All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: Difference between revisions

When the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was unable to continue in 1955, its history and its significance were forgotten by baseball historians. Many people in the 1950s thought that women were not supposed to play baseball, so most female athletes competed on other fields of endeavor. Finally, in 1980, former pitcher [[June Peppas]] launched a newsletter project to get in touch with friends, teammates, and opponents that resulted in the league's first reunion in [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]] in 1982. The Players Association was formed after a 1986 Reunion held in Fort Wayne as part of Run, Jane, Run, a local Women's Bureau event. Historian and Baseball card publisher Sharon Roepke (author of ''Diamond Gals'') who was circulating a petition to get the Baseball Hall of Fame to recognize the All American Girls Baseball League asked the players at the Reunion to organize to help the effort. A meeting was held at the South Bend home of Fran Janssen, and the Player's Association was born. June Peppas was nominated President.<ref>Minutes of AAGPBL origin meeting; personal recollection of participant Sharon Roepke</ref>. The current President is Richard Chapman, son of player [[Dorothy Maguire]]. Membership is now offered to players, staff members, and descendants.