Bandits, honoring the past, also in a league of their own
She was only 8 when the movie "A League of Their Own" was released in 1992, but Stacy May says she remembers being very intrigued by the main characters.
Now a third baseman for the Chicago Bandits, the 25-year-old May probably couldn't have imagined back then just how much she'd eventually have in common with the players of the All-American Girls Baseball League.
They were the pioneering women of the 1940s and 1950s who played professional baseball when World War II put the men's game on hold.
It was the opportunity of a lifetime that helped open minds and change opinions about women who played sports.
More than 50 years later, May and her teammates also could be considered pioneers.
They're part of the NPF, the National Professional Fastpitch league, which is fighting an uphill battle to establish a pro women's sports league that can be independently successful and viable.
What a great moment it will be Saturday in Elgin when some of the pioneers from yesterday meet some from today.
Throughout the Bandits' doubleheader against the Indiana Slammers at Judson University (6:05 p.m.), some of the women from the All-American Girls Baseball League will be on hand to chat up NPF players and coaches.
They'll also be available to sign autographs for fans, who will be treated to music from the 1940s and '50s as well as discounts on classic ballpark food.
"It's great to be able to meet those women who were pioneers for what we're doing today," said May, who was named the 2008 NPF player of the year and capped last season by leading the Bandits to the league title.
"But I don't know if back then they knew that they were doing something really special. I think they were just playing ball because they loved it so much, kind of like we are."
Love for the game helped the women of the All-American Girls Baseball League ignore the people who thought women had no place in sports. Love for the game helps the women of the NPF overlook the lack of frills - and money - in their league.
May guesses that the majority of players in the NPF make between $4,000 and $10,000 for the entire summer, while some make as little as $2,500.
"There isn't a person on this team (Bandits) who wouldn't make way more money in a full-time job doing something else," May said. "But it's the dream. And you can't do this forever. So you sacrifice for a few years to be able to follow the dream and play ball."
That was Terry Donahue's dream.
She wanted to play ball. So in 1946 she traveled to Chicago all the way from Canada for a tryout in the All-American Girls Baseball League. She made the cut and spent four seasons as a catcher for the Peoria Redwings from 1946-49.
Donahue will be at Judson University on Saturday for the Bandits' doubleheader.
"We were all playing softball when we were scouted, but we couldn't even get scholarships to play softball in college," said Donahue, who is now 84 and living in St. Charles. "To have professional fast pitch now is a big step. It's a great step. Women's sports have come a long way."
But for Donahue and her teammates, those earliest days, immortalized by the movie, will never be forgotten.
"When we were playing, we would have never dreamt that one day we'd be in Cooperstown and a movie would be made about us," Donahue said. "Remembering that time is what keeps us all young."
Thumbs up: Congratulations to Candice Dupree and Sylvia Fowles of the Chicago Sky. Both were among the top five vote-getters for the Eastern Conference all-star team, which means they will be starters in next weekend's WNBA All-Star Game in Connecticut. Dupree is averaging 15.8 points, while Fowles is at 11.8 points and leads the 7-8 Sky with 8.6 rebounds per game. -
On Tuesday, Chicago Red Stars forward Cristiane was named Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Week. In a win over FC Gold Pride on Sunday, she became the first player in WPS history to record a hat trick.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com