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Historic Women in Baseball collection highlights new Love of the Game auction
Lizzie Arlington was such a good baseball player that she became the first woman to play for a professional men’s team.
Born in 1877 as Elizabeth Stride before adopting her on-field name, Arlington was the youngest of six siblings and grew up playing baseball with her father and brothers in Mahanoy City, Pa.
At age 13, she pitched for the Mahanoy City team against the visiting Cincinnati Reds professional women’s team, which was barnstorming through the area. Reds' manager Mark Lally was so impressed that he signed her to play for his own team, sharing pitching duties with Maud Nelson, another well-known female player.
After playing for the Young Ladies Baseball Club of New York in 1894-95, Arlington attracted such widespread attention that Atlantic League President Edward G. Barrow signed her to a minor league contract.
On July 5, 1898, she became the first woman to play for a professional men's team, pitching the ninth inning for the Reading (Pa.) Coal Heavers against the Allentown Peanuts. She preserved a 5-0 victory as the crowd of more than 1,000, including 200 women, reportedly chanted “Good for Lizzie!”
Arlington’s performance was so inspiring that a writer for the Hartford Courant proclaimed, “She plays ball like a man and talks ball like a man and if it was not for her bloomers she would be taken for a man on the diamond, having none of the peculiarities of women ball players.”
Arlington was one of many female players who played professional baseball in the late 1880s and early 20th century, including Nelson, Ruth Egan and Alta Weiss. Those and many other early pioneers helped open the door for women to compete in the pro and semi-pro game.
Love of the Game Auctions has an amazing collection of Women in Baseball memorabilia from the late 19th and early 20th century in its latest auction. Bidding opens Aug. 19.
Assembled over decades by a single consigner, the 97-piece collection includes cabinets, postcards and photos. According to LOTG, the collection “showcases both the theatrical, burlesque side and true early athleticism, as female players fought against the idea of baseball being a gendered sport.”
“We are incredibly fortunate to present this world-class collection,” LOTG Auction Director Al Crisafulli said. “It features many players who are recognized pioneers in women’s sports, as well as lesser-known amateur players and teams. Regardless of their prominence, each one of these women helped carry the torch that established the game as America’s Pastime — not just for men, but for everyone.”
LOTG’s Women in Baseball auction also includes a historical retrospective in its Summer 2023 digital auction catalog, which can be assessed on the LOTG website at loveofthegameauctions.com.
