The Women's Professional Baseball League makes its historic debut
The league’s first games drew fans from 11 countries and capped merch sales at two items per person after opening day sold out.
- On Saturday, Aug. 1, the Women's Professional Baseball League launched its inaugural season at a sold-out, 5,200-seat stadium in Springfield, Ill., marking the first professional women's baseball league in the United States in nearly 30 years.
- Veteran player Maybelle Blair, 99, threw the ceremonial first pitch, honoring the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League legacy that inspired the 1992 film 'A League of Their Own' and celebrating women's professional baseball's return after 72 years.
- The Los Angeles Queens defeated the New York Heights 10-8 in a rainy debut, featuring outfielder Mo'ne Davis. Fan enthusiasm drove heavy merchandise demand, forcing officials to cap sales at two items per person.
- Players from 11 different countries participated, reflecting the league's global reach. Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato noted, 'I believe there are many players in this league who have carried the same dreams,' describing the opportunity as historic.
- This inaugural season features 30 games running through September, with plans to expand next year. Queens' third baseman Ashton Lansdell expressed optimism for longevity, stating, 'We hope it's the fifth and the last' professional women's baseball league.
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12 Articles
Bulletin-Review
Muscatine JournalGretchen Teske: Women's Professional Baseball League proves the time is right for a league of their own
I reminded myself many times there was no crying in baseball. And all was well until the top of the sixth. Then, I couldn't help it. This past weekend a friend and I traveled down to Springfield to watch the…
Pro Women’s Baseball Resumes for First Time Since 1954: A League of Their Own is BACK!
Almost eight decades after she last played baseball, Maybelle Blair returned to the diamond—in a wheelchair—to inaugurate the new women’s US baseball league. It brought Blair’s uniquely American story full circle—and she wasn’t going to miss it for anything. “I tell you, I broke four ribs recently,” the 99-year-old told a news crew from WICS. […] The post Pro Women’s Baseball Resumes for First Time Since 1954: A League of Their Own is BACK! appe…
Women’s Professional Baseball League makes rainy debut in front of enthusiastic crowd
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP, Aug. 1, 2026) — Sarah Hodel and Rachel Koehler arrived at Robin Roberts Stadium more than four hours before the first game of the Women’s Professional Baseball League. Once inside, Hodel stopped periodically for pictures as she walked along the concourse. She wanted to savor every moment. “Back in high school I was on my speech team and my informative speech was on women in baseball,” said Hodel, a 43-year-old athletic tra…
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