of skills and were recruited playing 12-inch softball. Most of the recruiters were scouts for the Cubs. The movie showed tryouts in Wrigley Field, which was true. They tried out for two weeks, with the ‘weeding out’ process starting on day one. The players were afraid to answer the phone, for fear of being told to go home.”
Tulloch mentioned the train scenes were filmed at Illinois Railroad Museum grounds in Union.
Tulloch told the audience there were some concerns that the players were not feminine enough, as outlined by the Saturday Evening Post article. So league officials set up a committee to design uniforms which reflect what female athletes of the time wore.
Players adhered to codes of conduct, such as always having proper make up, no smoking or drinking in public, and activities approved by a chaperone.
“The chaperone was the only staff member the manager had,” Tulloch said.
The players stayed with host families, and were paid well by Wrigley and the league, with local teams also assisting.
“The players were very approachable, and 176,000 fans attended games that first season,” Tulloch said. “Wrigley even had two All-Star games with portable lights at Wrigley Field, which were the first night games there. They would visit Fort Sheridan, the Savanna location and other camps and visit injured soldiers at hospitals. They would also help with recruitment and blood drives.”
Managers, such as actor Tom Hanks’ character, Jimmy Dugan, were often former athletes, but not just baseball players, as one played professional hockey for the Blackhawks.
Wrigley sold the league to Arthur Meyerhoffer but attendance went down as new entertainment such as TV took over in the 1950s.
“I don’t have a favorite player,” Tulloch commented. “I marvel at them all for their courage and spirit to keep up moral on the home front through sport, and to continue with the league for several years after the war.”
Tulloch, who works as a producer, director and historical interpreter, for Prairie Star Productions, also plays as a pitcher in the area for “A League of Our Own WWII Girls Baseball Living History League.”
