A WOMAN'S PLACE IS AT HOME (PLATE) NEW EXHIBIT HONORS WOMEN IN BASEBALL.Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer BURBANK - In 1931, 19-year-old Jackie Mitchell, playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds major-league club. , pitched an exhibition game with the New York Yankees  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. . On the mound, she faced her first batter - Babe Ruth - and struck him out in four pitches, sending him off cursing. Lou Gehrig struck out after three. Toni Stone Toni Stone (July 17 1931 - November 2 1996), whose real name was Marcenia Lyle Alberga, was the first of three women to play Negro league baseball.She began her career with the San Francisco Sea Lions (1949) and the New Orleans Creoles (1949-1952). cracked gender barrier as the first African-American woman to play in the all-male Negro Leagues Negro leagues Associations of teams of black baseball players active largely between 1920 and the late 1940s. The principal leagues were the Negro National League, originally organized by Rube Foster in 1920, and the Negro American League, organized in 1937. . And behind home plate stood Pam Postema Pam Postema (born April 1954 [1]) is a baseball umpire most notable for being the first female to ever officiate a Major League Baseball spring training game. For her unique contributions to the game, she was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary , an umpire who made it through to major league training from 1988 to 1989. In conjunction with the Burbank Public Library, a nonprofit group has assembled an exhibit featuring some of the most famous names in women's baseball Women's baseball is currently played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Cuba and Canada. Those countries have national governing bodies that support girls' and women's baseball programs. . ``The subject of women in professional baseball is not regularly featured in exhibitions on baseball history,'' said Terry Cannon, executive director and founder of the Baseball Reliquary The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit, educational organization "dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities. . ``It's somewhat of an obscure topic, albeit an interesting part of history. You could have a whole museum on the subject.'' Memorabilia, such as cards and a replica uniform from the All-American Girls Baseball League featured in the 1992 film ``A League of Their Own,'' as well as photographs, books and news clips from as far as the stick and ball games of the late 19th century are on display in the exhibit ``Women in Baseball: There's No Place Like Home (Plate),'' this month at the Burbank Central Library. Even now, when women's soccer and basketball have gained legitimacy thanks to organized associations, America's favorite pastime lags far behind when it comes to supporting women playing baseball. ``As far as women and baseball goes, a lot of women who play softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' will tell you their first love is baseball,'' said Jean Ardell, author of an upcoming book on the history women in the game. Through research, Ardell found that, while women played forms of baseball even before the game became popular in America, women's organized professional teams were slow to gain interest. The Colorado Silver Bullets The Colorado Silver Bullets was an all-female professional baseball team that played in the United States in the mid-1990s. The Bullets were the first such team since the folding of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1954. team of the 1990s was a first step. Its pitcher, Ila Borders Ila Borders (born February 18, 1975, La Mirada, California, U.S.), was a left-handed pitcher in college and independent professional baseball. She was the first woman pitcher to start a men's NCAA or NAIA college baseball game [1] , was the first woman to pitch for a men's college team. Borders will be recognized by the Baseball Reliquary next month at the Pasadena Central Library. ``The debate has shifted from past decades of whether they should play against men or with men. That's where women's baseball gets hung up,'' Ardell said. ``It's a very difficult game if you are not trained to play baseball, and most girls are trained to play softball. That is not the same.'' Ardell said more women are writing about baseball and managing the business side of the game. ``Because of what Ila Borders and 'A League of Their Own' did, people are more aware now that women can and do play baseball,'' Ardell said. IF YOU GO The exhibit ``Women in Baseball: There's No Place Like Home (Plate),'' may be seen at the Burbank Central Library, 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank through the end of June. Susan Abram, (818) 546-3304 susan.abram(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: At right, Alicia Garcia, 10, of Burbank examines the ``Women in Baseball'' exhibit at Burbank Central Library. Garcia plays softball herself. Player cards, above, from the All-American Girls Baseball League are on display. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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