During World War II, America’s baseball players were fighting overseas. This is the incredible true story of the women who stepped up to the plate and united a nation.
Learning Objective: to write a letter from the point of view of a character in the play
September 1941
A Small Town in New York
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SD1: Georgia, Florence, and Jennie are playing catch in Georgia’s backyard.
Florence: Georgia Baskin is on the mound! She winds up—and here’s the pitch!
SD2: Georgia pitches the ball to Jennie.
Jennie (catching the ball): Youch!
Georgia Baskin: Sorry, Jen! Just trying out my fastball.
Jennie: Must be Frankie’s mitt. It gives you special powers.
Georgia: Those special powers won’t protect me if Frankie catches me using it.
Florence: How did Frankie get Joe DiMaggio to sign it?
Historian 1: Joe DiMaggio was the most famous baseball player in America in the 1940s.
Georgia: It wasn’t Frankie, it was my dad. He was visiting his brother in New York City. He went to Yankee Stadium and waited in the rain for Joe to show up.
Scene 2
That Night
The Baskins’ House
SD3: As the Baskins sit down to dinner, Frankie complains.
Frankie: I’ve told her a million times not to use my mitt!
Mr. Baskin: Georgia, you know you should be helping your mother after school.
Mrs. Baskin: Georgia had finished her chores.
Frankie: Take it again and I’ll . . .
Mr. Baskin: Enough! Don’t we have more important things to worry about than a baseball mitt?
SD1: The Baskins finish their dinner in silence.
SD2: Afterward, Frankie and Mr. Baskin leave the kitchen, and Georgia helps her mother with the dishes.
Georgia: I’m sorry.
Mrs. Baskin: They’re not really upset with you, dear. They’re just tense. The news isn’t good overseas.
Historian 1: World War II had erupted. Germany had invaded and conquered much of Europe.
Historian 2: There was growing fear that America would enter the war.
Georgia (quietly): Will Frankie have to fight?
Mrs. Baskin: Yes, I believe he will.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images (WWII)
A Difficult Time
Each week, thousands of young men left to fight overseas in World War II. In 1939, the U.S. military had 334,000 men. By 1945, it had 12.2 million.
Scene 3
January 1943
The Office of Philip Wrigley in Chicago
Philip Wrigley: Gentlemen, let’s face facts. Our country is at war. Our best men are on the battlefields, not on the baseball diamonds. All the biggest stars have enlisted: Hank Greenberg, Ted Williams . . .
Historian 1: By 1943, America and its allies were fighting Germany, Japan, and Italy.
Historian 2: Some 9 million American men were in the armed forces—including more than half of all Major League Baseball players.
Arthur E. Meyerhoff: Sir, President Roosevelt himself told us baseball is important for Americans, especially now. Times are tough. We need something to cheer about.
Wrigley: My thinking exactly, Meyerhoff. That’s why I want to start a new league—a girls’ league. We’ll find the best girl players in the country, make up a few teams, and let ’em play ball.
Meyerhoff: You really think Americans want to see their girls chewing tobacco and cursing at umpires?
Wrigley: Oh, we’ll make sure they behave like ladies. We’ll dress ’em up in fetching uniforms. Send ’em to charm school if need be.
Meyerhoff: Brilliant. They’ll look like ladies—but they’ll play ball like gentlemen.
Wrigley: Mark my words: Americans will love this.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images (mechanics); George Greenwell/Mirrorpix via Getty Images (harvest)
Women and the War
More than 350,000 American women served in the military during World War II (though not in combat roles). Millions of others filled the jobs that male soldiers left behind. Women worked in offices and on farms. They built planes and tanks in factories to support the war effort. After the war ended, they were expected to give up their jobs.
Scene 4
A Few Weeks Later
A High School Playing Field
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Jennie: Georgia, you’re a star!
Florence: Did you hear your mother screaming for you in the stands?
Georgia: It’s great to see her smile. She rarely does these days—she’s so worried about Frankie.
Jennie: Have you heard from him since he was deployed?
Georgia: We only get scraps of news.
Florence: At least you have his Joe DiMaggio mitt. It’s bringing you luck.
Jennie: Flo! What a thing to say. Georgia doesn’t care about the mitt.
Florence: I meant as a way to think of her brother.
Georgia: I don’t have the mitt anymore. I sent it to Frankie. I just hope he gets it.
Jennie: That’s big of you, Georgia.
Florence: He won’t have time to play, though—not on a battleship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Georgia: Maybe the mitt will bring him luck.
SD3: Florence and Jennie give Georgia a hug and leave.
SD1: Georgia is collecting her gear when two men walk up to her.
Bill Larkin: Georgia Baskin, right?
Georgia: Yes?
Joe McDonald: You’ve got quite an arm.
Georgia: Um, thanks.
Larkin: I’m Bill Larkin, and this here’s Joe McDonald. We’re talent scouts for a new ball league—a girls’ league, 100 percent professional.
McDonald: It’s going to be run by Mr. Philip Wrigley himself.
Larkin (handing Georgia a slip of paper): This flyer explains all the details. Tryouts are in Medford this weekend, and we would like you to come. If we like you, we’ll send you to a final tryout in Chicago.
McDonald: Think about it, will you?
Georgia (thrilled): I certainly will!
National Archives/Getty Images (Rosie the Riveter)
We Can Do It!
This poster was created for a manufacturing company to boost morale during the war. The character on the poster, now known as Rosie the Riveter, became an icon of women in the workforce.
Scene 5
Dinnertime
The Baskins’ House
Mrs. Baskin: I’m sending another package to Frankie tomorrow. Is there anything you two want to add?
Mr. Baskin: I picked up a football magazine for him.
Georgia: I want to write a letter to him about the new baseball league.
Mr. Baskin: A new league?
SD2: Georgia takes the piece of paper from Larkin out of her pocket and smooths it out on the table. Her mom picks it up.
Mrs. Baskin: A girls’ league! Isn’t that something! Girls playing like professionals!
Georgia: Two scouts came to my game today. They said I have talent and I should try out.
Mr. Baskin (scoffing): Nobody wants to watch girls try to play baseball.
Mrs. Baskin: They certainly line up to see Georgia pitch at the high school games. She’s amazing.
Mr. Baskin: Georgia is 16 years old. She’s not going to traipse around the Midwest in some kind of carnival!
Georgia: Excuse me. I, uh, have a terrible headache.
SD3: Georgia stands and leaves the room.
Mr. Baskin: Girls playing baseball? If only Frank could hear this. He’d have a good laugh!
Mrs. Baskin: Women are working in factories. Women are building airplanes and ships and guns. Nobody says that’s nonsense.
Mr. Baskin: That’s different. Those women are helping us win the war.
Mrs. Baskin: These are dark times. Every day, the newspapers tell us how precarious things are. If our daughter has a chance to live her dream in the middle of all this, I want her to take it.
Mr. Baskin: But she’s so young.
Mrs. Baskin: So is Frank. And he’s at war.
SD1: Mr. Baskin takes a deep breath in then slowly exhales.
Mr. Baskin: All right. If you want to let our girl go, I won’t stop her.
Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images (Racine Belles); Bettmann Archive/Getty Images (Sophie Kurys)
Based on History
From 1943 to 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) employed more than 600 women and girls as players. Georgia Baskin, the main character of this play, is fictional. But many elements of the play are based on real people, places, and events connected to the AAGPBL. The Racine Belles (inset) were once one of the AAGPBL’s original four teams. Sophie Kurys (show here) was a real player on the Racine Belles—and famous for her base-stealing abilities.
Scene 6
May 1943
Wrigley Field, Chicago
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SD2: Georgia sits down on a bench next to another girl.
Georgia: Hi, I’m Georgia Baskin.
Sophie Kurys: I’m Sophie Kurys. Nice to meet you. How did your fielding drills go?
Georgia: Pretty good, I think. There’s a lot of competition, though. I’m trying not to get my hopes up.
Sophie: I know what you mean. Some of these girls are amazing.
Georgia: From what I saw, you are one of the best.
SD3: Sophie smiles.
Sophie: Thanks! You know, I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life.
SD1: Georgia smiles back at Sophie.
Georgia: Me neither.
© Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images (Toni Stone)
An Ugly Truth
The AAGPBL was segregated—it did not hire Black players, no matter how talented they were. Three Black women did find a way to play professionally, however: by playing on men’s teams. Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, Connie Morgan, and Toni Stone joined teams in the Negro Leagues, an association of all-Black professional men’s baseball teams. (The term “negro” was once commonly used to refer to Black people; it is now considered offensive.)
In the middle of this picture is second baseman, Toni Stone.
Scene 7
Three Days Later
A Hotel Lobby/The Baskins’ House
SD2: On one side of the stage, Georgia stands inside a phone booth in the lobby of a hotel. She dials the phone.
SD3: On the other side of the stage, a telephone in the Baskins’ front hall begins to ring. Mrs. Baskin answers it.
Mrs. Baskin: Hello, Baskin residence.
Georgia: Mom! I made it! I’m on the Racine Belles! I’m going to be a professional baseball player!
Mrs. Baskin (holding back tears): Oh, Georgia . . .
Georgia: What’s the matter?
Mrs. Baskin: We got a telegram. It’s Frank.
Georgia: What happened?
Mrs. Baskin: He’s been injured—badly. There was an explosion on his ship. Four boys were killed. He’s in a hospital in Hawaii.
Georgia: I’m coming home.
Mrs. Baskin: No, stay there. You will take this opportunity and make the most of it. Do you understand?
Georgia: Yes, Mom. Yes, I think I do.
Courtesy of USA Baseball (Alex Hugo)
A New Women’s League
There hasn’t been a professional women’s baseball league in the U.S. since the AAGPBL folded—but that’s about to change. The Women’s Pro Baseball League plans to launch in the summer of 2026 with six teams of women players.
Alex Hugo of the USA Baseball Women’s National Team is shown here.
Scene 8
Three Months Later
A Playing Field in Racine, Wisconsin
Announcer 1: That’s it, folks—another electrifying game between our own Racine Belles and the ferocious Rockford Peaches!
Announcer 2: We had some big plays. Sophie Kurys stole three bases.
Announcer 1: And we had solid relief pitching by youngster Georgia Baskin.
Announcer 2: Let’s have a cheer for the teams!
Announcer 1: God bless America, and God bless our troops!
SD1: The crowd cheers.
SD2: As the players walk off the field, Sophie and Georgia link arms.
Sophie: I’ve never had so much fun!
Georgia: When you stole home, my heart jumped out of my chest!
Sophie: They almost nabbed me!
SD3: Just then, Georgia hears her name being called.
Mr. Baskin: Georgia!
SD1: Shocked, Georgia turns to see her parents standing there.
Georgia: Mom? Dad? I didn’t know you were—Oh no! Has something happened to Frankie?
Mrs. Baskin: No, no, he’s fine. They’ve transferred him to San Francisco.
Mr. Baskin: You were wonderful out there, Georgia.
SD2: Mr. Baskin reaches into his bag.
Mr. Baskin: Frank sent something home for you. He asked me to deliver it myself.
Georgia: The DiMaggio mitt! I knew it would bring Frankie good luck.
Mr. Baskin: Look at it, Georgia. Do you notice anything different about it?
SD3: Georgia studies the mitt intently, turning it over in her hands. Then her face lights up.
Mr. Baskin: Mr. DiMaggio is in the armed forces too. Turns out he is stationed in California. He paid a visit to Frank’s hospital, and Frank got him to sign the mitt—again. But this time it’s for you.
Georgia (reading): “To Georgia Baskin, a fellow pro. Keep playing in the dirt, Joe DiMaggio.”
SD1: Mr. Baskin gives Georgia a hug.
Mr. Baskin (whispering): I am so proud of you.
Writing Prompt
Write a letter from Georgia to Frankie, thanking him for the newly signed Joe DiMaggio mitt. Make sure to let Frankie know how you (Georgia) felt when you received the mitt and why.
This play was originally published in the March 2025 issue.
Essential Questions: What shapes society’s ideas about gender roles? What causes people to change their point of view? What roles do sports play in our lives?
1. Prepare to Read
(15 minutes)
Watch the Video (5 minutes)
Show students the Beyond the Story video, about women in the U.S. during World War II. After watching, give students a few minutes to share anything they found particularly interesting or surprising, or anything the video made them curious about. Have students respond to the Video Discussion Questions (available in your Resources tab) in pairs or small groups.
Have a brief discussion with students about the roles of women during World War II. Ask volunteers to reflect on how these women helped change perceptions of what women could do.
Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)
Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary: Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: deployed, enlisted, fetching, precarious. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.
2. Read and Discuss
(55 minutes)
Invite a volunteer to read aloud the As You Read box on page 17 or at the top of the digital story page.
Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class.
Divide students into groups to discuss the following Discussion Questions, which are also located in the Resources tab.
Discussion Questions (30 minutes)
1. Which details in Scene 1 show you how Georgia feels about baseball? (key details, inference) Georgia has a powerful fastball; you can infer that she practices regularly, which suggests her passion for baseball. When she says, “My dad should have given the mitt to me. I’m the one who loves baseball,” you see that she feels frustrated that her dad and her brother don’t acknowledge her passion or skill.
2. In Scene 2, why is Frankie upset during dinner? (plot) Frankie says he’s upset because Georgia used his mitt; however, it later becomes clear that he’s worried about being sent to fight in World War II and is taking his feelings out on Georgia.
3. When Mr. Baskin first learns about the women’s pro baseball league, he is very critical of it. Why? What convinces him to let Georgia try out? (character’s motivation, setting) As Historian 2 explains in Scene 1, at that time, women were not taken seriously as athletes. Mr. Baskin held what was a common point of view, that baseball was for men. The idea of watching women play would have seemed ridiculous to him. He agrees to let Georgia try out because Mrs. Baskin makes him understand how important this opportunity is to Georgia—and that it’s a chance for Georgia to find joy in uncertain, difficult times.
4. In Scene 8, Joe DiMaggio’s message to Georgia is to “keep playing in the dirt.” Why might this phrase have special significance for Georgia? (text structure) At the end of Scene 1, Frankie tells Georgia, “Real girls don’t play in the dirt.” You can infer that Frankie told DiMaggio about this remark and that DiMaggio is making a reference to it. DiMaggio is conveying both his and Frankie’s respect and admiration for Georgia’s achievements.
5. What does the mitt signed by Joe DiMaggio symbolize throughout the play? (theme) At various points in the play, the mitt symbolizes respect, encouragement, and love. Mr. Baskin stands in the rain to get the mitt signed for Frankie; in this way, the mitt becomes a symbol of Mr. Baskin’s love for his son. It is also a symbol of Mr. Baskin’s belief about who should play baseball (boys) and who shouldn’t (girls), because he gives the mitt to Frankie rather than to Georgia. When Frankie is off at war and Georgia sends him the mitt, it is a symbol of her love and concern for her brother: She values the mitt and wants it to bring Frankie good luck. When Georgia gets the mitt back from Frankie with the new message from Joe DiMaggio, the mitt symbolizes her brother’s, as well as DiMaggio’s, respect for Georgia as a baseball player.
3. Write About It: Character
(30 minutes)
Have students complete the Featured Skill Activity: Character. This activity will prepare them to respond to the writing prompt on page 22 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:
Write a letter from Georgia to Frankie, thanking him for the newly signed Joe DiMaggio mitt. Make sure to let Frankie know how you (Georgia) felt when you received the mitt and why.
Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story or article.
Connected readings from the Scope archives
