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Play Ball: The Women of the All-American Girls Baseball League at the La Salle Library

Where:
La Salle Public Library
 
When
Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Play Ball: The Women of the All-American Girls Baseball League at the La Salle Library.   On Tuesday, July 24th at 6:00 p.m., the La Salle Public Library will host Author and Historian, Bob Kann, when he presents, "Play Ball: The Women of the All-American Baseball League".   

During the 1930's, many girls dreamed of becoming professional baseball players even though there was no professional baseball league for women. During the 1940's and 1950's, many of their dreams came true when they were paid to play baseball.   They left their families, their homes, and their jobs to do something they loved to do, play baseball.   Although they were paid to play, most said they would have played for free because of their love of the game.   

Thirty-four years after the All American Girls Professional Baseball League folded, the women from the AAGBPL were honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame.   Four years later in 1992, Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, and Madonna starred in the movie, A League of Their Own, a fictionalized account of the league.   Several players from Illinois and Wisconsin were in the Hall of Fame scene at the end of the movie.   

In this unique program, Bob Kann, a biographer of one of the players, shares stories about Midwestern women who grew up during the Great Depression, worked in factories, and on farms, and eventually played professional baseball.   

This program is free and open to the public and is made possible through funding from the Alwin C. Carus Trust.   For more information, contact the Library at 815-223-2341.