LINE DRIVES & LIPSTICK

                A new Mercer Museum exhibit focuses on the history of women in baseball

                In 1866, students at the prestigious all-women's Vassar College in New York put down their books and picked up bats and balls.
                Wearing caps and ankle-length dresses, they organized what is believed to be America's first women's baseball team.
                In the nearly 150 years since, women have continued to play America's great pastime, traveling the country to face men's teams, showcasing their talents in the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and achieving some truly amazing feats.
                In 1931, for instance, pitcher Jackie Mitchell became the second woman to sign a minor-league contract.  As if that weren't remarkable enough, the young southpaw delivered back-to-back strikeouts to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig during an exhibition game between her Chattanooga Lookouts and the New York Yankees.
                And it is a woman, Sophie Kurys of the Racine Belles, who holds the record for most stolen bases in one season in any professional league, male or female.  In 1946, she swiped 201 bags in 203 attempts, and she did it while wearing a skirt.
                But these women have been nearly forgotten by history; most fans of the game don't know their names.
                A new exhibit at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, opening Saturday and running through March 17, is trying to change all that.
               The traveling exhibit, called "Line Drives and Lipstick:  The Untold Story of Women's Baseball," features more than 60 artifacts tracing the history of women and the game, starting with the Vassar team in 1866.
               Exhibit curator and archivist John Kovach says most people now know about the All-American Girls Baseball League thanks to the 1992 film "A League of their Own."
               "But there's lots of stuff in between.  It's not just a very limited period of time like the 1940s," he said.  "We wanted to show this timeline."
               Kovach is an archivist at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind.  In 2004, the avid baseball fan and longtime coach pitched the idea to ExhibitsUSA, a Kansas City-based traveling exhibition program managed by Mid-America Arts Alliance, a nonprofit regional arts organization.
               In 2008, the exhibit hit the road with many artifacts Kovach had collected personally.  Included in the collection are gloves, a 1930s rule book, photographs, jerseys and baseballs.
               "It's much more than a history lesson," said Dee Harris, director of visual arts and humanities at Mid-America Arts Alliance.  "It's a message about determination and achievement in which everyone, especially young women, will discover encouragement for their hopes and dreams."
               The Mercer Museum will add some local flavor to the exhibit, including materials from West Rockhill native Ruth Richard, who played for the Rockford Peaches in the All-American Girls League.  The museum will also include a section called "Greater Philadelphia Baseball," featuring men's and women's baseball memorabilia, including a ball signed by the Phillies' 2008 World Championship team.
               Part of the exhibit, says Kovach, portrays a story of struggle.  Women have faced discrimination in baseball.  Even today, young girls are encouraged to play softball not baseball.
               "It's still a huge issue," said Kovach.  "So many athletic directors say, 'It's great that your daughter played baseball until she was 14.  But now she can play softball."
               The women's rights movement of the 1970s and the development of Title IX have improved the situation, he said, but problems still exist.
               Kovach should know.  He's a board member with Baseball for All, which seeks to expand opportunities for girls in baseball.  Kovach has served as a consultant in more than 140 cases in which girls were denied the opportunity to play.  Each year he gets emails from families looking for help.
               "It hasn't dissuaded females who want to play baseball," he said.
               Kovach believes the answer is to start with the youth organizations, encouraging them to support girls baseball.
              "It's got to start from the bottom up," he said.