The Chicago Colleens were a women's professional baseball team who played in the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

from 1948 to 1951, evolving into a development team. The team was based

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and played their home games at Shewbridge Field.

History

The Colleens joined the strong Eastern Division in the 1948 season and were managed by former Major League player Dave Bancroft. The team was the worst in the league, getting roughed up as a last-place expansion club with a 47–76 record, ending twenty nine and a half games out of the first place spot in the division. The only team to do worse, the

Springfield Sallies The Springfield Sallies were a women's professional baseball team who were members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1948 season and became a development team. The Sallies were based in Springfield, Illinois and playe ...

of the Western Division, ended 41–84 in last place, 35.5 games out of 1st place. Both teams lost their franchises by the end of that season. From 1949 through 1950, the Colleens and the Sallies became

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

development teams that played exclusively exhibition games. Their tours included contests at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

and

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

. The team dissolved entirely by 1951. AAGPBL executive

Mitch Skupien Mitch Skupien was a manager and executive in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Very little is known about this man who worked hard for the AAGPBL during the final five years of its existence. Previously, Skupien had managed the ...

, who later managed in the league, served as the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

for both touring teams. The team's 1948 games were broadcast regularly on television station WBKB in Chicago.

The ballpark

The Colleens played at Shewbridge Field. The ballpark was located at the corner of South Morgan and West 74th Streets on the South Side of Chicago, now part of the campus of the Stagg School of Excellence.

All-time roster

;Manager * Dave Bancroft, 1948 ;Manager–Chaperone * Patricia Barringer, 1949, 1950 ;Chaperone * Margaret Johnson, 1948

Sources

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League historyAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – Chicago Colleens seasonsAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – Manager/Player profile search results
*''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher:

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Format:

Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

, 294pp. Language: English. *''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Format:

Softcover A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

, 295 pp. Language: English.
Golden Age Era Sports

Margaret Johnson profile

References

{{All-American Girls Professional Baseball League All-American Girls Professional Baseball League teams 1948 establishments in Illinois 1951 disestablishments in Illinois Baseball teams established in 1948 Baseball teams disestablished in 1951 Defunct baseball teams in Chicago Women's sports in Chicago 1940s in Chicago