This rarely seen, black and white 1947 theatrical short-subject film is part of an obscure series called “Woman Speaks” that looked at the changing representations of women in post-war society. It was produced by H.A. Spanuth and directed by Jack Lieb, with narration by Shirley Van De Sande. This episode, “Home (Plate) is the Place for Women Now!” focuses on professional women’s baseball teams, in this case the Bluebirds and Parichy’s Bloomer Girls. The venue shown is Bidwell Stadium, at located at 1975 E 75th St. in Chicago. These teams were part of the National Girls Baseball League (NGBL) which was a professional women’s baseball league which existed from 1944 to 1954, with teams based in Chicago, Illinois. The National Girls Baseball League started a year after the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), which was featured in the film “A League of Their Own”. In addition to the Bloomer Girls and Bluebirds, the 1947 teams included the Chicks, Queens, Music Maids and Cardinals (former Sparks). The 1947 Champion was Parichy’s Bloomer Girls of Forest Park, IL. Gwen Wong (shown in the film) finished that season 14-9 and then left baseball to become a missionary. With the resumption of professional baseball in the post-war period, the National Girls Baseball League came under increasing financial pressure, and finally succumbed in 1954.
The film shows fans showing up for a game in the midwest, and players emerging from the locker room (1:20). At 1:39, large crowds are shown in the stadium. At 1:47, Pat Carson the leading home run hitter, and Loretta Davis of the Queens are shown. At 1:57, Bloomer Girls player Wilda Mae Turner rests a sprained ankle. At 2:07, Bluebirds player Margaret Burger gets her ankle taped as well. At 2:04, the Bluebirds’ catcher Kay Rohrer and pitcher Lonnie Stark are shown consulting before batting practice. At 2:28, Chinese American pitcher Gwen Wong of San Francisco throws underhanded from the mound, similar to a softball pitch. The teams are introduced at 2:50 before the game begins.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
