The evening dusk rolled in like a jukebox tune, warn, pulsating and full of vibrant energy, as eager young eyes peered up from the back of a minivan at what seemed like a mile-wide screen. Barely eight years old, I was enamoured from the split second the opening credits began to roll, the thermal crackling of the summer air mixing with a parade of drive-in theater sounds. By the time film’s main characters Dottie and Kit were chasing each other down the dusty country road, I had a newfound favourite childhood movie.
Set in the heart of WW2, the movie I’m talking about is A League of Their Own, staring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna. A dramatic comedy about the founding of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that came into existence in the wake of thousands of US men (including many professional ball players) being deployed overseas during the war, while the US public back home still pined for a day out at the field.
More than just the historical context of film, I was enthralled by two distinct elements: the fashions (both on and off the diamond) that the early 40s ladies wore, and the sense of independence and determination these headstrong gals put forth in an era when women were still by-and-large expected to follow traditional roles (of which being a ball player did not fit the mold).
Though I was already a tremendous fan of the 1940s and 50s thanks to movies like Grease, White Christmas and Meet Me in St. Louis, and the influence of a close friend whose parents were really into hot rods, this movie embedded an even more profound adoration of the forties deep in my young soul. Lifting it beyond just a beloved film, and into a muse that to this day is no less inspirational than it was back in 1992, when this movie hit the big screen.
{Tom Hanks and Geena Davis sit in the dugout during a scene from A League of Their own. Image from the blog Alien Citizen.}
This week, with my birthday approaching in a few days, I wanted to pay a homage to one of my greatest vintage influences, by making A League of Their Own not just my Monday Muse, but also by indoctrinating into my Lifelong Muse Hall of Frame.
While this movie is fiction, it is rooted strongly in actual fact; the AAGPBL was real, existing between the years of 1943 and 1954. Today a terrific website exists that's dedicated to preserving the legacy of this fascinating slice of American sports history, as does a National Baseball Hall of Fame exhibition about the AAGPBL.
{Lovely photo of assorted ASGPBL memorabilia and a uniform. From the Baseball Hall of Fame's website.}
In reading about the real ladies at bat, it’s interesting to learn that much as in the film itself, the players were required to attend Charm School, had female chaperons and were expected to follow a set of dress code guidelines both on and off the field.
{AAGPBL players in uniform. Photo via the San Fransisco State University's website.}
If like myself, you’re an avid fan of this movie and/or mid-century women’s baseball, you may have thought to yourself before how wonderful it would be to own a real AAGPBL uniform. No doubt this would be amazing, but it would likely also cost you a small fortune (unless you were lucky enough to have a relative who played for an AAGPBL team who would be willing to let you have her uniform), based on the prices I’ve read that these beautiful pieces of baseball history now sell for.
All hope is not lost though, K & P Weaver, LLC, a US based historical baseball uniform seller reproduces AAGPBL uniforms and ball caps in the original styles and colours of the teams that composed the league. Whether you want to be a Rockford Peach (the team Dottie and Kit both started out playing for) or a Racine Belle (the team Kit was traded to towards the end of the movie) – or any of the other teams that comprised the AAGPBL, for $225 (US) you too can own a cotton twill uniform that looks a far sight prettier than any of the modern day iterations of women’s baseball wear. It is my sincere hope that one day I’ll be able to purchase one of these gorgeous re-creation uniforms, not only to wear from time-to-time, but also as a means of further honouring my love of a League of Their Own.
{Gena Davis and fellow Rockford Peaches team members excitedly embrace each other after winning a game. Image from Hollywood.com.}
While this film (and the story of the real-life AAGPBL) didn’t inspire me to become a world class ball player, it did touch my life on a profound level. It helped to show a young girl an era which was comprised of hardship and glamour, tenacity and the emergence of women’s empowerment; spawned my love of swing dance, forties hairstyles and headstrong female characters, who, as this movie’s tagline proclaimed, believed that “To achieve the incredible you have to attempt the impossible”. Like the title of one of the songs in the A League of Their Own's soundtrack, Now and forever, this movie will be one of my all-time greatest Muses.
