Wednesday, August 6, 2025

1914 All American Ladies Base Ball Club Postcard

Though known primarily for his Negro League contributions, the Hall of Fame executive J.L. Wilkinson also made history--or shall we say, herstory--by establishing the first notable barnstorming team of "Bloomer Girls." (So named for the bloomer-style pants that allowed suffrage-era women more freedom of movement.) As noted in Wilkinson's SABR biography by Charles F. Faber, "He recruited the best female baseball players he could find, including a superstar from the Boston Bloomer Girls, who played under the name Carrie Nation." Indeed, Nation (née Mae Arbaugh and assuredly not the hatchet-wielding temperance icon!) is featured prominently here, along with Marie Dierl, Harriet Murphy, Elizabeth Pull, Marguerite Cunningham, Mae Fay, Anna McCann, Selma Walbaun and Mable Bohle.

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