A League of Their Own – Meet the All Girls Baseball Team in Kalamazoo
A League of Their Own. I remember seeing that movie in the theatre. Everything about it was so incredible. The women. Their stories. Tom Hanks. So I was a little unsure when I first heard that Amazon was turning this classic in to a new television series for Prime. But instead of focusing on the sisters' relationship and the Rockford Peaches, this series is said to, quote "expand its lens to explore race and sexuality as the series follows a new ensemble of women carving out their own paths in the league and outside of it." Maybe, just maybe, this new series will include the true story of the beloved Rockford Peaches winning 8-2 against the Kalamazoo Lassies in the Lassies first ever ball game.
Yes, the Kalamazoo Lassies existed.
According to the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Kalamazoo Lassies were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1950 until 1954. Although one of the more popular teams on the AAGPBL, after years on the road and mens sports getting back in the swing following the war, the league itself began seeing less and less interest. The spectators preferred staying home and watching the games on something called a television. No butts in the bleachers, no team. Sadly, after defeating the Fort Wayne Daisies on September 6th, 1954, the Lassies hung it up and retired the team as champions.
It doesn't surprise me that this town had its hands deep in sports history.
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