A New League Takes the Field
The Women’s Pro Baseball League, known as the WPBL, has announced its first four franchises, each bearing the name of a woman who helped shape American history.
The league plans to launch its inaugural season in August 2026, marking the first nationwide professional women’s baseball structure in the United States in more than seven decades.
Names That Echo History
San Francisco’s Firebells, New York’s Heights, Los Angeles’s Queens and Boston’s Hunters draw their identities from trailblazers such as Lillie Hitchcock Coit, Dorothy Height, Harriot Kezia Hunt and Lizzie Murphy.
Coit, an honorary firefighter who volunteered with the San Francisco fire department in the mid‑19th century, lends her name to a team that aims to capture the same daring spirit. Height, who served as president of the National Council of Negro Women in 1957, inspires the New York Heights with her lifelong fight for civil‑rights advocacy. Hunt, a Boston physician and early suffragette, gives her name to the Boston Hunters, while Murphy, celebrated as the ‘Queen of the Diamond’ for becoming the first woman to face major‑league players, fuels the Los Angeles Queens.
The WPBL distinguishes itself not only by its historic naming but also by its uniform policy; players wear practical pants rather than the skirted attire of the earlier All‑American Girls Professional Baseball League, which operated from 1943 to 1954 and was later immortalized by the 1992 film *A League of Their Own*.
In the spring of 2026 the league held a scrimmage in Fort Myers, Florida, giving fans a first glimpse of the talent on display. League coach Bree Nasti expressed confidence that spectators would be impressed by the level of play, noting that the athletes combine speed, strategy and a deep love of the game.
Beyond competition, the WPBL seeks to honor the legacy of women’s rights and to showcase the grit, audacity and excellence of its players, positioning the new era of baseball as both a sporting and cultural milestone.