Show your AAGPBL Girls Baseball related stuff...

[Kzoo]

I got thinking about this thread a couple weeks back when another thread about the baseballs used in AAGPBL games was brought up.

I recently picked up this 28" GR Chicks pennant dating to the late '40's/early 50's at a local auction. In searching past auction results, there really isn't much material relating to the AAGPBL out there from any of the teams in the midwest. The only items I really found are some of the baseballs, programs, some photo scrapbooks, and reproduction jerseys from 'A League of Their Own'. Does anybody have anything else? ...like an original jersey, pennant, hat, etc? I know that several of the girls donated their jerseys to local museums or families have probably held onto them over the years, but with maybe 12-15 players per team and around 10 teams in the league for a couple years at it's peak, there has to be some other material or even pennants like this one out there......but none ever seem to surface for auction. Show 'em if you got 'em....

PerezFan, you seem to have one of everything, what do you know?

Matt

[whitehse]

Back in the 80's when I hosted local card shows I had the opportunity to meet Dotty Ferguson Key who lived in Rockford, Illinois with her husband. Dotty was a stocky woman who had the firmest handshake of any woman I have ever met. I knew she played for the Rockford Peaches and a few other teams but I wish I knew more about her at the time. Turns out she had one hell of a athletic career separate from baseball. Her husband also was an athlete and I believe both were Olympians for Canada.

Pictured here is Dotty with her husband surrounded by one of my kids and my co-promoters family. Knowing what I know now I just wish I could go back and talk to her more about her life. She had a great one thats for sure.



I have a autographed picture that she gave me from her playing days. I will have to dig that out and post it.

The interesting thing is that she told me she could not accept any payment for her appearance because all of the surviving ladies apparently made an agreement that they would not accept fees when promoting the memory of the league they all played in. We ended up making a donation in her honor for the amount we would have paid her to her favorite charity but I thought it was cool that the ladies all agreed to not accept appearance fees.

[lefty147]

Great pennant. Have never seen that one before. Nice find ! Mike

[deebro041]

Great story And.rew!! Thanks for sharing.

[71buc]

And.rew, thanks for sharing. I had a similar experience with some of the former players. They were so friendly and engaging it was a refreshing change. They signed this ball for me at a show in Tacoma. The photo was taken May 16 1943 the day of the AAGSBL tryouts. These are the first four AAGPBL players signed Claire Schillace, Ann Harnett and Edythe Perlick, and Shirley Jameson.

[perezfan]

Matt:

That is a terrific find! A very rare pennant, and oozing with historical significance. This original AAGPBL stuff is very under-rated, IMO.

I have seen a few examples of the following pennants (both reproduced and original...)

Rockford Peaches
Chicago Colleens
Springfield Sallies

As for your pennant, I believe it to be far rarer than those. The only other one I'm aware of was on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame, no less! See the link below, and the attached pic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/islespunkfan/8221436298/

Congrats on a landmark pickup!