A League of Their Own: A Film Review

“There’s no crying in baseball!”

Those are the famous lines said by Tom Hanks who played the Rockford Peaches Manager Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own.

This movie is based on some historical events that happened during World War II. Released on July 1, 1992 (31 years ago), A League of Their Own put out a show stopping, comedic, charismatic sports film just in time for the summer and baseball season. 

The premise of this movie was that during WWII, the majority of the young men went overseas  and the women were asked to step into their shoes and go into the workforce. That even meant stepping into baseball cleats. Baseball players from the MLB Franchise went overseas to take care of Hitler and the Nazis while the women from across the country and even Canada signed up to play in women’s baseball.

In this All-Star cast featuring the likes of Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Don Lovitz, Bill Pullman and Gary Marshall, they bring romance, comedy and what it felt like in the 40s to be in women’s baseball.

The tale tells of the story of two sisters, Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and her kid sister Kitt Keller (Lori Petty) who try out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). These two dynamic sisters make the team but they, along with other women,  struggle to deal with issues that women during that time had to deal with; present themselves as ladies, be professional ball players, follow strict curfew rules, and etc.  They had to endure beauty and charm school, try to please the crowd and all the while play baseball. Men didn’t have to do this because baseball was a sport, not some fashion show. Even the uniforms were designed to show off skin so as to appease the male spectators.

When the threat of the league is to be shut down, Dottie and the girls “man up” put on a show and let America know that girls could also play baseball. Based on accurate events such as no men visitors, chaperones, receiving death letters about their loved ones from the U.S. Military; these women from 1943-1954 were able to hang up their oven mitts and trade them for baseball mitts to give America a hope and to enjoy their favorite pastime, baseball.

Tom Hanks was spectacular in portraying what men originally felt when managing an all girls team. Although his character wasn’t real, it has been speculated that Hanks may have been portrayed as one of the original Rockford Peaches managers who had a stellar career in baseball and had to end his career due to injuries. Dugan originally didn’t think girls could play ball and wanted nothing to do with them, until he learned from Dottie that women have the stuff to play ball. He helps his team along the way to the World Series and learns a series of life lessons from all his ball players.

A League of Their Own is a funny, family fun film that teaches life lessons on what it means to overcome the odds and also to stand up for what you believe in. These women who were part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League showed America what they could do, and also that they were remembered as being part of something big, even when faced with a male dominating world.

This movie is for anyone who loves baseball and wants to get a glimpse of what it was like for young girls and women in the 40s who at a time when America needed something to enjoy during the war, these ball players gave them the grit, cheers and salutations that they needed. 

Directed by the late Penny Marshall, A League of Their Own is a timeless classic that you can sit and watch with your loved ones and enjoy baseball for the fun simplicity of what it is, and also have the courage to try your best and put your best cleat forward. 

Check out the official website for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for an in-depth look at the lives of these phenomenal women who took up the plate to do something more. 

The National Baseball Hall of Fame website has dedicated sections of their site to these great ball players who paved the way for women to be recognized.

Life Magazine provides a thorough outlook of these women from the 40s-50s as they played professional baseball for America. Here you will find actual photos and information about these ball players. 

Actress Geena Davis has dedicated herself over the past few decades to inspiring women, educating and helping push the dynamics of equality in the arts and workforce. Her site the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media is something worthwhile to look at. You will find a lot of resources and interesting articles.

Own a copy today from Sony Pictures or stream online. If you want to dig deep into the story of how the film was made, then preorder “No Crying in Baseball: The Inside Story of a League of Their Own: Big Stars, Dugout Drama, and a Home Run for Hollywood by Erin Carlson. This is released this upcoming September. You can relive the memories of the film from interviews with the cast and creators as they discussed the late Penny Marshall who put forth an exciting film that is for the ages. This book is available at various bookstores including Bookshop.org

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