Women Play Ball

September 3, 2026

Lillian Stone

A young baseball player wearing a helmet kneels on a base. — THE BIG LEAGUES Mo’ne Davis plays in the first WPBL game, on August 1, in Springfield, Illinois. WOMEN’S PRO BASEBALL LEAGUE

On August 1, Mo’ne Davis tore across home plate to score a run. It wasn’t just any run: It was the first run scored during a Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) game. The WPBL is a new pro baseball league for women in the United States. It’s the first one in more than 70 years.

The last time the U.S. had a professional baseball league for women was in 1954. That was the final year for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), which started in 1943. There have been few opportunities for women in professional baseball since then.

In an old black-and-white photo, a baseball coach talks with a group of women players on the field.

DREAM TEAM Eddie Stumpf coaches the Rockford Peaches, an AAGPBL team, in 1943.

BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

Home Run History

Justine Siegal started the WPBL. In 2015, she was hired by the Oakland Athletics as a guest coach, making her the first female coach in Major League Baseball. Interest in women’s baseball “has never been higher,” she told TFK. “Baseball’s the greatest game on Earth, and we should all have a chance to participate.”

Mo’ne Davis, who scored the league’s first run, has made baseball history before. In 2014, at 13, she pitched in the Little League World Series. She became the first girl to pitch a shutout shutout a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring (noun) in a Little League game. She told TFK it feels “really nice to finally get out there and just play.”

New Teams in Town

The WPBL has started with four teams. They represent Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. This inaugural inaugural beginning; first (adjective) season, the teams all play in Springfield, Illinois. ESPN will show the games on TV, including the championships, which begin September 16.