When Women Played Hardball

By Susan E. Johnson

Book Overview

"Susan Johnson has created a literary grand slam "--Billie Jean King

The years between 1943 and 1954 marked the magical era of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--which proved beyond doubt that women can play hardball. With skill and style, more than 500 women took to the baseball diamonds of the Midwest, dazzling fans and becoming a visible and supported part of our national pastime. In the words of "Tiby" Eisen, leadoff batter for the Fort Wayne Daisies: "We played ball just like the big boys, we broke up double plays with spikes held high and we stole bases in our skirts. We did whatever it took to win."

Among those cheering was ten-year-old Susan Johnson, a loyal fan of the Rockford Peaches. Four decades later she has gone back to meet her girlhood heroines and remember a sensational baseball series: the 1950 championship between the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches and the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Daisies--two of the League's most winning and dynamic teams. Filled with colorful stories and anecdotes by the women who played in that spectacular series, When Women Played Hardball offers an entertaining look at the culture the league created--and the society it reflected. This is a story about memories, about dreams fulfilled and dreams denied. It is a celebration of a brief yet remarkable period when women truly had "A League of Their Own."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1878067435
• ISBN13: 9781878067432
• Release Date: March 1994
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Play Ball!!!

I feel cheated!!! I was born too late to have been an eye-witness to these remarkable women in baseball! Along with the Cooperstown recognition as well as the movie, "A League of Their Own", it is just not right that these wonderful athletes have not been given even more credit for proving to so many fans, men and women alike, that there is just cause for having a Professional Women's Baseball League today. Susan E. Johnson gives the reader the heartwarming stories of day-to-day life in the AAGPBL. She brings to life the individual women who played their hearts out whether for one season or many providing a glimpse of what it was really like to live the life of a Rockford Peach or Fort Wayne Daisie or one of dozens of other teams. Readers will end the book envious of the lives led by these remarkable women and ask why there isn't a similar league today (though a few major adjustments might be in order regarding the uniform and social rules and regulations). God Bless each and every one of these women for their contribution to the All American Girls Professional Baseball League and to Susan E. Johnson for taking the time and effort to share her stories with those of us who didn't know there really was a league of women athletes who could run circles around many of their male counterparts in baseball! Johnson provides statistics not only for individual players but for the teams in general and doesn't hesitate to compare such detail against the men's teams. There are quite a few instances when these women athletes exceed their male counterparts - a remarkable achievement in many ways but sadly not known to the general public. The reader instinctively knows the author relishes sharing the details behind the history of the AAGPBL, the managers, the fans, the women themselves as it is learned early on in the book that she was a young fan of these ball players (Rockford Peaches) and seldom missed a home game. Her enthusiasm is easily transferred to the reader. The league eventually ended in 1954 but the spirit remains alive through the continued efforts of former players and their families and fans. For anyone that enjoys the sport of baseball, that enjoys particularly the sport of Women's baseball, or for anyone really curious about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the real women behind the league, you'll love this book and find yourself thirsting for more!

Great AAGPBL book

Susan Johnson leaves nothing out in her account of the 1950 playoffs series between the Rockford Peaches and Ft. Wayne Daisies. Well written with the lively enthusiam that could only be brought to the pages by an actual fan of the teams written about, Johnson's book not only gives a solid history of the entire league, but also gives a highly detailed account of particular players and games during one season. A must have book for AAGPBL enthusiasts.

Probably the Best of AAGBPL Books

While Lois Browne's "The Girls Of Summer" is perhaps the most complete history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, this book is the most personal account due to Ms. Johnson's own fandom of the early 1950's. It's an extremely well-done book interpolating Ms. Johnson's text with interviews of former AAGBPL players and contemporary newspaper game accounts of the 1950 league championship series. While Browne's book (and others) are a little more academic in their approach to the subject, this is the one that really gives readers the best "feel" for what it was like for women to play baseball 50-60 years ago. Parents considering buying this for their children should note that there is a little more emphasis on player sexuality in this book than the others, but that detracts little from the overall effort. I've read four or five books on the AAGPBL, and would consider this the best of them (with Browne's book a solid second).

Wonderful Read About Women Who Played Baseball

I just read this book, and was surprised by how moved I was by the story of the history of women's baseball! The interviews with the former players were both humorous and touching, and framed an outstanding portrait of a unique, and practically forgotten, era. I hope a lot of young women read this book, as it is quite an inspiration.