Women's Professional Baseball League Launches Season in Springfield, Illinois

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Context and data added by our newsroom from primary and authoritative sources — not in the original wire report.

• Justine Siegal became the first woman to coach for a Major League Baseball organization in 2015 with the Oakland Athletics.

• Keith Stein is a lawyer and sports investor.

• The WPBL draft took place at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., in August 2025.

• Kelsie Whitmore became the first woman to start and pitch in the Atlantic League in 2022.

• Kelsie Whitmore pitched in the Pioneer League in 2024.

• Mo'ne Davis was the first girl to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history in 2014.

• The New York Heights are named for Dorothy Irene Height.

• Dorothy Irene Height was a civil rights and women’s rights leader from New York.

• The San Francisco Firebells are named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit.

• Lillie Hitchcock Coit was known as “Firebelle” and was a patron of the San Francisco volunteer firefighters.

• The Los Angeles Queens are named for Lizzie Murphy.

• Lizzie Murphy was a baseball pioneer who played professionally with men and was known as the “Queen of the Diamond.”

• The Boston Hunters are named for Harriot K. Hunt.

• Harriot K. Hunt was a pioneering Boston physician and women’s rights activist.

• The WPBL plans to launch a developmental league in Springfield in 2027.

• In 1875, Springfield was the site of the first game in which two women’s teams, the Blondes and Brunettes, were paid to play baseball.

• Philip Wrigley established the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943.

• The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League lasted until 1954.

• The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League had 14 franchises at its height.

• Four All-American Girls Professional Baseball League franchises were located in Illinois.

• James Fitzpatrick built a stadium in Springfield and won a franchise for the Springfield Sallies.

• The Springfield Sallies played for six weeks.

• Dolly Vanderlip “Lippy” Ozburn pitched for two years in the 1950s in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

• The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League inspired the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”

• Jeneane Lesko played in the final years of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

• Amanda Gianelloni plays for the San Francisco Firebells.

• Sabrina Robinson plays infield for the Boston Hunters.

• Nylah Ramirez was drafted to the Boston Hunters as a right-handed pitcher.

• Amira Hondras plays for the Los Angeles Queens.

• Amira Hondras was selected as the first girl in the White Sox Amateur City Elite youth baseball team at age 12.

• Jill Albayati was a first-round pick for the San Francisco Firebells.

• Kat Williams is the CEO of the International Women’s Baseball Center.

• Kat Williams helped found the International Women’s Baseball Center in 2012.

• Kat Williams is a board member for the Women's Professional Baseball League.

• Madison Willan plays for the New York Heights.

• Beth Greenwood serves as both a catcher and a coach in the WPBL.

• The WPBL operates under a $95,000 salary cap per team.

• The WPBL covers living expenses for players during their stay in Springfield.

• WPBL players receive a cut of sponsorship money.

• The WPBL has three public sponsors: Horace Mann, Dick's Sporting Goods, and New Era.

• Justine Siegal founded the nonprofit Baseball For All in 2015.

• Approximately 25% of WPBL players are alumni of Baseball For All.

• The U.S. has fielded a national women’s baseball team since 2004.

• The Women’s Baseball World Cup is held biannually.

• Japan has won seven consecutive Women’s Baseball World Cup titles.

• Japan's Venus League was founded in 2009.

• Baseball Australia states that 6,000 girls and women are playing baseball in Australia this year.

• Canada has approximately 200 girls-only baseball teams.

• Megan Cundari oversees girls and women’s development for Baseball Canada.

• The WPBL was formally announced in October 2024.

• The Ladies Professional Baseball League shut down in its second season in 1998.

• The Women’s Baseball World Cup is held every three years.

• The U.S. national women’s baseball team finished undefeated in the qualifying round of the Women’s Baseball World Cup.

• The U.S. national women’s baseball team qualified for the finals of the Women’s Baseball World Cup next year.

• "They were paid actresses. It was like burlesque baseball. ... They played in St. Louis for one of their games, and the police were actually called. They came ‘this close’ to being arrested."

• The Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) is the first all-women professional baseball league in the United States since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), which operated from 1943 to 1954.

• In 1875, Springfield, Illinois, was the site of one of the earliest paid women’s baseball games between two teams, the Blondes and Brunettes.

  Source: Robin Roberts Stadium Selected as Home for 2026 Season -

• The WPBL will launch a developmental league in 2027, based in Springfield, Illinois, building on the city's historical connection to women's baseball.

  Source: Robin Roberts Stadium Selected as Home for 2026 Season -

• The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), which preceded the WPBL, had four franchises in Illinois at its peak, including the Rockford Peaches, which were featured in the 1992 film and 2022 TV series “A League of Their Own.”

• Robin Roberts Stadium is baseball stadium in Springfield, Illinois USA.

• Robin Roberts Stadium, named after Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, opened in 1925 and has undergone recent renovations including a new LED video board.

• The WPBL selected Robin Roberts Stadium as its home venue because it offered exclusive use of the facility for the entire 2026 season, which was a key factor in the decision over other potential sites.

  Source: Robin Roberts Stadium Selected as Home for 2026 Season -

• The WPBL evaluated 200 venues across the U.S. before selecting Robin Roberts Stadium, with most other offers involving shared facilities, while the WPBL sought full ownership of the space during the 2026 season.

• Golden Rule Entertainment, a sports and entertainment group that owns minor league baseball teams, will manage all baseball operations for the WPBL in 2026 and will also launch and manage a developmental league in 2027.