WPBL – The Sports Fan Project

A League of Their Own had its theatrical release on July 1, 1992.

Film (and baseball fans) will recall it’s a fictionalized story about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that began operation during World War II in 1943 and operated until 1954.

As for the movie, in baseball terms, the cast featured plenty of heavy hitters: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, Bill Pullman, and the always underappreciated David Strathairn. Directed by Penny Marshall, the movie even featured cameos by her old Laverne & Shirley castmates, Eddie Mekka and David Lander.

Madonna as Mae from "A League of Their Own" — **^{Madonna portrayed Mae Mordabito in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own,” director Penny Marshall’s tribute to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League}**.^{(Photo from Columbia Pictures)}

What’s lesser known is that the Columbia Pictures dramatization was based on a 1987 documentary of the same name that Kim Wilson Southerland and Kelly Candaele created. It depicted, in large part, the careers of Kelly’s mother and her sister, Helen and Margaret Callaghan, for whom Dottie and Kit from the theatrical version were based.

Baseball fans might recognize the Candaele name. That’s because Kelly’s brother, Casey, played nine seasons with three teams in Major League Baseball from 1986-97.

Baseball fans may have also figured out why this served as the #FanTeaser this week. This weekend, for the first time since the short-lived Ladies Baseball League (1997-98), a women’s professional baseball league begins play.

The Women’s Pro Baseball League is comprised of four teams (Boston Hunters, New York Heights, Los Angeles Queens, and the San Francisco Firebelles) for its inaugural season, which consists of 15-games per team, all being played in Springfield, IL, at Robin Roberts Stadium. Among the most notable players in the league are Mo’ne Davis (of 2014 Little League Baseball World Series fame) and Kelsie Whitmore (who was the first woman to play in an MLB partner league game and also suits up for the Savannah Bananas).

^{I know I stayed for the closing credits in the theater. If you’ve never seen them, do yourself a favor and press play. Madonna is on the vocals, and the footage of the women playing at Doubleday Field interspersed with cast photos is simply evocative.}

Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.