The All-American Girls After the AAGPBL: How Playing Pro Ball Shaped Their Lives by Kat D. Williams (review)

In The All-American Girls After the AAGPBL: How Playing Pro Ball Shaped Their Lives, Kat D. Williams examines the how the experience of participating in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s and 1950s impacted the lives of the 600 players after the league ended. Playing in the league offered the women independence as well-paid professional athletes. Their time in the league led to new opportunities after their playing days and a new confidence about themselves.

There are numerous books published about the leagues, teams, and players of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Previous books covered the origins of the league, the statistics, oral histories, and autobiographies. Kat Williams moves the story from the baseball diamond to the life of the players after the AAGPBL and how playing professional baseball changed the lives of those women who participated in the league. Studies have shown how sport can positively impact athletes and the players of the AAGPBL show that to be true.

The author divides the book into six chapters, which include topics such as economic benefits, travel and diversity, military service and patriotism, the legacy of the players, the women reconnecting in the 1980s, and the next generation. Each chapter includes an overview of the topic and then the experiences of the women who played. Williams includes the voices of the players throughout the text as well as photos.

In chapter one, Williams connects the women who played in the AAGPBL to the opportunities being a professional baseball player provided them. The women earned $45–$85 per week on average. That income provided the means for the players to help their families financially. The earnings also allowed many of the women to earn college and professional degrees including associate, bachelors, law, and doctoral degrees. One study referenced by the author noted that 35% the AAGPBL players earned college degrees (higher than the national average of 8.2%) and 14% earned graduate degrees. Even if they did not earn a degree, many of the women gained a sense of independence that would impact their views about various aspects of their personal lives, including marriage and work.

Many athletes travel regularly for their competitions. The women of the AAGPBL were no exception. Many players who had grown up during the Great Depression did not have the opportunities to travel. They first left home to join their teams and then traveled by bus to play other teams during the regular season. Williams describes that most games were in the Midwest, but notes the AAGPBL also played in the American South, the Northeast, and Canada. The women also played spring training in Cuba and some played exhibition games in Latin America.

In January 1942, Major League Baseball Commission Kenesaw Mountain Landis asked President Roosevelt if baseball should continue for the duration of the war. Roosevelt affirmed that it should as it would be a helpful entertainment for the war-time workers. The women of the AAGPBL saw their playing as part of the war-time efforts as well. The women helped to entertain the troops, visited Red Cross hospitals, and provided needed distraction. Some women felt the importance of their role at the time and some realized it later. Twenty-three women would serve in one of the auxiliary groups of the military before or after their time in the AAGPBL.

In 1972, the passage of Title IX would change a generation. Williams discusses how the requirement of equal access to sports resulted in a five-fold increase in the number of women participating in college sports. The participation of women in sports provided them with knowledge of teamwork, goalsetting, and achievement-oriented behaviors. The participants are healthier, have more self-esteem, and earn higher grades that non-athletes. In chapter four, Williams connects this revolution to the women of the AAGPBL. In the 1950s, when...