The women’s Professional Baseball League returns after more than 70 years!
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The eternal struggle for equality experienced by the stars in women’s Sports will live a particularly relevant and emotional moment In 2026, when the women’s Professional Baseball League was opened. Of course, this will not be the first time we see something similar in the United States because From 1943 to 1954 there was the historic All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Immortalized by the 1992 film ‘ELAs Dan el golpe’.
With the entry of the United States into World War II, Several major league baseball executives started a new professional league with women to keep their sport in the public eye, before The possibility of stopping the men’s League due to the recruitment of many of its players, Something finally did not happen.
The league is the leader of women’s professional leagues in the United States. More than 600 women played in this league, which eventually brought together 10 teams located in the American Midwest. In 1948, attendance in the league peaked at over 900,000 spectators.
We had to wait until 1996 to see a women’s professional league of other great American sports. We are talking about basketball and WNBA, A fully established competition at present.
Already in January 2024 , the first match of the professional women’s Hockey League was played – With three teams from the USA and many from Canada -, finally formed a championship that has been brewing since the end of the last century.
In the case of baseball, women have been relegated to rivals Softball, the variant that is played on a smaller court with a larger ball. In fact, it’s the way she was a women’s Olympian up to five times, with three gold medals for the United States and two for Japan.
However, many women have continued to play baseball over the years and about 1,300 high school girls played on boys ‘ teams in the last school year alone. For his part, The NCAA college does not offer women’s baseball but nine women have played on men’s teams in 2024.
A modest league with six teams
The inaugural season of wpbl will take place In the northeastern United States, Which would allow the six participating teams to travel between cities by bus and reduce costs.
Within just 24 hours of the opening of your registration portal, About 400 players were registered from places as disparate as Japan, Canada and the UK, Which indicates a great interest in the project.
That’s right, The big challenge for their survival will be the salary issue, The great backbone of the vast majority of women’s tournaments regardless of sport.
