Chicago womens softball

Question
Having been born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, I remember going to many women's softball games at a small baseball park (I think on 75th street).  I'm pretty sure at least two of the teams were the Cardnals and the Bluebirds.  But I cannot find any reference to them anywhere on the internet.  I'm hoping you might know something of their history.  Thanks in advance...Jim,  Oregon

Answer
Hi Jim,

Thank you for your question.  I had fun researching Chicago softball.  In 1944 the National Girls Softball League was formed.  In 1946 its name was changed to the National Girls Baseball League.  It folded in 1953.  Interestingly, despite their latter name, they played with a softball and batters could use softball bats.  Two of the league's teams were the Cardinals and Bluebirds, and there was a park on 75th Street; good memory!  My Google search BLUEBIRDS SOFTBALL CHICAGO produced a complete copy of the August 26th, 1946 Life Magazine.  Pages 63-64 are devoted to the NGBL; good article with B&W photographs.  www.sportsartifacts.com is a business specializing in vintage sports equipment.  I was surprised to see that they have a very informative article about the NGBL.  Also, they have for sale approximately twenty NGBL artifacts and you can learn a lot about the NGBL just by reading the descriptions of each piece.  Why don't you get a hold of the site's owner at 1-800-304-3166 or [email protected] and pick his brain about the NGSL and NGBL?  

Good luck with your continued research.  It should be a lot more productive now that you know the actual name(s) of the league!

Scott Kelly (from Oregon, too)