In 1943, chewing gum mogul Philip K. Wrigley bankrolled a new venture, the first All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Previous to this organization’s founding, women were not allowed to play professional baseball. Apparently, having a uterus only makes you fit for the amateur leagues. Despite that setback however, the all-female league was a massive success, continuing through 1954. Filmmaker and writer Kelly Candaele’s documentary, A League of Their Own, tells the story of these incredible women and will be screening at the San Luis Obispo Library (with Candaele in appearance) as part of their ongoing events for Women’s History Month.
Candaele has a personal history with the league. His mother and aunt both played for teams. This prompted him to make the documentary, which focuses on the players, the teams, friendships, and history of the women who helped break barriers for future female athletes. The documentary won an Emmy and inspired the 1992 feature of the same name, also written by Candaele, with Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.
San Luis Obispo Library hosts Kelly Candaele and his documentary, A League of Their Own, on March 21, at 2 p.m. Candaele will introduce and discuss the film. There will be additional screenings of the documentary at the Atascadero Library on March 20, at 10:30 a.m. and on March 30, at 4 p.m., at the Cayucos Library. For more details about this and other Women’s History Month events, visit slolibrary.org.
This article appears in Mar 19-26, 2015.