Maureen McCollum: In the early 1940s, many women stepped up to the plate to become professional baseball players after most men were drafted to serve in World War II. Heewone Lim brings us the story of the players on the Racine Belles and specifically their uniform — which was a dress. It was made famous in the 1992 film, “A League of Their Own.” One of the movie’s costumes is a part of the Wisconsin 101 collection, which tells the history of the state through objects.

Heewone Lim: In 1943, Philip Wrigley, a gum manufacturer and owner of the Chicago Cubs, came up with an idea. Professional baseball players had to turn their attention to WWII, but that didn’t mean baseball had to go away. So, he formed the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Wrigley recruited players from across the country, but the first four teams were based in the Midwest. Two were based in Wisconsin: the Kenosha Comets and the Racine Belles.

The Belles were briefly featured in the movie “A League of Their Own.” Although the film came out over three decades ago, the iconic costumes have stood the test of time.

Soundclip from the film: “Ya’ll have to get fitted for your uniforms, and this is what they’re gonna look like. Pretty darn nifty if you ask me. [whistles] How ‘bout that, Billy.”

“We can’t slide in that!”

“Hey that’s a dress!”

“It’s half a dress!”

“Excuse me, that’s not a baseball uniform!”

“Yeah! What do you think we are? Ball players or ballerinas?” [laughs]

Heewone Lim: Costume designer Cynthia Flynt said she consulted former players and clothing catalogs from that time period.

Cynthia Flynt: I received a whole uniform, socks, belt, those little undershorts. Really, I just copied it.

Heewone Lim: The uniforms worn by the female ballplayers, consisted of a belted, short-sleeved tunic dress with a flared skirt. Flynt said the lack of protection from the skirts led to injuries.

Cynthia Flynt: I mean, I guess the thing that was always so striking was about that they had to wear these skirts and the injuries that they got from sliding in, ya know, the bruises and the scrapes. I mean, their thighs were a mess.

Heewone Lim: Former Racine Belles player Sophie Kurys talked about this in an interview with Grand Valley State University. She said the red abrasions from sliding into dirt base-running were called “strawberries.”

Sophie Kurys: I had strawberry upon strawberry. Even today, sometimes when I get up in the morning, I say “uh oh, this bothers me a little bit, but not bad. When it’s sore, it leaks, but our chaperone was pretty sharp. She made a donut affair and put it across the strawberry so that it wouldn’t leak on my clothes because if it did, man, it would stick to you and you would have to pull that off and you’d be in agony.

Heewone Lim: Rules stated that skirts were to be worn no more than 6 inches above the knee, but the regulation was often ignored so players could run and field. The players also attended a charm school to ensure that they displayed “ladylike” behavior.

Kurys said players always had a skirt or a dress on hand in case they needed to go in public.

Sophie Kurys: And, ya know, when we had a pit stop, the girls — if we had shorts on — we had to put dresses or skirts on because we never could be seen in public in shorts or slacks. Never.

Heewone Lim: When taking the characters’ backgrounds into consideration for the costume designs, Flynt said the players’ reactions to playing baseball in skirts makes sense.

Cynthia Flynt: I mean, those women were farmers and wore pants and overalls. And I think there was a genuine like, ‘Really? We have to wear dresses? This is insane.”

Heewone Lim: The Racine Belles played for eight seasons in Wisconsin from 1943 until 1950, when they moved to Michigan. The team relocated to Battle Creek and then to Muskegon, playing three more seasons, but the Belles folded in 1953. The rest of the league went out of business in 1954. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was quietly forgotten until the release of “A League of Their Own” 40 years later, which grossed more than $132 million at the box office.

Maureen McCollum: Heewone Lim brought us that story on the Racine Belles movie costume which is part of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s collection. It’s also part of the Wisconsin 101 project which tells the history of the state through objects. Wisconsin Life is a co-production of Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS-Wisconsin, in partnership with Wisconsin Humanities. Additional support comes from Lowell and Mary Peterson of Appleton. I’m Maureen McCollum.