Racine Belles : the Rise and Fall of the Faded Stars of the All-American Girls' Baseball League

Abstract

This research project surveys the rise and fall of the Racine Belles, an All-American Girls Professional Baseball team that was created to save professional baseball during the 1940s and 1950s. During this time, Major League Baseball?s leading players joined the war effort to combat the Axis powers during World War II, creating a fear that the loss of these men could lead to the end of the sport. This project studies why the popular and victorious Belles were disbanded sooner than other AAGPBL teams.