Marge Villa became one of eleven Latina ball players to be selected for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League begun by Philip Wrigley in 1943. In that era, the women needed to be skilled ball players, but skin color mattered. The Latinas who qualified were light-skinned and could pass for white. 

Villa made the most of her time in the league. She was a utility player for the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Comets and was chosen as team captain for several of the years she was there.

After she left the league in 1950, she took up golf. By 1955, her name was appearing in newspapers mentioning her winning golf scores.

Early Life

Marge Villa was born in Montebello, California, in 1924.  As a child, she played ball with her younger brother and other children in town. Many other Mexican American families lived near the Villas. Many worked on farms or in factories during the week. Sunday was a day when the community attended church and then gathered with neighbors. Residents of all ages played baseball, and it is likely that Marge’s skills grew from those games.

The Garvey Stars was a girls team in East Los Angeles. By the age of 13, Marge Villa was playing regularly for them. While many families discouraged sports for their daughters, the Villas enjoyed Marge’s interest.  This added to Marge’s love of the game.

Recruited from the Garvey Stars

After a season with the Garvey Stars, Marge Villa was spotted by a scout for the semiprofessional Lionettes that played in Orange County, California. The Lionettes won the Southern California girls’ championship during Marge’s first years with the team. This brought her to the attention of the baseball league that was being formed by Philip Wrigley in Chicago.

One of the coaches flagged her to try out for the Chicago league—the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.  She qualified and was placed on the Kenosha Comets. Girls were paid well for the weeks of play ($45-$85 per week during the season). For more information about the league, read All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Playing for the Comets

Villa played for the Comets for five years. She could handle almost any position, so she moved from catcher to base play, and sometimes played in the outfield. She was also a strong pitcher.

Marge Villa made a name for herself during her first year with the Comets. On June 9, 1946, she drove in nine runs and collected eleven total bases, setting two single-game league records that were never surpassed.

By 1950, she had a batting average of .256 and set records for the most runs batted in in a single game.

She was also a true team player. She was always ready to help other players with mastery of any ball skills.

Baseball Travel Not Easy

Like the men, the women playing professional baseball found it wasn’t an easy life.  Her story is told in an exhibit at the Smithsonian, where her Garvey Stars uniform is on display.  She told a representative of the Smithsonian, “It was pretty hard to put in the bus rides and the daily practices and stuff like that. …It was almost a 16-hour job for us by the time we went to practice, and then we went home and rested a while. Then we’d come back and sometimes played a double header.”   

International Travel

In 1947, the AAGPBL put together exhibition teams that traveled to promote women’s baseball. Villa was part of this group. Cuba was a logical place to visit, as Cubans are very enthusiastic about the game.  Marge was the only player who spoke Spanish, so she stepped forward to be translator. Villa was also very charismatic, so people loved her.

In 1948 and 1949, she was again invited to join the league for postseason tours. This time they traveled across the Caribbean and South America.

Villa often talked about how lucky she and the team were to get to see the world.

After the League

In 1950, Marge Villa returned to California. The league was not what it was when she began, and for her, it was time to move on with her life. 

When her father reminded her that she needed “to do something,” she agreed and took up golf. By 1955, her name was appearing in golf columns as a champion player.

And it was a blind date for a golf game that introduced her to her future husband. Someone asked her to take Daniel Cryan out on the golf course.

They were married in 1954.

Golf Became Her Passion

She and Daniel started a family, and Marge was at every baseball game as a fan and often as coach. This pattern continued with her grandchildren. She loved it.

But she didn’t neglect her golf game. Each year she played in an annual tournament. For 25 years, she was uncontested winner. Her daughter told the Smithsonian that she didn’t know why the other women played. It was clear that Marge Villa would likely be the winner.

Hollywood

When producer Penny Marshall opted to make A League of Their Own, a movie about the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Marge Villa was hired as a technical consultant.  Her baseball skills were still strong, and she was often called over to help the actors with their pitching or batting so that the movie would be realistic.

Marge Villa is a woman who made the most of her skills and opportunities, and she seems to have loved every moment of it.

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed in 1943 to entertain crowds at home during World War II. As male baseball players were drafted into the military, many—including Chicago Cub’s owner Philip K. Wrigley–thought Major League baseball might have to be cancelled if few players remained stateside. 

Philip Wrigley inherited the Wrigley chewing gum business and ownership of the Chicago Cubs from his father William who died in 1932.  The younger Wrigley poured himself into building both the company and the team.

Even before the war, stadiums had lots of “down” time. Wrigley thought a girls league might bring added revenue to the Chicago Stadium also owned by the Wrigleys.

(This is the baseball league on which the 1992 movie, A League of Their Own was based.)

Forming a New League

At that time, softball was the game women played competitively. There were excellent players across the country, but the rules of softball differed from baseball. To start with, the balls were larger (12 inches at that time) and women’s teams all pitched underhanded.

Wrigley saw that the play would need to be amended. He put together a nonprofit organization to evaluate and decide on changes. Softball teams had 10 players—one more than men’s baseball teams. The board decided it made more sense for the girls league to parallel the men’s teams, so the teams were established to have nine players.  

Because women were familiar with softball, the men decided to maintain the ball size and pitching style.  But the board decided that extending the length of the base paths and the pitching distance would improve the game. They also provided that women players should be permitted to lead off (stand away from the base for a faster start) and to steal bases. Those changes would add more excitement to the game.

Scouting for Players

Wrigley brought in a former Cubs player, Jim Hamilton for player procurement. Hamilton previously also served as a manager and scout for the Chicago Cubs. He reached out to his network in the U.S. and Canada, asking that the best players be sent his way. The women were going to make good money–from $45-85 per week during the season. While the employment wasn’t year-round, it certainly helped any family. (Those weekly salaries were often more than their parents were making.)

Also working with Wrigley to form the league was his advertising agent, Arthur Meyerhoff. Meyerhoff was a gifted entrepreneur and a brilliant marketer. His “Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun” slogan was key to making Wrigley’s Doublemint gum a top seller. Meyerhoff brought his intelligence and enthusiasm to promoting the league.

Keep Baseball Going

When Wrigley initially developed the idea of the girls’ league, he envisioned that there might not be any Major League baseball during the war because so many players were drafted. But the men’s teams scrounged for other players as their team members were drafted.

Many Americans had taken war-related jobs in their hometowns. With gas rationing, it was good if people had entertainment nearby. Roosevelt was quoted saying: “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going.”

And it did.

Altering the Plan

Wrigley needed to find logical and likely cities that would enjoy the prospect of women’s baseball. Because the league would be based in Chicago near his headquarters, he approached two cities in Wisconsin: Racine and Kenosha as well as Rockford, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana. All four had stadiums—a little smaller than the ones where the Major Leagues played—and all the cities were within easy reach of Chicago.

Wrigley made a good offer to each city. He would cover half the cost of each team. The local city would be responsible for the other half of the operating costs.  

Setting Up the League

In addition to 15 players, a coach/manager, and a business manager, teams had a woman chaperone—necessary for the team to seem “proper.”  They also hired as managers and coaches, former players and managers. They knew this would heighten public interest.

A scan through local newspapers of the era has several mentions of hometown baseball heroes who were now working with the girls league. An example appeared in distant Spokane, Washington, where sports columnist Bob Johnson wrote: “Max Carey, one of the National League’s top base stealers some years ago and who performed 15 seasons in the ‘big show,’ will direct one of the six teams in the All-American Girls’ Professional League in Chicago this summer. Carey managed the Brooklyn Dodgers at one time.”

And then in a swipe guaranteed to get a chuckle from readers, Johnson added: “He ought to find more talent among his girl softballers than the Dodgers have shown this year.”

That type of publicity appeared in medium-sized newspapers across the country and added credibility to the new league.

1943: The First Season

At spring training that first year, the final rosters had not yet been set. The league still had to complete tryouts. They called seventy-five women back for a final look. Sixty women were signed and placed on teams. Some of the players chosen were only 15 years old. 

Wrigley felt that femininity was important for the players, so he contacted Helena Rubenstein. Rubenstein had a chain of beauty salons across the country, and Wrigley hired representatives from her company to teach “charm school” classes. Many of the players grew up on farms, so this was all new to them. Personal hygiene and dress code were discussed, and the women were guided on etiquette for all sorts of situations. When not playing, makeup was to be worn, and the women were given a beauty kit along with guidelines on how to use it. (The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League has an excellent website, and it includes a link to information about the charm school training.)

Uniforms

All the teams needed uniforms, so Philip Wrigley’s wife became involved. Working with Wrigley’s art designer Otis Shepard, Mrs. Wrigley also included Ann Harnett, the first player to be signed for the league. Ann served as a model for the options under consideration.

Ultimately, the new uniform was fashioned after tennis outfits and figure skating costumes of the era. Each team was assigned a color, and the girls wore one-piece tunics that sported short, flared skirts. A baseball cap, satin shorts and knee-high socks completed the outfit. (Consider sliding into a base wearing shorts and a skirt…)

First Game

The league’s opening games were on May 30, 1943, in South Bend, Indiana, where the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches played the South Bend Blue Sox. In Racine, Wisconsin, the Racine Belles played the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Comets.

The season ran from mid-May to September 1, with a total of 108 games played. The team to win the most games during the season was deemed the pennant winner.

At the conclusion of the season, the top teams competed in play-offs. The championship was settled by a 5-game series between the Kenosha Comets and the Racine Belles. The Belles were the victors, making them the first World Champions of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Successful First Season

All four of the cities that sponsored teams were glad to have done so. Attendance was strong, and the press covered the games well.

This was all a plus for the American public. Most people loved going to the ballpark to support their local teams. The great press coverage of the girls’ teams increased enthusiasm. When the stadiums filled and the fans saw how well the women played, they were happy to come again.

What’s more, Wrigley, with ad man Meyerhoff’s help, promoted the teams intelligently. In addition to stressing patriotism, the players were described as being just like the “girl next door.”

Support of the War Effort

Thoughts of war were never far from any American’s mind. Each league game opened with “The Star Spangled Banner.” While the music played, the teams marched on to the field and lined up on the first and third baselines, meeting up at home plate. What the fans saw was the formation of a ”V” for Victory at the start of each game. Most families had loved ones serving overseas, so this patriotic touch was important.

In their down time, the women visited wounded veterans at army hospitals. They often also played exhibition games where the box office take was donated to the Red Cross.

1944: The Next Season

The 1944 season got off to a good start. Spring training was held in Peru, Illinois.  Because the cities with teams were pleased with the overall experience, each agreed to cover its own team’s expenses. 

For Wrigley, this meant he had extra money to spend. He continued to hope that the women could eventually play in Major League cities. He and the league board set up a team in Milwaukee (the Chicks) and in Minneapolis (the Millerettes).  Unfortunately, the new teams failed to catch on.

As Wrigley soon saw, the initial cities with their smaller stadiums actually had an advantage. The fans sat nearer the field and could easily identify the players. In addition, the newspapers in the smaller cities loved writing about the league, and came up with their own ideas for human interest stories.

Players Featured in Newspapers

The Scrantonian Tribune ran a great story about Jean Marlowe, a 19-year-old pitcher, who played for the Springfield Sallies. The newspaper featured a photo of Marlowe in action and wrote that she had started and finished ten games and “sported a record of six victories against four defeats…”   

Audrey Wagner in Kenosha also received a lot of ink for her skills with the bat. She started out with the Kenosha Comets during the first year of league play. She was only 15 but packed with talent. By age 20, she was known as “Queen of Clout.” During the off-season, she attended college, studying pre-med.

In contrast, the newspapers in the bigger cities where the Major League teams played gave scant coverage to the women. The sports pages included game scores in the box section where other teams were listed, but there were no human interest stories about the women or the teams.

In addition, the larger stadiums were built with the seats farther away from the field.  These games lacked the intimacy of the smaller stadiums where viewers could really discern what was going on.

Wrigley Loses Interest

It was clear that the professional men’s teams were going to continue throughout the war, so Wrigley’s interest in building the girls’ teams withered. However, Arthur Meyerhoff, the advertising executive who was with Wrigley from the start of the league, offered to buy the League from Wrigley for $10,000.

Under Meyerhoff, the league expanded from six teams to ten, and stadium attendance reached an all-time high.  Meyerhoff also re-organized the league so that each franchise had a representative on the board of directors and could have a say in league decisions.

Enthusiasm Continues

In 1945, enthusiasm for the league was high. The Chicks were picked up by Grand Rapids, and the Minneapolis Millerettes went to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 Meyerhoff was impressed by the level of play and dropped the charm school classes. This let the women focus on what they loved—playing the game.

And as the war continued, he also set up exhibition games at 13 army camps and veteran hospitals. This meant that the Girls League was seen by more people.

And despite the end of the war in August of 1945, the popularity of the league continued. That year, their attendance reached an all-time high of 450,313.

After the War

Meyerhoff continued to create ways to improve the league. He knew they needed a pipeline of players, so he established local junior leagues for girls 14 and older. Two more franchises were added in Michigan (in Peoria and Muskegon) and a small minor league was created.

The teams also traveled to different cities for spring training. This expanded their publicity, and therefore, their following. In the United States, one year they trained Pascagoula, Mississippi. Another time, training camp was moved to Opalocka, Florida.

And in 1947, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League trained in Havana, Cuba, a city where baseball was extraordinarily popular. So was the League.

As time went on, Meyerhoff listened to teams and players about rule changes. The group opted for longer infield distances, but the major change was in pitching. In 1946, the women used side-arm pitching. By 1948, the women were pitching overhand. 

Meyerhoff Sells

In 1950, the League directors voted to purchase the AAGPBL from Arthur Meyerhoff, who was moving on to other things. The new group de-centralized management, which proved to be a mistake. Enthusiasm dropped, and there was no good way to bring it back. By 1954, the board couldn’t keep it going.

Success All the Same

Ultimately over 600 women athletes were given a chance to play professional baseball. While it took Title IX in 1972 to begin to offer more opportunities for women in sports, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a start.

For more information on the league, visit the very excellent website devoted these players and the league: The AAGPBL Players Association.

Jackie Robinson was the first Black major league baseball player, but he was almost prevented from getting to his first spring training in 1946.  

In 1945, Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed Robinson to a contract with the Montreal Royals. If he played well there, he had a shot at the majors. But when Robinson left Los Angeles on his way to Daytona Beach, Florida, Jim Crow customs blocked his way.

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Traveling From California

Jackie Robinson signed the Royals contract in the autumn of 1945, and he spent the winter in Los Angeles. He was expected in Daytona Beach in March of 1946. He and his girlfriend Rachel Isum decided they wanted to get married before they left L.A. Two weeks after the wedding, the two of them boarded an American Airlines flight in Los Angeles on their way to Florida.

As Daniel L. Rust explains in his book, Flying Across America, airplanes in the 1940s could not fly across the country without several stops to re-fuel. When they stopped in New Orleans, Robinson and his wife were not permitted to re-board with the rest of the other passengers. In the New Orleans airport, they talked to ticket agents looking for another flight. When time passed and they wanted to buy lunch, they were refused service in the coffee shop.

Finally a ticket agent got them on a flight out of New Orleans, but it didn’t leave until the next day—and it only went as far as Pensacola. With little choice and no place to sleep, the Robinsons waited for the next day’s flight.

In Pensacola, they were greeted with more bad news. The couple was told no airplane would take them. The Robinsons needed to find another means of transportation.

They completed their trip to Daytona Beach, riding in the back of a segregated bus.

No Official Segregation Laws for Airlines

We often read about Rosa Parks’ refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, but very little is written about what happened to Blacks who wanted to board an airplane. They fared no better than Parks did on the buses.

Jim Crow laws, enacted in southern states by the turn of the 20th century prohibited Black and white people from “comingling” on trains, streetcars, and buses. Perhaps because the airline industry was new, there were no similar laws in place for air travel. Nonetheless, it was not easy for an African American to buy a plane ticket.

If a Black person did manage to buy one, the airline personnel attempted to seat them separately so that white people were not sitting next to them. (Planes must not have been as crowded then.)

Athletes Pushed Color Line

Sports figures were among the early Blacks to push the color line in the air. Professional sports had quickly adapted to using air travel as it meant that game scheduling could be tightened up because it was easier for teams to arrive at their various destinations quickly.

Ten years later, jazz great Ella Fitzgerald fared little better. She won an out-of-court settlement against Pan American Airlines in 1956 when the airline refused to honor her group’s first-class tickets. They put them on the airplane but in coach, instead of the premium seats the popular singer paid for.

Segregated by Custom

Like train stations and bus stations in the South, the airport services in southern states were segregated through the 1950s. Black passengers could not get served in airport restaurants, and there were separate waiting rooms and rest room facilities as well.

In 1960, a Supreme Court ruling specified that airports were subject to federal standards. A study of airports in the South was undertaken. It showed that some form of segregation existed in 7 of the 14 states studied. By the mid-1960s all airports in the United States were officially desegregated.

In 1961, an article in The New York Times (6-28-61) noted that New Orleans airport practices were under review. The Justice Department ruled that the airport violated a nondiscrimination clause they agreed to when they accepted federal funding for the new airport.

The New Orleans manager is quoted as saying, “We will serve Negroes in the coffee shop.” The article goes on to explain: “Until a few days ago Negroes wishing to eat in the International Room or the coffee shop were shunted off to a six-stool snack bar at which cellophane-wrapped cookies, sandwiches, and coffee in paper cups are sold.”

Denied Jobs, Too

Until the late 1950s, Blacks were denied jobs aboard airliners. Until the increasing pressure from the civil rights movement Black applicants were relegated to airport jobs such as skycap (bag handler). The first Black flight attendant was hired by Mohawk Airlines in 1957. Mohawk was a local feeder line in New York. At the time of her hiring, the New York State Commission Against Discrimination had on its docket 17 complaints from “Negro girls” [sic] who had been turned down for stewardess positions.

As Rosa Parks and the civil rights workers knew, change comes about only after many people push back, one incident at a time.

Automobile travel in the early 1900s was very difficult. Roads were largely unpaved, maps were few, and cars were for the very rich.

Mining heir Robert Guggenheim, 24, loved to drive, and he set out to build awareness of the excitement and convenience of automobile travel. He knew America lacked decent roadways for anything other than short drives around a town. If more people began driving, local governments would work to improve the roadways.

In 1907, he participated in a Peking to Paris auto race. He decided to sponsor a similar competition in the United States to encourage the building and improvement of roadways. 

Roads of the Day

Because there were few automobiles in the early 1900s, roads were rutted. Driving them was much like driving over a washboard.

There were very few gas stations, so gas was purchased by the canister at a general store. If a driver anticipated a lengthy drive, he purchased an extra container of gas to carry with him so he could re-fill the automobile gas tank.

Cars were of very little use in bad weather, so people still needed horses and sleighs if there was heavy rain or snow.

Few people drove beyond the few miles around their own town, so road signs and maps were almost non-existent. If a driver needed directions, he was likely to be told “go about a mile down the main road and turn right at the yellow farmhouse. The property you are looking for will be on the left in about two more miles.”

Guggenheim’s Vision

As Robert Guggenheim created his plan, he envisioned a coast-to-coast road trip. In 1909, Seattle would be the host city for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. This world’s fair was being sponsored to encourage development of the Pacific Northwest. Half the battle of encouraging growth in these areas was getting people to visit. (The 1908 Democratic Convention in Denver was another event that exposed easterners to the world beyond the Mississippi.) 

Guggenheim announced that he would sponsor a Coast-to-Coast Auto Race, ending it in Seattle in June of 1909. The expected crowds at the Exposition would be there to enjoy the concluding ceremonies. He hoped for as many as 30 entrants. In August of ’08 The New York Times (8-23-08) noted that nine cars had already registered for the event that was scheduled for June 1909.

Controversy

Almost immediately, the race was stalled by controversy. Though automobile companies reacted positively to the first announcement, they soon heard that the Manufacturers’ Contest Association refused to sanction a “race” across the country because it seemed to promote danger.

Manufacturers were spooked by the latest accident report from 1907: 324 people were killed by automobiles that year. Car makers decided that promoting a “race” seemed to encourage risk. That would not bode well for the auto industry.

Guggenheim and other organizers pondered this for a time and came up with a new plan. They would call it the 1909 Ocean to Ocean Endurance Contest. “Enduring” seemed more responsible than “racing.”

Rules Outlined

The ground rules involved obeying all speed limits in the East. This meant traveling no faster than 14 miles per hour. After St. Louis, it was agreed that drivers could “break loose,” and the autos could travel as quickly as 18.8 m.p.h.

The rules also specified that all parts of the automobiles had to be stamped as the cars were assembled. No major components of the automobiles could be changed during the race.

By marking each part, the officials would be able to verify that the car that began the race was the same as the car that ended it. 

Automobile Entrants

The entry field was severely reduced by the “danger” controversy, and on June 1, 1909. only five vehicles appeared at the starting line in Times Square:

– Two Model Ts. This assembly-produced automobile was just introduced in 1908. For Henry Ford, this was a wonderful marketing opportunity. Ford had the foresight to keep his contest vehicles light. He stripped them of their windshields and rear seats–essentially his cars were a front seat on wheels.

– An Acme–a chain driven touring car made by a company that had formerly made bicycles.

–The Shawmut Roundabout, a luxury car made in Massachusetts. A fire destroyed the factory where it was made, and only two automobiles were saved. By entering one of them in this contest, the company hoped to revive interest in the brand so they could afford to re-open.

– Guggenheim’s own car, an Itala. The mechanics noted its operation during the Peking-to-Paris race and had some thoughts on modification.

A sixth auto made by the Stearns Company began the race five days late, but it had to pull out because of mechanical problems just outside the New York City limits.

Along the Way

Keeping an automobile functional in this era was a daunting task. The cars traveled with a relief driver, and all but the Model Ts also sent along a mechanic, putting three men on the journey for all but the Ford cars.

Because Ford was assembling a nationwide network of auto dealers, Henry Ford calculated that if the Model Ts could make it to the next town, a local mechanic could perform maintenance. This reduced the weight being carried by the Model Ts, and it gave Ford another advantage: The endurance contest drivers could get driving directions and route advice from locals. The other drivers were relying on primitive maps and whatever townspeople they met along the way.

Bridges were rare so crossing rivers was difficult. If no ferry boat was available, the autos made harrowing trips across railroad trestles.

Rough roads and mud were major problems, but again, Ford’s planning provided an advantage for the Model T. The cars were light enough that two men could lift and position a wheel onto a piece of wood to get an automobile out of the mud and on its way.

Nearing the Finish

At Snoqualmie Pass, near Seattle, one of the Model Ts got stuck in four feet of snow and had to be dug out. Perhaps because he could smell victory, Henry Ford himself arrived on the scene to help dig.

Twenty-three days later, June 23, 1909, the formerly snowbound Model T crossed the finish line and was declared the winner. Seventeen hours later, the Shawmut arrived, followed by the other Ford, and a week later, the Acme. (The Itala dropped out in Cheyenne, Wyoming.)

Henry Ford immediately launched a marketing campaign touting the fact that the lightweight, affordable Model T was the superior car.

Protest by the Shawmut Company

But the Shawmut Company had suspicions about one of the repair sessions done by a Ford dealer in the West. They entered a protest.

The officials undertook an examination of the automobiles and the race.

Five months later, the sponsors found in favor of the Shawmut Motor Company. One of the Ford dealers had swapped out the engine of the winning Model T, a direct violation of the rules.

Too Late to Matter

In November, the Shawmut was awarded the $2,000 prize for first place, but it was too late to save the company.

Ford took full advantage of the delay and achieved a lot of traction with his marketing campaign. “The $850 car that won the New York to Seattle race” brought motoring to the masses.

In 1909, 18,664 Model Ts were sold. Those figures doubled the following year and doubled again the year after. By 1916 Ford was producing half of all the motor vehicles in the world.

Contest Commemorated in 2009

In June of 2009, a commemorative race featuring 55 Model Ts started from New York City. Police escorts protected them in metropolitan areas, and every fourth day the drivers paused to rest and tune up the cars. A good time was enjoyed by all.

**

To read about a transcontinental foot race held in 1928, click here. And to watch the video version of this story, click here.

“Taft Throws Out Ball” read the headline of The New York Times on April 15, 1910. With that report on an easy toss of a baseball, a presidential tradition was born.

Since that time, most presidents have found a way to honor the sport that is often referred to as America’s favorite pastime. War, disasters, and the intricacies of presidential scheduling have sometimes prevented the president from being at a ballpark on Opening Day, but most have found some other opportunity to be a ceremonial part of the game. Jimmy Carter, perhaps the most reluctant, finally succumbed to pressure by throwing out the first ball at Game 7 of the 1979 World Series.

This year, President Donald Trump’s office has said he has a conflict the day the games begin. But it’s just the beginning of the season. He still has other opportunities to appear.

Baseball’s Opening Day, 1910

On April 14, 1910, President Taft—a true fan of baseball– attended Opening Day of the American League season in Washington. The Nationals were playing Philadelphia at Griffith Stadium.

Taft was accompanied by a coterie of people from D.C. Mrs. Taft attended, and Vice President James Sherman and other members of Congress were there to see the game as well.

The Times reporter wrote that Taft had a good time… “he sat through the entire nine innings and seemed greatly to enjoy the contest.”

Taft was a natural to start a tradition involving baseball. About a

month later, on May 5, he was in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was asked about his participation in that first game:

“The game of baseball is a clean, straight game…It furnishes amusement to thousands and thousands. I like to go for two reasons; first, because I enjoy myself and second, because if by the presence of the Chief Magistrate such a healthy amusement can be encouraged, I want to encourage it.”

The Tradition Evolves

During most years the ceremonial pitch took place at a stadium in the nation’s capital, generally where the Senators played. But by 1973, the Senators were no more. The original team moved to Minnesota to become the Twins. Then the team that replaced them in D.C. packed up and left for Texas to become the Rangers.

This meant that in 1973, President Richard Nixon, a Californian, was free to toss the opening pitch from a place of his choosing. That year the ceremonial pitch was tossed out for the Los Angeles Angels who played in Anaheim.

The style of the ceremony also altered over the years. When Taft began the tradition, he simply tossed the ball into the stadium from where he was sitting. It was then caught by a designated player. Over time, the ball-catch involved a group of players vying for the chance to catch that first ball. Because there was always the danger of the players being injured in the melee, team owners were delighted when the tradition of throwing the ball to one player was reinstated.

Ronald Reagan was the first president to toss the ball from the field. Now the opening pitches are always from there. Most toss from in front of the mound. A few are confident enough to pitch from the mound itself. A home team player is always in position to receive the ball.

A Few Notable Occasions

In 1940, Franklin Roosevelt tossed the ball in such a way that it hit and damaged a camera belonging to one of the press photographers. Was Roosevelt nudged and therefore threw the ball to one side, or did the photographer jump into the ball’s path in an effort to get the perfect shot? We’ll never know.

Harry Truman was known as a lefty, but he actually was ambidextrous. In 1949 he tossed with his left hand, but in 1950, he threw twice—one pitch with each arm to prove that he could use either arm.

One year President Dwight Eisenhower regretted that he went along with a press request to toss a second ball for a better photograph. The second ball hit the umpire in the leg.

Symbolic Moments for America

Great symbolism was attached to two different ceremonial pitches. The first heart-singing moment was on April 16, 1946, when Harry Truman arrived at a game to start the baseball season. Because of the war, it had been four long years since this tradition had taken place. We can only imagine the joy Americans felt when they saw that life was returning to normal.

The year 2001 was a heart-stopper. That autumn the world paused in grief over the tragedies of 9-11. Baseball games ceased for a six-day hiatus while the people of the United States began to register the new normal.

Then it was late October. The World Series had been delayed by the halt in game-playing. Now Game 3 of the World Series was to be played, and it was to be at Yankee Stadium.

President George Bush wanted to be there.

Political pundits, newspaper reporters, and the public were worried. Should the president be in a public arena for a ceremonial event? Were there snipers in the area? Would a bomb be detonated? (Would our lives always feel threatened?)

On the night of October 30, 2001, President Bush arrived at Yankee Stadium and asked for some time to warm up before the game. The New York Times (10-31-2001) wrote:

“Bush, wearing a New York Fire Department windbreaker, walked to the mound, and fans burst out with applause.

“After giving a thumbs up to fans at the top of the mound, Bush threw the ball on a line to the Yankees’ backup catcher, Todd Greene.”

According to Bleacher Report (9-2-2008), Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary from that time, said: “To see the commander in chief say, ‘I’m not vulnerable. I’ll stand right here on the mound at Yankee Stadium and nobody can bring harm to our country’ That’s what that appearance represented. It had tremendous impact.”

What the Ceremonial Pitch Is About

Above all else, that ceremonial pitch is about America, about a game we have loved, and about people having a good time. In participating, the presidents celebrate our history, the game’s history, and the prospect of the fans enjoying a good and long season when they know their team is going to win—-this year.

There is still time for President Trump to fit a baseball game into his schedule. We hope he will.

Here are some other stories about baseball:

Baseball Catcher’s Mask: How it was Invented

Wrigley Field

and Fenway: America’s Most Beloved Ballpark

The football huddle came about during the 1890s. This was about 25 years after intercollegiate football began being played in the United States.

From the beginning, the game was popular at colleges. As its popularity grew, some of the rules and practices evolved to fit the game as it was being played.

The game was also frequently played at schools for the hearing impaired as it was a great team sport for bonding and for leadership.

The use of the football huddle came about at one of these schools.

The Need for a Football Huddle

In its formative years, football was a more casual game. Teammates would make their strategy known through a quick conversation on the field. For the most part, teams could be far enough away from each other that there was little risk that an opposing team member would pick up on what was being said.

A different situation arose at schools for the deaf where sign language was used.  Because both teams were often from schools for the hearing impaired, everyone who could see the quarterback’s moving hands understood most of what was being said.

In the mid-1890s, Paul D. Hubbard (1871-1946) was the quarterback for the Gallaudet University football team. (Gallaudet University, founded in 1864 in Washington, D.C., was the first school to offer higher education for the deaf.)  In the midst of a game, Hubbard noticed a change in attention that came over everyone on the field when he was communicating upcoming plays to his teammates.

Hubbard came up with a solution. Before any communication over play, he gathered his team around him in a huddle. In this way, his hand movements could not be seen by the other team.

Hubbard played as part of the Gallaudet team from 1892-95. He was team captain in 1893, so one would assume that the earliest use of the huddle was in that year.

Graduates from Gallaudet who wanted to teach usually had to accept jobs that were far from Gallaudet. There were not many specialty schools and colleges, so most future teachers would have moved to other states for employment. For that reason, the use of the football huddle probably spread nationally more quickly than it might have if it had begun at a school whose graduates could get jobs nearby.

Verifying the Claim

There is no written documentation that verifies Hubbard’s invention

of the football huddle, but when one examines other reports, the huddle still comes back to Hubbard and Gallaudet. In Dr. I.H. Baker’s encyclopedic book, Football: Facts and Figures (1945), Baker traces the first use of the football huddle to 1896 at the University of Georgia. Schools for the deaf might have been easily overlooked by someone writing a general book about football. The facts still reveal then that Hubbard’s huddle was first.

Hubbard and the Football Huddle

Hubbard was to have graduated from Gallaudet in 1896, but for some reason he left before his final year. A native of Kansas, he returned to his home state, and he was soon hired by his alma mater, the Kansas State School for the Deaf in Olathe, Kansas.

In 1899, he started a football program at Kansas State, and no doubt taught the team the huddle. He spent his career teaching and coaching at Kansas State. Forty-three years later, upon the occasion of his retirement, the school named the athletic field in his honor.

Tracing the Story

He and his Gallaudet teammates stayed in touch. Several wrote to congratulate him on his retirement and the naming honor.  In a letter from classmate Herbert C. Merrill that is quoted in Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America by Jack Gannon, Merrill references a news story:

“The item ascribes the origin of the football ‘huddle’ to you. It must have been during the time that the College had that scrub team that made all the teams around Washington, including the Naval Academy, look silly.” [Letter dated March 6, 1942; Museum at Kansas School for the Deaf, Olathe, KS.]

So Paul Hubbard, a quarterback from Gallaudet University, found a solution to a problem that doesn’t go away—the opposing team wanting to know what the offensive team is going to try.

Think of Hubbard and Gallaudet next time you see players in a football huddle. Think of him, too, when the coaches put their clipboards in front of their mouths every time they are about to say anything.

In football, the unexpected can make all the difference.  A football huddle helps maintain a team’s element of surprise.