Women’s Fight for Inclusion

Although female athletes did not gain the media coverage or accolades accorded to men，they did make substantial gains in sport during the 1920s as part of the larger sweep of social change and of women's activism in pursuitof public roles.One of themajor goals of thewomen'smovement in the United Stateswas achieved in 1920，when women won the right to vote.Music，theater，and mo-vies all presentedmore liberated images ofwomen，and young urban women in particular soughtnew ways to express themselves.

In 1943，withmany professional baseball players serving in themilitary，Cubs owner Philip Wrigley initiated the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League（AAGPBL）10 as a Midwestern alternative.Itwas originally designed as a softball organization，but the women soon graduated to baseball rules and enjoyed immense popularity.They drew nearly amillion patrons in 1948，and the league lasted until 1954.