Women in Baseball Week 2024 was a blast! Mark your calendar for WIBW2025, July 20-26 wherever you are, anytime during the week. How? That’s up to you! If you are involved with baseball yourself, post on your favorite social media site using #WomeninBaseballWeek and #WIBW2025 in your posts. If you are part of a team, museum, library, historical society, or other group that have local women who have left their mark on baseball in your region, share their contributions with the world.
About
Women in Baseball Week is an annual, worldwide event recognizing the value, diversity, and cultural significance of women in baseball. Women play a vital role in all aspects of the sport north, south, east and west–-help us celebrate each one! Tournaments, teams, libraries, museums, and individuals will join the International Women’s Baseball Center to recognize women’s contributions to baseball around the globe.
This year’s theme – #ReadBaseball – celebrates the books, writers, and libraries that record, preserve, and honor our history.
While recent years have seen more women on the field, behind the plate, and in the broadcast booth, this momentum can only be sustained with everyone’s investment in working together, all around the world. By joining forces and supporting those with similar goals, we create more opportunities, expand youth participation, and encourage a culture that places women at the center of the world’s best sport. This is the week to celebrate those efforts! Share your story and join those worldwide who step up to the sport for a stronger tomorrow.
How you can participate:
- Promote your team and playing opportunities
- Highlight your participation in baseball with a photo or story
- Encourage your local library or bookstore to participate
- Spotlight your organization’s materials that document women in baseball
- Share your local history of women in baseball
- Grab a t-shirt from our friends at Bonfire
Share your events and experiences online! Add #WomeninBaseballWeek and #ReadBaseball to share your chapter to the story.
2024 Events
Here are a few of the events scheduled for this year’s celebration!
Events throughout the year will be posted here. If you have a Women in Baseball event to share, contact us at info@womeninbaseballweek.org
2024 – 2025
Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum: Gertrude “Gertie” Dunn Statue Unveiling (Wayne, PA, USA) March 25, 2024
Starting March 25, 2024, the public is invited to view the statue at the Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum 301 Iven Avenue Wayne, Pa. Hours are Monday through Friday 9am to 3pm.
Gertrude “Gertie” Dunn, one of Delaware County’s greatest athletes of all time, graduated from Sharon Hill High School in 1952. Later Gertie attended West Chester University and graduated with the class of 1960. The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum has commissioned sculptor Jennifer Frudakis Petry to create a twenty-four-inch bronze sculpture of Gertie playing for the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, made famous by the 1992 film A League of Their Own.
For more information on Gertie’s athletic achievements, visit www.
Rockford University & IWBC: Chasing A Dream – The Story of Girls and Women in Baseball (Rockford, IL, USA) July – December, 2024
This exhibition showcases the contributions that women have made to baseball, both on and off the playing field from the late 1850s through today, using reproduced images as well as rare archival and three-dimensional artifacts to tell the story. Chasing A Dream runs from mid-July through December, 2024 at Rockford University’s Howard Colman Library. Admission is free. Check open hours schedule at Howard Colman Library.
All the Way – The Life of Baseball Trailblazer Maybelle Blair: Pre-Order (Online) September – December, 2024
Maybelle Blair’s entire life has been about baseball—women’s baseball. About playing it, preserving its history, and making it accessible to everyone. A former player for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that inspired the movie A League of Their Own, Maybelle broke down barriers for women in the sport, continues to be a mentor for young girls who seek opportunities to play, and is an inspiration for the LGBTQ+ community.
Find more information and pre-order your copy today at Rowman & Littlefield.
Baseball PEI: Ashley Stephenson Camps (Stratford, PE, Canada) October 18 – 20, 2024
We are super excited to be welcoming Ashley Stephenson to PEI from October 18th-20th.
16U/21U Women
– Friday 1:00PM – 4:00 PM at Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
– Saturday 1:00PM – 5:00 PM at Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
14U Girls
– Saturday 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM at Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
12U Girls
– Sunday 10:00AM – 12:00 PM at Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
You can register by following the link below.
http://BPEI.rampregistrations.com
Rockford University Forum: “Design, Luck, and the Rockford Peaches: All Things Are Connected” (Rockford, IL, USA) October 23, 2024
Barbara Gregorich, author of the 1993 book, Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball, will speak on how and why she decided to research women baseball players and how her research for the historically significant, but always elusive, Maud Nelson led her across fifty years and half of the US—inevitably culminating with Rose Gacioch and the magnificent Rockford Peaches. 7:00pm in Fisher Chapel. More at Forum Series.
9 Online: Virtual Conference (Online) October 24-25, 2024
The organizers of the NINE Spring Training Conference are proud to announce the 3rd Annual 9-Online Virtual Baseball Conference. Like our annual spring conference, this interdisciplinary conference features presentations on a wide range of baseball topics. But brought to you online.
Join us for two days of presentations, baseball talk, and networking, as we take in the Major League post-season! More information at 9 Online.
The California Museum: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues (Sacramento, CA, USA) October 26, 2024 – January 19, 2025.
Developed in collaboration with the National Museum of American History, the ¡Pleibol! exhibit examines how generations of Latinos/as have helped make the game what it is today. From youth and community teams to the Major League, the exhibition reveals how baseball brings people together regardless of race, class, or gender. These inspirational baseball stories reflect larger themes in American history that connect us all, on and off the diamond. For details, visit Pleibol.
Rockford Peaches Girls Baseball: Girls Baseball Crosstown Classic (Rockford, IL, USA)
October 26, 2024
Join Rockford’s own Lil’ Peaches for the first ever Crosstown Classic with Warren Park Girls Baseball. Food, vendors, and plenty of activities beginning at 11:00am Central on Saturday, October 26th at historic Beyer Stadium (245 15th Ave, Rockford, IL 61104). See you there!
IWBC Author Talk: Baseball The Movie by Noah Gittell (Online) October 27, 2024
Join IWBC’s virtual book club in discussion of Baseball: The Movie, the first definitive history of this film genre that was born in 1915 and remains artistically and culturally vital more than a century later. Writer and critic Noah Gittell sheds light on well-known classics and overlooked gems, exploring how baseball cinema creates a stage upon which the American ideal is born, performed, and repeatedly redefined. 3:00pm Eastern on Sunday, October 27th. Register on Zoom.
San Francisco Bay Sox: Girls Baseball Clinics (San Francisco, CA, USA) November 16, 2024
FREE GIRLS BASEBALL CLINICS – Come out to learn, develop and play with the Bay Sox!
Offered Once A Month: Saturday, November 16th at Silver Terrace.
10am-11:30am – Ages 7-10
12pm-1:30pm – Ages 11-14
Sign up: www.linktr.ee/sfbaysox
Old Fort Baseball Co. : YLNI Indoor Market (Fort Wayne, IN, USA) November 16, 2024
Join Old Fort Baseball Co. at the YLNI Indoor Market (1501 East Berry Street) to stock up on your favorite Fort Wayne Daisies gear and more! Can’t make the market? Visit Old Fort Baseball Co. online!
SPoRT Apparel & Collectibles: Merry Market during Stroll on State (Rockford, IL, USA) November 30, 2024
Join us on Saturday, November 30th from 2:00-9:00pm for vendors, live music, and holiday cheer! SPoRT Makeup and SPoRT Apparel & Collectibles will be there with new Rockford Peaches gear and more! Come see us at Rockford City Indoor Market. Can’t make the market? Visit iwearSPoRT.com
Old Fort Baseball Co. : YLNI Indoor Market (Fort Wayne, IN, USA) November 30, 2024
Join Old Fort Baseball Co. at the YLNI Indoor Market (1501 East Berry Street) to stock up on your favorite Fort Wayne Daisies gear and more! Can’t make the market? Visit Old Fort Baseball Co. online!
4th Annual Leighton Accardo Series (Chandler, AZ, USA) December 7 – 8, 2024
Espee & Pima Park – Chandler, AZ
3 Game Guarantee
Any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re available via PM/Text/Call.
Adam Scott
East Valley Tournaments
480-335-3345
adam.scott24@yahoo.com
San Francisco Bay Sox: Girls Baseball Clinics (San Francisco, CA, USA) December 7, 2024
FREE GIRLS BASEBALL CLINICS – Come out to learn, develop and play with the Bay Sox!
Offered Once A Month: Saturday, December 7th at Silver Terrace.
10am-11:30am – Ages 7-10
12pm-1:30pm – Ages 11-14
Sign up: www.linktr.ee/sfbaysox
SPoRT Apparel & Collectibles: Holiday Merry Market during Stroll on State (Rockford, IL, USA) December 13, 2024
Join us on Friday, December 13th from 4:00-8:00pm for vendors, live music, and holiday cheer! SPoRT Makeup and SPoRT Apparel & Collectibles will be there with new Rockford Peaches gear and more! Come see us at Rockford City Indoor Market. Can’t make the market? Visit iwearSPoRT.com
Old Fort Baseball Co. : YLNI Indoor Market (Fort Wayne, IN, USA) December 14 & 21, 2024
Join Old Fort Baseball Co. at the YLNI Indoor Market (1501 East Berry Street) to stock up on your favorite Fort Wayne Daisies gear and more! Can’t make the market? Visit Old Fort Baseball Co. online!
Sutter County Museum: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues (Yuba City, CA, USA) February 8 – May 4, 2025
Developed in collaboration with the National Museum of American History, the ¡Pleibol! exhibit examines how generations of Latinos/as have helped make the game what it is today. From youth and community teams to the Major League, the exhibition reveals how baseball brings people together regardless of race, class, or gender. These inspirational baseball stories reflect larger themes in American history that connect us all, on and off the diamond. For details, visit Pleibol.
Community Champions
The 2023 theme – Community Champions – celebrated those pioneers who leveled the playing field in their own communities. From grassroots efforts through the creation of national and international programs, we honor the champions of our communities by sharing their stories and learning from their example.
Aurora B.
Aurora is a Community Champion. She loves baseball and loves sharing that with others. She always takes the time to help other female players feel more comfortable coming out to play. At the start of this season, while playing catch, she noticed a female opponent at the plate was so scared she was almost in tears. Aurora stopped the game to stand up, look that young lady right in the eye and tell her she deserves to play just like everyone else. She helped calm her opponent and got right back into the game. Aurora hasn’t had it easy without female players in our league to look up to but she has dedicated time to helping other younger females learn to play and stay.
Robbin M.
During a family picnic in the Spring of 1974, Robbin heard loud cheers and boos coming from across the park. As a curious 9-year-old, third-grader, Robbin ran over to observe a game of little league baseball being played. After watching the game for a few minutes, Robbin’s interest was piqued to learn how to baseball. The rest is history as Robbin’s first year of playing little league baseball is told as a memoir in her chapter book for girls.
Breaking Barriers: A Girl’s Dream to Play Baseball with Boys follows Robbin’s journey from a spectator to a team player. Through her struggles to fit in, gain respect, and prove her worth, Robbin learns the true meaning of hard work and dedication. With a strong supporting cast of characters, this book is a heartwarming tale of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity during a time when societal expectations for girls were set in stone without question.
To learn more about Robbin’s story, read Breaking Barriers: A Girl’s Dream to Play Baseball with Boys.
Shirley Burkovich
Shirley Burkovich was a former AAGPBL player, who for decades, supported and advocated for girls and women in baseball at events like the Women’s Baseball World Cup, Baseball For All Nationals. or the Red Sox Women’s Fantasy Camp. She was a founding member of the International Women’s Baseball Center and was instrumental in bringing countless events and playing opportunities back to Rockford, where she played professionally in 1951. Everyone who knew her loved her and misses her.
Learn more about Shirley’s life and career in her own words in a 2017 interview with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum: Shirley Burkovich – Sports Stories Baseball
Madalynne Dittmar
Madie grew up watching baseball. Then once in high school as a freshmen joined the baseball team as the first girl student manager. In the first year learned how to take care of the field to doing the players stats. While only entering sophomore year helped lead the boys to the first conference win which had not happened in over 5 years. With two more years left is studying so she can apply to manage a college baseball team while still over the summer helping manage a travel baseball team.
Bonnie Hoffman
Bonnie is a leader at every level for girls and women in baseball. She is the driving force behind the Eastern Women’s Baseball Conference and the Director of the Diamond Classic women’s baseball tournament every year in Virginia. Bonnie is also a Head Coach at DC Girls Baseball, running the 10u and 12u programs. Bonnie volunteers with Nationals Youth Academy and is active in the Aspen Institute for Sports and is a key participant in the Diversity initiative at the American Baseball Coaches Association. Bonnie is a one of a kind leader who has left her mark at all levels of baseball.
Sarah Langs
“She’s a super stats geek in a great way!” Langs grew up in New York, went to the University of Chicago, interned at the New York Daily News and CSN Chicago and then joined ESPN in 2015 as a sports content researcher. She was promoted to senior sports content researcher in 2018 and joined MLB the following year.
Bethany Morlan
Bethany goes above and beyond to bring baseball to the young girls in our community. Making an all girls team “Lil Peaches” who go head to head against boys at every game. Bethany teaches courage and confidence alongside the game. Letting the girls know they can do anything a boy can do! She gives them a team to feel comfortable on and be themselves. Without Bethany there wouldn’t be an all girls team available to my daughter and for that we are so thankful.
Mary Dobkin
“Aunt” Mary Dobkin, a physically handicapped woman living in Baltimore in the 1940s. Dobkin was concerned that juvenile delinquency was destroying her neighborhood. She organized the “Dobkin Dynamiters,” a baseball team comprised of disadvantaged and minority children. A loving but strict coach, she was responsible for several firsts in the coaching industry: the first woman to coach little league in Baltimore, the first coach to integrate a baseball team (1950), and the first to put a girl on an all-boys team (1960).
Josephine Morhard
Josephine established the first boys’ baseball league in America. Her city—and the country—was watching. Beyond all expectations, the Cleveland Indians rallied behind her project. Indians legends Bob Feller, Jeff Heath, and Roy Weatherly helped hone the boys’ skills; renowned sports reporter Hal Lebovitz became an umpire; and they were given permission to play in historic League Park. All the while, as Josephine’s Little Indians graduated into the Junior American and Junior National Leagues, and finally a Little World Series, she instilled in her boys strong values, good sportsmanship, and an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. Some of them, like Ray Lindquist and Jack Heinen, would become Minor League players. Not one of Mrs. Morhard’s boys would ever forget her. Read more about Josephine’s extraordinary work in Mrs. Morhard and the Boys.
Toni Stone
Seeing the new play of Toni Stone and watching her character reflected in A League of Their Own’s Max Chapman gave me a whole new appreciation for what this woman accomplished and endured in her time. An American hero if there ever was one, I salute Toni Stone during Women in Baseball Week for embodying the true spirit of Community Champion and inspiring girls decades later.
Abbi Jacobson & Will Graham
A League of Their Own not only told a great baseball story, but did so in a more honest and historically accurate way. This led to the birth of a whole new community and family for me. I thank Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson for that.
Maybelle Blair
Maybelle Blair is such an inspiration. She means so much to so many of us. Probably more than she will ever realize. Dirt in the skirt, Maybelle!
Po Chun Liu
Po Chun Liu is a great example of a female pioneer in baseball. She deserves every award possible and every day changes the landscape for women athletes, particularly in baseball, ESPECIALLY for umpires, all around the world.
Cami Kidder Divine
She has been the main fuel behind my constant engagement in the game of baseball and most especially girl baseball in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana-Africa. I can confidently say am the only trainer in my country with a girls baseball players in schools and the communities and these girls can play very well. She has not given up in seeking opportunities to have some of the girls display their talent on the international platforms.
SARA ROSE THIBAUT
Being the only female on the field has always been a part of Sara Rose’s baseball journey. With 24 years in the game, she’s still trying to normalize and shatter the stereotypical vision many people still have of who wears a uniform and what they are contributing to the game. Sara Rose moved into an all men’s league after high school and quickly started her own team in that league with true coed goals for her team. Her 1st female recruit was Tamara Holmes, who still plays for her team and after 5 years, they now have 4 female players and a female GM. Sara Rose has also been a baseball Coach at the local high school for 3 years where she has been shaking up the game by being the winning coach for the entire freshman league. Her presence on the field has created the conversation among fans and coaches alike, all asking her questions about her career on the field and how excited they are to see her out there. Normalizing the vision of females on the field, shattering stereotypes and encouraging other females to follow their dreams is everyday business for Sara Rose THIBAUT, a true leader for females in the game.
Doris Hocking
Doris Hocking is the creator of Women’s Baseball-UK, which promotes more women into the sport across the United Kingdom. She is responsible for this organization growing into a multi-team league nationwide and the creation of Great Britain’s first women’s national team, which now competes in international tournaments. Overall, she is known worldwide for being a trailblazer and as someone who has given tirelessly of herself to make baseball more inclusive.
Philly Girls Baseball
Thank you for giving more opportunities to local girls to pursue any sport they want to play and encouraging them to be whatever they want to be. Learn more about this extraordinary program at Philly Girls Baseball.
Barbara Gregorich
Barbara’s books, particularly Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball, opened up a whole world to me. She is a gifted writer whose talent for researching and crafting historical narrative is both accessible and motivation to her readers. Ultimately, her writing has set me on a lifelong journey I never anticipated, but I am so grateful for it.
Contact
Women in Baseball Week, developed by Ryan Woodward, is a project of the International Women’s Baseball Center. Contact Ryan at info@womeninbaseballweek.org.