Simmons Field was initially a company field built in 1920 by
Simmons Mattress Company for their workers, who formed the Simmons Bedmakers.
The field was allegedly burned down by a rival team before the stands as they
exist today were built in 1930.1&nbsp;From 1947-1950, Simmons Field was the home of the Kenosha Comets, although the Comets were one of the original four teams, debuting in 1943.

The Kenosha Comets was an All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League team that sprouted during WWII when fewer men were available to
play sports due to the need for soldiers during the war. Low attendance
threatened the existence of parks the shrinking men’s teams occupied, creating
a need for uses of the field other than men’s minor league baseball.2&nbsp;The Kenosha Comets participated in the first play-offs against another women’s
team in the AAGPBL, the Racine Belles, but were defeated at the end of the 1943 season. 

The Kenosha Comets were retired in
1951, not long after WWII came to a close and soldiers began returning to their
lives and occupations at home.3&nbsp;Unlike&nbsp;some of the other fields that hosted teams of the AAGPBL, Simmons field
was not destroyed or absorbed by another facility. Over the years, Simmons
Field also saw the Kenosha Twins, the Kenosha Kroakers, and now, the Kenosha
Kingfish, retaining some original features and decorative homages to its history,
like a manual scoreboard.4

Wealth of information about present and past uses of Simmons Field, plus trivia.

More Info

League History of All-American Girls Baseball League and Kenosha Comets.

The History Museum at South Bend holds the archives for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Simmons Field is a ballpark in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which has historic roots but also continues to be played on today.  Opening in 1930, Simmons Field is especially known for being home to the Kenosha Comets from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Currently, the field is home to the Kenosha Kingfish of the Northwood League. 

Simmons Field

Admin

This virtual tour (or "bucket list" driving tour for enthusiasts) includes stops at the location where each of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League franchises played their games. The tour includes a stop at the History Museum of South Bend, which holds the archives of the league and artifacts and papers of many of the players, owners, and coaches. Play Ball!

Charles Marsh, purchased property in the middle of the town in February of 1916 with the intention of creating a park for his team. Construction began and
the architect and owner decided that it would not only be a ballpark, but also
a children’s playground and picnic area. Since then the field has been improved but home plate has
never been moved.

The first game was played on May 4, 1916 between the
Muskegon Reds and the Terre Haute Highlanders. Marsh field was also home to two different teams that were part of the&nbsp;All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The&nbsp;Belles and the Muskegon Lasses both used this field in the same season, making Marsh Field the only ballpark to host two AAGPBL teams at the same time.&nbsp;Marsh Field was also home to&nbsp;African American teams prior to integration. Future stars Frank Barnes and Elston Howard both played for the African American team, the Muskegon Clippers, at this field in 1950. These men later became the&nbsp;first African American players to be
signed by the New York Yankees.&nbsp;

Len Piasecki and&nbsp;
Pete Gawkowski developed the Lakeshore Baseball Club in 2010 to operate and improve Marsh Field, which continues to host games each summer-a tradition that goes back just over one century. The park has
been named a State of Michigan historical landmark.&nbsp;

Marsh Field was home to local Muskegon baseball teams since its creation in 1916. The field is now an official  state of Michigan historic landmark. The original field has been updated, but home plate remains in the same location from when it first hosted minor league games in 1916. The park has served as the home field of Negro League teams prior to integration as well as two teams that belonged to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. 

Marsh Field

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; South High School was opened in 1914 in Grand Rapids and ran until 1968 when it was converted into a junior high school. The building is now the Gerald R. Ford Job Corp. Smith Field was located behind the school and housed the football team that won state championships in 1924 and 1944. Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States attended this high school and played football from 1927 to 1933. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Grand Rapids Chicks moved to Grand Rapids from Milwaukee in 1945. They played on Smith Field until 1950 when they moved to Bigelow Field, but returned in 1952 when Bigelow was destroyed in a fire. The Chicks made the playoffs every year of their existence, won the pennant in 1948 and were AAGPBL Champions in 1947 and 1953.

South High School Field housed high school football until 1968 when the school was converted into a junior high school. It was home to the Grand Rapids Chicks, a team of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, from 1945 to 1954, with the exception of 1950-1952 when they played at Bigelow Field. 


Smith Field (South High School Field)

During World War II, Major League Baseball suffered dramatically with many baseball players being sent to war. Phillip K. Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs franchise at the time, got together with the team’s assistant to the General Manager Ken Sells to come up with a solution to save baseball. Sells, along with a committee designed to find this solution, came up with the idea for an all-girls professional softball league, later to be named the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) (Lesko). The home of one of the AAGPBL’s teams, the Grand Rapids Chicks, was Bigelow Field in Wyoming, Michigan. Although no longer standing, Bigelow Field had a very storied history in its short existence.
&nbsp;Bigelow Field stood at coordinates 42°53'38"N 85°39'58"W, which is now the northwest corner of the intersection of 39th Street and Division Avenue, from 1931-1952. Clarence Bigelow built the stadium in 1931 for his own amusement because of his childhood love of baseball. It was briefly the home of the AAGPBL’s Grand Rapids Chicks from 1950-1952, but was also the location for a variety of other athletic and amusement events including midget car racing, rodeos, hymn sings, circuses, firework displays, and was even flooded in the winters so it could be used as an ice skating rink (Former Site of Bigelow Field, 1937-1952). The field was lighted and able to hold a total of 10,000 occupants. 
	Throughout much of Bigelow Field’s existence, midget car racing drew some of the largest crowds. In 1938, the events only cost $0.40 to get in for a full day’s worth of entertainment. Some of the great midget car race drivers of the era raced there, including Art Hartsfield, Sam Hanks, Paul Russo, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy O’Rourke, Ronnie Householder, Henry Banks, and Duane Carter (“Bigelow Field”).
&nbsp;Before World War II, Bigelow Field hosted a string of big names that would likely have not come to the small town in Michigan without such a location for performances. The 1937 World Series-winning New York Yankees played at Bigelow Field on May 3, with greats like Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig on the field. In 1938, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra also performed in the stadium (Former Site of Bigelow Field, 1937-1952). Baseball legend Satchel Paige pitched there in 1941 as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro league team, seven years before his debut in the newly-integrated Major Leagues (“Satchel Paige”). In 1946, Bob Hope performed at Bigelow Field as well. The Grand Rapids Jets, a minor league baseball team, also played at Bigelow Field as part of the 1948-1951 Central League, a team that was managed by Milt Galatzer and Jack Knight (“West Michigan Whitecaps History”).
&nbsp;In 1950, the AAGPBL’s Grand Rapids Chicks made Bigelow Field their new home. They had previously played at South High School’s football field. In July 1952, the stadium caught fire, resulting in over $50 thousand dollars in damage to the field, destroying the grandstand, clubhouse, and storefronts as well as over $5,000 dollars in the Chicks’ baseball equipment. The stadium was not rebuilt, thus forcing the Chicks to return to South High School for the remaining two years of their existence. The last baseball game played at Bigelow Field was on July 16th, 1952.

During World War II, Major League Baseball was diminished due to many players being drafted and enlisting to go to war. This led to the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Bigelow Field in Wyoming, Michigan, was the home of the AAGPBL's team the Grand Rapids Chicks. It was also the site of a variety of other entertainment and sports exhibitions in its brief history, including midget car racing, hymn sings, circuses, and fireworks displays.

Bigelow Field

Lindstrom Field, once located on Portage Street, was the
original home of the Kalamazoo Lassies, a team of the AAGPBL from 1950 to 1954.
Moving to Kalamazoo in the middle of the 1950 season from Muskegon, the Lassies
would wear their former uniforms for their first year in Kalamazoo. The Lassies
would later move from this field to the Catholic Athletic Association Field. Now
the area where the ballpark once stood is a business district.

The original home of the AAGPBL team, the Kalamazoo Lassies, upon moving from Muskegon in 1950.

Lindstrom Field

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John W.
Bailey Park has been a home for baseball since 1895. An 80-acre park, the
modern area holds 3 baseball diamonds (including CO Brown Stadium), 2 softball
diamonds, 4 sand volleyball courts, 12 shuffleboard courts, and several
playgrounds. The park was home to the Stan Musial World Series for nearly 60
years. Due to the efforts of C.O. Brown and Arch Flannery, Battle Creek held
its first National Amateur Baseball Championship Series in 1937. Championship
baseball was brought back to Battle Creek in 2014 for the 100th
Anniversary of the National Amateur Baseball Federation. Bailey Park also is
home to Michigan’s largest outdoor sports bar.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bailey Park
has hosted many minor league baseball teams with varying affiliates. Affiliates
from the Astros, Red Sox, Rays (the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays), and (Battle
Creek) Yankees have all had teams in Battle Creek, though the last professional
affiliate left in 2006. The Battle Creek Bombers, a Northwood League Collegiate
team, has called C.O. Stadium home since 2007. The Battle Creek Belles, an
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team, also called Bailey Park
home for its two years in Michigan, 1951 and 1952. The Belles moved from Racine
for the 1951 season and would play their final season, 1953, in Muskegon.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the
early years of baseball in Bailey Park, several teams and professional players
made their way through Battle Creek. In 1935, the Iowa Prison Industries (IPI) fielded
a team in Michigan. Fort Custer and Hall Drug would also have teams, and players
such as Babe Ruth would do work in the area. Joseph Ferrari, a prominent name
in Battle Creek Baseball, would win the Stan Musial title with his team in
1986. The Battle Creek Buds would also beat the Portland Rockets in 2010 to win
another title for Michigan.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1990,
C.O. Brown Stadium, with a capacity of 6200, was erected in Bailey Park to
provide a new venue for baseball in Battle Creek. With similarities to the
Bailey Park that the Belles played in 1951 and 1952, this stadium has an older
look to it than others of its time. This stadium is still in use today.

This ballpark was home to the Battle Creek Belles, an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team, for the duration of its time in Battle Creek, 1951-1952. Though the stadium no longer stands, its place in John W. Bailey Park places it in a unique baseball history. CO Brown Stadium is now the main baseball stadium in the park and currently is the home of the Battle Creek Bombers.

Bailey Park (John W. Bailey Park)

Memorial Park is a 42-acre area that
was dedicated to the service men and women that lost their lives in World War
I. Formerly known as the “golfing grounds,” Ms. Minnie Hill White purchased the
land just eighteen days after the armistice ending the First World War was
signed. The park today houses events for the entire community and the baseball
field once housed the home of the Fort Wayne Daisies, an All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League. Today, the park is known for its commemorative statues
of WWI, including the one honoring Art Smith, a Fort Wayne resident and
aviation pioneer, known for the origination of skywriting.

The Fort Wayne Daisies
formed in 1945&nbsp;after the dissolving of the Minneapolis Millerettes in
1944. The team was in existence until the AAGPBL's disbanding after the 1954
season. The Daisies, along with other teams in the AAGPBL were formed by
Phillip K Wrigley of Wrigley Chewing Gum fame during World War II. This was to
keep the American people's spirit of baseball alive with so many men overseas
fighting in the war. 
 
The team had a strong first season in 1945, where they played at North Side High
School Field,&nbsp;finishing second in the league. In 1946, they moved to
Memorial Park for the remainder of their playing days. In 1952, after a few
lackluster seasons, they received the AAGPBL pendent and did for the remainder
of the League’s existence (winning in 1952, 1953, &amp; 1954). This was in
large part credited to the sister duo Betty Foss and Joanne Weaver who were the
star players of those seasons. 
 
The Fort Wayne Daisies acquired many awards during their tenure. Foss and
Weaver won two player of the year awards as well as the final five batting championships
of the league. The team also earned six batting crowns, which set a league
record. Unfortunately, the team was not able to win a championship title.

Memorial Park was the location of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League team the Fort Wayne Daises. The Daises played their games at Memorial Park from 1946 to 1954. During the Fort Wayne Daises first season in 1945 they played their games at what is now the North Side High School Field in Fort Wayne, IN. Memorial Park is still being used as a public park in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the baseball field is still in use today.

Memorial Park-Fort Wayne Daises

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Opened in
1927, North Side High School has been an institution of education that has
promoted diversity and higher learning. Designed by Charles R. Weatherhogg, the
high school’s grounds also house most of their athletic complexes. The Fort
Wayne Pistons, a team from the Basketball Association of America (a precursor
of the National Basketball Association) was housed in their gym from 1948 to
1952.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The
football field, currently home to the North Side Redskins football team, housed
the Fort Wayne Daisies for their 1945 season. Moving from Minneapolis, where
they were the Millerettes in 1944, to Fort Wayne, the Daisies called North Side
home for their first year of play. They would move to Memorial Park in 1946,
where they would play until the League folded in 1954.

North Side High School has been home to education since 1927 and has housed several professional teams, including the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the Fort Wayne Pistons of the Basketball Association of America. While the North Side Redskins primarily use their field for high school football now, it held a single season of professional baseball in 1945, when the Daisies were introduced to Fort Wayne.

North Side High School Field

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the
1880s, a streetcar company, Northern Indiana Railway, purchased the Playland
Park area to establish a terminal to shuttle commuters from South Bend to
Mishawka. This land ran along the south of the St. Joeseph River from Ironwood
Drive to Lincoln Way East. Taking advantage of the land, the company opened
Springbrook Park in 1899. The amusement park would grow in popularity through
the years and eventually be purchased by Earl “Pete” Redden in 1925. Redden
would later hold a contest that would change the name to Playland Park and
continued to grow the amusement park and the range of entertainment that the
park provided. Due to several factors, the park would close its doors in 1960
and go through several changes in the coming decades. A golf course and
mini-golf course would take hold in the 1960s and last into the 1980s before
the land was purchased by Indiana University in the 1990s. In 2008, the
Riverside Crossing Student Housing of Indiana University South Bend would open
its doors on this land.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Playland
Park hosted an array of entertainment in the years that it survived. The first
baseball game played here occurred in 1896 with the first night game played
under portable lights happened in 1904. The baseball park here would also host
the South Bend Blue Sox, a team of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League, from 1946 to 1954. This is one of only two teams that would survive all 12 seasons the League existed (the Rockford Peaches&nbsp;being&nbsp;the other).&nbsp;The Blue Sox won the 1951 pennant at Playland Park
and would bring home the 1951 and 1952 championships while calling this park
home. In 1952, Playland Park also hosted South Bend’s only NASCAR race at the
converted horse track which brought in 3700 spectators. While the amusement
park hosted attractions such as a music hall and four rollercoasters, one of
its main spectacles was a merry-go-round that had been imported from Germany.

Playland Park was a multipurpose amusement park that appeared in the 1880s to supply entertainment for local residents, including baseball, a dance hall, horseracing, a NASCAR race, and an amusement park.

Playland Park (Springbrook Park)

The History Museum in South Bend, Indiana opened in 1867 as the Northern Indiana Historical Society at the St. Joseph County Courthouse. Since its inception, The History Museum has gathered extensive archives regarding the community and holds the national archives of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. In 1988, Copshaholm and the Oliver Mansion were acquired by the museum. The Oliver Mansion was the home of John Oliver and his family and was constructed in 1896. The museum today sits on 10 acres of land, and in 1994 the museum moved to the facility they currently reside in, which is on the Copshaholm property. Guided tours of Copshaholm, the Oliver Mansion, and the mansion’s Worker’s Home are available daily.

The Kid’s First Children’s Museum, the Navarre Cabin, the Historic Oliver Gardens, and a permanent All-American Girls Professional Baseball League exhibit are also available at The History Museum. A goal of The History Museum is to provide fascinating presentations of the people and life of the St. Joseph River Valley area. The History Museum covers the area’s history from the prehistoric era to the present time. Located in the Historic District, The History Museum is also in the Museum District of South Bend and is next door to the Studebaker National Museum.

Copshaholm, also known as the Oliver Mansion, is a 38-room mansion built by Charles Alonzo Rich. The Oliver Family lived in the mansion for 72 years and all the original furnishings are still in the three-story structure. Joseph Oliver was the president of the Oliver Chilled Pillow Works, which was founded by his father and the inventor of the chilled pillow. The gardens on the property are currently being restored to what they would have looked like in 1915 and the mansion and its property are registered with the National Register of Historic Places and as an American Treasure. The Worker’s Home, also located on the property and built in the 1870s, moved to the property in 1907 and had residents into the mid-1980s. The house was moved to its current spot in 1992 and celebrates the ethnic diversity of the area, as it was known as Dom Robotnika, a Polish phrase referring to its status as a worker’s home.

The Navarre Cabin, located in Leeper Park, is also an asset of The History Museum. This is the oldest struggle in northern Indiana and was built by Pierre Navarre, a fur trader and the first permanent European settler of the area. The cabin was set on piers after its restoration in 2006 and is used as a tool to interpret pioneer settlement. The Navarre Cabin was opened during “Cabin Days” in South Bend, which is an annual school program in October.

The History Museum is also home of the Bendix Reading Room and the Vincent Bendix Research Library’s archival collections. Research topics that are covered in The History Museum’s archives include local history, Native American history, items related to the Oliver family, items related to area business and civic groups, and the records of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. All of these subjects often have corresponding exhibits on display in the museum.

The museum opened in 1867, in the St. Joseph County Courthouse, and moved to its current location, a mansion that was constructed in 1896, during the 1990s. The museum holds the national archives for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and focuses on the local history of northern Indiana and South Bend. The History Museum has been previously known as the Northern Indiana Historical Society and the Northern Indiana Center for History. 

The History Museum, South Bend

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bendix
Field, which was located in the vicinity of the South Bend International
Airport, was a ballpark that housed two well-known teams from the time period
of its existence, the Bendix Brakes, of the manufacturing softball leagues, and
the South Bend Blue Sox, of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League. The earliest evidence of this field dates back to the 1930s and its
latest use to the 1950s, as the ballpark does not exist today. The ballpark was located on Westmoor St&nbsp;at the far west end of the Bendix Corporation property. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Though, in the 1930s and early 1940s,
Bendix Corporation, an aerospace company,&nbsp;sponsored the Brakes as part of the Amateur Softball
Association. The all-male manufacturing team would be a force to be reckoned with. In 1940, the would be runner-up for the champion title in New York. The team would win the world championship in 1941, though,&nbsp;and be
disbanded the next year due to Bendix terminating their sponsorship to focus on
WWII. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The South Bend Blue Sox would call this field home&nbsp;at the beginning of
the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League beginning in 1943, when
they would win the League’s first pennant. Averaging 2000 spectators a game and
10,000 during special events, the Blue Sox would move to Playland Park in 1946
to accommodate the crowds and remain there for the duration of the League.

Bendix Field was a baseball field that hosted several teams in the 1930s and 40s, including the Bendix Brakes and the South Bend Blue Sox.

Bendix Field

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lanphier
Ball Park was constructed in 1925, as Reservoir Park, and operated as a
baseball venue until it was closed in 1949. In 1978, it was reopened after
renovations and renamed Robin Roberts Stadium, after the Hall of Famer who was
from Springfield. From 1932 to 2001, several professional teams have called
Lanphier home, including the Browns, Senators, Cardinals, Redbirds, Giants,
Sultans, and Capitals. The Springfield Sallies, an All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League team, would call the stadium home in 1948 before
becoming a traveling team in 1949 and 1950. Satchel Paige, Robin Roberts, and
Dick Schofield have all played on this field. In 1958, Springfield High School
would play at the park to win their district championship.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Professional
baseball would leave the stadium in 2001 when the Springfield Capitals moved to
Rockford, Illinois. While it has hosted teams from the Frontier League, the
Midwest League, the Pony League, and the American Legion Leagues, the state of
the park and its location make it unsuitable for professional play now. Though
it received a new playing surface in 2006, the stadium has not gone under
renovations since 2001 and the scoreboard is in disrepair. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Still, the
stadium is continued to be used. The Springfield Sliders, a collegiate summer
team calls the stadium home. The Benedictine Bulldogs of Benedictine University
also play their games at Robin Roberts. Several annual baseball tournaments are
also held at the stadium, including the State Journal Register Baseball
Classic.

This field has hosted numerous teams over the years including the Springfield Sallies, Browns, Senators, Cardinals, Redbirds, Giants, Sultans, and Capitals. It is currently the home of the Springfield Sliders and the Benedictine University Bulldogs. The stadium was originally constructed in 1925, and had major renovations in 1977. The last renovation of the field was in 2006, and to the stadium was 2001.

Lanphier Ball Park (Robin Roberts Stadium)

Peoria
Stadium, located in Peoria Illinois, is unique compared to other high school
stadiums and is almost certainly the oldest in central Illinois. 30 years ago
it was considered one of the best stadiums in the state but today the future of
this old athletic complex is a source of controversy and debate. Today, this
stadium is anything but premier as new fields are equipped with synthetic all-weather
turf that can handle soccer, football, and other school activities without
worrying about the grass being damaged. The Stadium is in possession of the
Peoria School District and is shared between three high schools for football
and other school events. The debate is whether to sell the stadium and the
surrounding land or to update the stadium and continue to use it for football
games. The problem lies in the financial aspects of maintenance and upkeep and
the high cost of repairs needed to revamp the property. Considering that the
stadium is a part of not only Peoria history but American history as well, it
is suspected that it will be refurbished and prepared for future use. &nbsp;

Nearly 70 years ago, Peoria Stadium was home of the Peoria Redwings. The Redwings
were a women’s professional baseball team that represented Peoria, Illinois.
This team joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL)
in 1946 and became the ninth team out of twelve teams to enter into the
league. The AAGPBL was established by Phillip Wrigley and existed from
1943-1954. There were over 600 women who played and in 1948 league attendance was
over 900,000.

The Redwings had a shaky start in
their opening season in 1946 going 33-79. The team showed improvement in 1947
going 54-57 and finishing in fifth place in the eight-team contest, but the most productive
season was in 1948 when they finished 71-55 and placed third in the division
and fourth overall. These placements earned the team a spot in the playoffs,
however, they lost to the Racine Belles in three straight games. 1948 would be the Redwing’s only winning season.&nbsp; The Redwings were forced to drop out of the league in 1951 due to
financial struggles and finished with a .428 overall winning percentage. &nbsp;

Some well-known Redwing players included:
pitchers- Doris Bar, Dorothy Mueller and Mary Nesbitt; infielders- Margaret
Callaghan, Betty Mckenna and Dorothy Stolze; and&nbsp;outfielders- Eleanor Callow,
Thelma Eisen and Mary Reynolds. Eisen and Reynolds would eventually serve as players/managers
for the team.

Peoria Stadium, located in Peoria Illinois, was home of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team the Peoria Redwings. Established in 1946, the Redwings were the ninth team of twelve to enter the league and were in the league for six of the twelve years it existed. Due to financial struggles, the Redwings dropped out of the league in 1951 and were completely split up by 1954. The stadium itself, now owned by the Peoria School District, is a source of controversy among officials who are debating whether to sell it or continue to use it for local football games. 

Peoria Stadium

The All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL)&nbsp;operated from 1943 to 1954. The
AAGPBL lasted long past 1945, when&nbsp;the end of World War II led to a resumption of
normal life in the United States. The impetus of the league was a way for team
owners&nbsp;to generate revenue-especially teams in small
cities as&nbsp;many minor league teams saw many of their players
leaving baseball during the war years to&nbsp;serve&nbsp;n the military. Despite expectations, the league continued
for nearly a decade after the war owing to the quality of baseball and the
creative talents of league promoters.&nbsp; 
 
The Chicago Colleens were one of the ten teams
listed on the 1948 season AAGPBL roster.&nbsp;They&nbsp;were members of the
Eastern Division and were managed by the former National League professional
player Dave Bancroft aka "Beauty". Unfortunately for Bancroft, the&nbsp;Colleens were one&nbsp;of the worst teams in the
league, finishing with a losing record of 47-76. As a result, the&nbsp;Colleens and the Springfield Sallies (another losing
club) functioned as&nbsp;rookie development teams that traveled around the
country playing each other and other teams&nbsp;in exhibition games. These teams
toured in both 1949 and 1950 and primarily traveled in the South and East areas
of the United States.&nbsp;Many official lists ignore both teams after
1948,&nbsp;but their existence in the league remained until 1950.4&nbsp; 
 
These exhibition teams were used as a way to
market the AAGPBL beyond the upper Midwest where most AAGPBL teams were located. These teams were used not just to&nbsp;train new rookie
recruits and give them experience in the league, but to show other areas of
the&nbsp;United States that women were in fact playing baseball. Like other
AAGPBL teams, the&nbsp;athletes&nbsp;were expected to play well, but also present themselves as
"proper women," &nbsp;- they all attended charm school and followed&nbsp;strict rules of&nbsp;etiquette.1 
 
Fran Janssen stated in her interview with Jim
Sargent, ”We traveled more than 10,000 miles in 1949 from Illinois to Texas,
across the Gulf states and up to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We played in
minor league parks in Tulsa and Baltimore, as well as in city parks, and we
drew good crowds.. We rarely spent more than two nights in a town. We had to
make fast trips."&nbsp;Fran&nbsp;estimated that the team played in about fifty&nbsp;cities from New York to&nbsp;Florida and&nbsp;throughout Midwest and Southern states
in their first year as a traveling team. 
 
Former player Patricia L Brown commented in her
book, "A League of My Own," that by 1950, the team played more than
100 games in the U.S. in Canada, playing in a range of fields from poorly
managed recreational fields to minor league parks.&nbsp; 
 
The team was managed by Major League Hall of Fame
shortstop,&nbsp;Dave Bancroft.&nbsp;From 1924 to 1927 Bancroft managed the
Braves but only managed&nbsp;a 249-363 record before losing his job. He found work once again as a&nbsp;player-manager for the next few years before becoming a
full-time manager for&nbsp;minor league teams such as
the&nbsp;Minneapolis Millers of the American Association (1933), his
hometown&nbsp;Sioux City Cowboys (1936),&nbsp;and the St. Cloud Rox (1947). The
following year he became the manager of the Colleens.&nbsp;5&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Although&nbsp;many attribute the end of the war as the reason
for the league's demise, the attendance peak occurred after the war's end; the
league's ten&nbsp;teams&nbsp;collectively&nbsp;drew 910,000 fans in 1948. Thus,
there existed an appreciation of women's baseball that went beyond
"filling the void of men leaving for war." &nbsp;The league ended in
1954 due to many factors, such as&nbsp;decentralization&nbsp;of the league and
a recession that prevented money being spent for&nbsp;promotion.&nbsp;6 
 
After the Colleens left, the field was used
for&nbsp;serious&nbsp;sporting functions.&nbsp;Today, Shewbridge Field is known&nbsp;Amos Alonzo Stagg
Stadium, named for the famous University of Chicago&nbsp;football coach. Stagg
played football at Yale before coaching in Massachusetts at an&nbsp;institution
that&nbsp;grew into Springfield College.&nbsp;James Naismith was mentored by
coach Stagg, and would go on to become the inventor of basketball. In
1892,&nbsp;Stagg was hired by the University of Chicago&nbsp;to develop courses
in physical&nbsp;education&nbsp;and also develop the university's football
team. 
 
Although the University of Chicago later&nbsp;discontinued its football&nbsp;team in order to concentrate their
resources on academics,&nbsp;Stagg built the University of Chicago into one of
the greatest football&nbsp;powerhouses
in the first decades of the 20th century. Stagg complied a record of&nbsp;242-112-27 while at the University of
Chicago and&nbsp;led the Maroons to seven Big Ten Conference championships.
During these years, Stagg developed many features of the game that increased
its popularity among fans, such as the lateral pass and the reverse. He also
created tackling dummies so that players could perfect their technique without
suffering as many injuries. Stagg's influence on the game of football was so
significant that&nbsp;Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne once claimed
that&nbsp;"all football comes from Stagg."

Although now a high school athletic field, in 1948 this field served as the home to the All American Girls Professional Baseball Team, the Chicago Colleens. At that time, the ballpark was known as Shewbridge Field. The This is the location of Shewbridge Field where the Chicago Colleens All American Girls Professional Baseball League team played their games in 1948. The Chicago Colleens played their first season at Shewbridge Field. The remainder of the team's history was spent as a traveling team. Although the Colleens never competed for a championship, they worked to promote the league throughout the United States while providing a credible demonstration that women could play competitive baseball. 

Chicago Colleens-Shewbridge Field (Amos A. Stagg Stadium)

Responding to the wartime demand for competitive baseball,&nbsp;Phillip Wrigley decided to create a women's baseball league. In 1943, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League was established with&nbsp;four teams, the Racine Belles of Racine, Wisconsin. The Kenosha Comets of Kenosha, Wisconsin. The South Bend Blue Sox of South Bend, Indiana and the Rockford Peaches of Rockford, Illinois. The league expanded in later years, holding as many as 12 teams in 1950, hosted in 14 Midwestern cities. The Peaches were one of&nbsp;the league's most popular and successful&nbsp;teams.Many talented athletes played for the Peaches and led them to championships in&nbsp;&nbsp;1945,1948, 1949 and 1950. Considered one of the best players in the league Dorothy Kamenshek played for the Rockford Peaches. She played ten seasons with them and proved to be very talented. She was voted All-Star first baseman in 1943 as well as 1946-1951. Originally from Norwood, Ohio Kramenshek traveled to Chicago to try-out for the AAGPBL. There were many other great players who played along side Kramenshek who represent the league as a whole.The Rockford Peaches established a love for the game and proved to everyone that baseball would not die in America. As the league continued until 1954, it had a major impact on many Americans even after the men were home from war. The AAGPBL was a way for women to show how talented they could be at a so called male sport. The league continued to grow by 1950 12 teams participated in the league. The Peaches however participated in all 12 seasons.For many years the&nbsp;only part of Beyer Stadium that still existed was&nbsp;the ticket booth, with a sign on the top reading "Home of the Peaches" and a plaque reading the same. On August 29, 2015, Beyer Stadium was reopened and rededicated to the Rockford Peaches with a statue and a new sign. Two former Rockford players were present for the dedication and the city hopes many new sports memories will be made at the field, where the Rockford Peaches and the AAGPBL will forever be remembered and celebrated.

The All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was established in 1943 with the Rockford Peaches as one of the four original teams. Beyer Stadium was home to the Peaches from 1943-1954, the same years as the league itself. The stadium's ticket booth has been preserved and continues to stand at this location, as well as a plaque that commemorates both the Rockford Peaches and the AAGPBL.

Beyer Stadium-Home of the Rockford Peaches

Lakefront once stood on the shores of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Now a marina, it is unclear when it stopped being used. The Kenosha Comets, an AAGPBL team, played their inaugural season there in 1943. They would call Lakefront Stadium home until 1947 before moving to Simmons Field in 1948 where they would remain until the team folded. In 1953, Joe Louis, a professional boxer, would hold his training session here in preparation for a title fight.

Home of the Kenosha Comets, of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, from 1943 to 1947. 


Lakefront Stadium

Horlick Athletic Field was established in 1919<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">1</a>
in honor of William Horlick, a millionaire with humanitarian interests: he also
developed malted milk, a nutrient-enriched product, and invested substantial
amounts of his fortune in developing hospitals and promoting polar exploration.
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">2</a>
Horlick Field has been home to both baseball and football teams. In the
beginning, Horlick Field hosted the team that would later be known as the Green
Bay Packers. Eventually, as men were sent to war and women began to step into
their roles at home, including major sports – this led to the birth of the
Racine Belles, another noteworthy team to call the Horlick Field home.3

The Racine Belles was a strong team that distinguished
itself in multiple ways, including winning a Championship equivalent to the
Major League World Series.<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">4</a>
Key players included Joanne Winter, Mary Nesbitt, Irene Hickson, and Mickey
Macguire.5&nbsp;Although the film depicts a fictionalized version of history, A League of Their Own features the
Racine Belles matched against the Rockfield Peaches for the 1943 World Series.<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">6</a>

While the Racine Belles only played through 1950, the Field
was used for other purposes after their retirement. Horlick Field has also been
used for the local drum and bugle corps.7&nbsp;The field still stands today, although it’s infrequently used by modern teams.8<div><div>

</div>

</div>

The Horlick Field is a long-standing athletic field established in the early part of the 20th century. The Field was home to numerous teams from different sports over its decades of operation, including baseball and NFL football teams. Notably, beginning in 1943 they were home to the Racine Belles, one of the teams featured in the film A League of Their Own, and part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. 

Horlick Field

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Originally
known as Athletic Park, Borchert field housed a major league baseball team
until 1891, a negro league team in 1923, an All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League team in 1944, the minor league Milwaukee Brewers from 1902 to
1952, and the National Football League Milwaukee Badgers (1922-1926) and Green
Bay Packers (1933). The land to Athletic Park was purchased by the minor league
ball park in 1888, doubling the value of the land around the park. Due to the
odd, rectangular shape of the field, however, spectators in the grandstands could
not see the entire field. The original park held up to 10,000 fans, though few
depictions of the original stadium remain, and the renovated park held
approximately 18,000. Athletic Park underwent no major alterations after 1910,
except for the installation of lights in 1935. The park was renamed Borchert
Field after the untimely death of the owner in 1927. By the 1940s, Borchert
Field was oldest park in the American Association, and the Milwaukee Brewers
would find a new home at County Stadium after their lease expired in 1952.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The
Milwaukee Brewers, a prominent minor league team in the American Association,
would open Athletic Park against the St. Paul Saints in 1888. They would play
their games at this stadium until 1891. Other minor league teams would use the
stadium until 1894 and local events would be held through 1896 before the area
was converted to drill grounds for the local national guard. In 1902 the owner
of the land would rebuild Athletic Park, creating the basic form it would have
until 1952. The Milwaukee Brewers would leave Borchert in 1952 for County
Stadium, but eventually relocate to Toledo due to the arrival of the Milwaukee
Braves.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Several
other professional baseball teams would call Borchert home throughout its
tenure as the longest-lasting ballpark in Milwaukee. The Negro National League
Bears would use Athletic Park in 1923 for several months before becoming a
road-only team and eventually disbanding due to lack of press and low
attendance. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League would also
house a team here for the 1944 season, but would move them in 1945 for similar
reasons.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The
Milwaukee Chicks, an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team, were
the Leeague’s 1944 champions. Known as one-year wonders, the Chicks would
provide one of only three major titles for Milwaukee sports in its only season
in Wisconsin. Due to play-off games being held by the Brewers at Borchert in
1944, the Milwaukee Chicks would win their championship at Lakefront Stadium,
playing 7 away games against the Kenosha Comets. Without the support of the
locals, the champion Chicks would move to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1945, where
the team would remain until the League disbanded in 1945.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Borchert
Field would be the location of many local events including State Fairs, car
shows, concerts, and rodeos. The stadium would also host boxing and wrestling
events. Due to its long tenure as a baseball stadium, hosting several teams,
players such as Babe Ruth, Johnny Legend, and Hank Aaron all made appearances
at Athletic Park. Torn down in 1952 when the Milwaukee Brewers left, a
playground replaced the field until 1963. The area now holds the busy I-43.

Borchert Field, once known as Athletic Park, was home to several minor and major league baseball teams, two National Football League teams, and several events throughout its tenure in Milwaukee from 1888 to 1952. The park was demolished in 1952 after the lease to the Milwaukee Brewers expired and they moved to County Stadium. Borchert Park was replaced with a playground until 1963, when I-43’s construction was finished, changing the area that the field once stood on.

Borchert Field (Athletic Park)

Nicollet Park was hastily constructed in three weeks in 1896 to house the Minneapolis Millers, who had been given a 30-day notice to leave Athletic Park, their former home, due to the land it stood on being sold. That very year, 1896, would be the first year the Millers would win the Western League pennant. Nicollet would house this team, and many others, for the next 60 years, being the site where several future Hall of Famers would play and the place where folk-lore was born. This field would be the site of 4,800 wins for Millers fans and would grow too small for the crowds, forcing the Millers to move to Bloomington Park (later Metropolitan Stadium) in 1956 after winning the Junior World Series in 1955. The park would be torn down later in that championship year, and a bank would be constructed in 1957. A commemorative marker for the field would not be erected in 1983.After becoming a charter member of the American Association, the ballpark would gain a new look over the next ten years. The main grandstand was rebuilt before the beginning of the 1909 season, resulting in a necessary move of the press box and players' benches. The third and first base bleachers were also renovated, becoming a covered grandstands. Following the 1911 season, an additional grandstand was added along with a new ornamental red roof supported with iron columns and increased capacity. The capacity doubled rising to approximately 10,000. This was only the beginning of the many renovations and all the history made at this ballpark.    Nicollet Park would house the rivalry of the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints in conjunction with St. Paul’s Lexington Park. Hosting two of the best teams in American Association baseball history, these games were highly competitive. The Millers and the Saints would meet 22 games a season, including double-headers on three holidays each year, with a game in the morning in Minneapolis and a game in the evening in St. Paul. These rivalry games would help to break attendance records in Nicollet Park year after year.    Notable pieces of history were born at Nicollet Park. General Mills would first release their “Breakfast for Champions” slogan for Wheaties at the park in 1933, where a child could purchase a baseball ticket for two Wheaties box tops and a dime. Nicollet would also be the place where folk-lore states Andy Oyler hit a two-foot home run, though evidence of Oyler’s only home run as a Miller does not record this odd spectacle. Several future Hall of Famers would also play as Millers, including Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Ray Dandridge, and Babe Ruth. The Millers’ opening day in 1948 would also be one of the first events ever televised in Minnesota.Willie Mays' career with the Millers wasn't long lived, only playing less than a season before advancing to the major leagues with the New York Giants. Mays averaged a .477 in 35 games and was acknowledged for his excellent defense. In his debut game, Mays was under the impression the game was canceled due to snow. But to his surprise, the tiny field was cleared of snow using a helicopter and the game went on. With Mays' skills, the Millers went on to beat the Columbus Red Birds 11-0. Two months later, Mays was in New York playing for the Giants.    The National Football League would house two teams in Nicollet Park in the 1920s and early 1930s. Both the Minneapolis Marines and the Minneapolis Red Jackets would play home games at the park. Nicollet would also house prize fights throughout its time as a sports venue.    In 1944, Nicollet Park would also become the home of a women’s professional baseball team. The Minneapolis Millerettes of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League would play their only season in the League at Nicollet. Managed by Claude Jonnard, a former New York Giant and Toledo Mud Hen, the Millerettes would have a difficult year and finish last in the six-team league. Due to long road trips and small crowds, the Millerettes spent most of their 1944 season on the road. Still, several notable All-Americans played for the team. Helen Callaghan, whose son would play in the major leagues, was their leading hitter, and Annabelle Lee, the aunt of Bill “the Spaceman” Lee, would pitch the League’s first perfect game as a Millerette in 1944. At the end of the 1944 season, the Minneapolis Millerettes would move to Fort Wayne and become the Daisies, playing from 1945 until the League folded in 1954. The Fort Wayne Daisies would become one of the most successful teams to play for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Nicollet Ball Park was located just outside of Minneapolis and was used from 1896 to 1955 by several professional sports teams. Known mostly for being the home of the Minneapolis Millers, the Park also housed several other baseball teams, including the Minneapolis Millerettes of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and held prize fighting events and football games. It was destroyed in 1955 after the Millers moved to Bloomington Park for their 1956 season.

A League of their Own: Former Ballparks from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Simmons Field

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information