Morden, Manitoba, is home to the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum. It celebrates over a century of Manitoba baseball players, coaches, teams, and builders.
Linda’s Pick of the Exhibits
Back in the day, when I attended a one-room country school, we raced out every recess to play baseball. We batted daily spring and fall, learning all about sportsmanship since every team had kids from grades one through nine.
So, when I visited the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame I found the display on the All American Girls Baseball League fascinating. It celebrated Manitoba women who’d played during the league’s 12 years. Altogether, 68 young Canadian women played in the league at some point.
How did the All American Girls Baseball League start?
The All American Girls Baseball League started to keep the public interested in baseball while male teams declined due to World War II. It was intended as a temporary measure to keep fans engaged, boost morale, and fill ballparks. Baseball, after all, had long been considered America’s national pastime and unofficial national sport.
So, P.K. Wrigley, major league baseball executive, spread the word that he was hiring women to play ball as full time professionals in the spring of 1943. Women from all over North America attended the tryouts — one Canadian reportedly starting her journey to spring training by dogsled!
Spring training was at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. But it wasn’t just a repeat of men’s spring training. No, it involved a lot more to insure that Wrigley’s All American Girls be “Young ladies of the highest calibre.” Indeed the trainees were sent to a charm school run by Helena Rubenstein. They were also fitted with short-skirted uniforms and given hair perms.
The League’s first game was played on May 30, 1943. It was a hybrid of softball and baseball, although by the last season, in 1954, the ball was standard size and the field close to traditional size. Initially, there were four teams: Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, Rockford Peaches, and South Bend Blue Sox, with 15 players to a team. It eventually expanded to 10 teams at its height.
~ Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum
Who were the Manitoba women from the All American Girls Baseball League?
The Manitoba women who played on the All American Girls Baseball League included:
- Audrey Haine Daniels – Winnipeg, MB. Pitcher from 1944 to 1951. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and 2005 into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame and Museum.
- Yolande Schick (née Teillet) – Winnipeg, MB. Catcher from 1945 to 1947. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Manitoba Indigenous Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
- Dorothy Hunter – Winnipeg, MB. First basewoman from 1943 to 1944. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Olive Bend Little [Ollie] – Poplar Point, MB. Pitcher from 1943 to 1946. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 1985.
- Doris “Dodie” Barr – Starbuck, MB. Pitcher from 1943 to 1952. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2004.
- Dorothy B. “Dottie” Ferguson Key – Virden, MB. Infielder and outfielder from 1945 to 1954. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Eleanor Knudsen Callow – Winnipeg, MB. Left fielder from 1947 to 1954. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2016.
- Ruth (Middleton) Gentry – Winnipeg, MB. First basewoman from 1950 to 1954. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2011.
- Mary (Shastal) Kustra – Winnipeg, MB. Second basewoman 1944. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Evelyn Wawryshyn Litwin “Evie” Moroz – Tyndall, MB. Second basewoman from 1946 to 1951. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2004.
- Doris Shero Witiuk – Winnipeg, MB. Outfielder from 1950 to 1951. Inducted 1998 into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Fast Fact: Publicity and expansion peaked for the All American Girls Baseball League in 1948. That year it drew one million fans. The pitching was overhand and the game closely assembled Major League baseball's dead-ball era, full of hit-and-run fast action plays.
What’s in the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum?
The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a small museum situated in the Access Event Centre in Morden, Manitoba. The museum was established in 1997 by volunteers. First inductees were named in 1998, and the museum officially opened in 1999.
Fast Fact: The Field of Dreams Committee, or Altona Baseball Builders, were inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023 after creating a premier baseball facility called Access Field. This baseball field, like the original in The Field of Dreams book/movie, is created in a field. However Altona's ballfield is in the middle of a soybean-corn intercrop field rather than straight corn.
Display cases in the museum display a number of different artifacts related to the game. Some of them include:
- Ball glove used by Kenny Little
- Team photos
- Mask, shoes, and shin guards worn by “No No” Carrigan in the 1940s – 50s.
- 1953 St. Boniface Native Sons jacket worn by Pete Rettie when the team became the G.WS.B. champions
- 1967 Team Canada Uniform worn by Glennis Scott
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
We took a beautiful fall roadtrip to Southern Manitoba to check out some museums, including those in Morden. The town has a number of places to stay. We chose the budget option, the Morden Motor Inn. It was comfortable and had the Settlers Table & Coffee Shop as well as Rock’s Bar & Grill. And if there’s something that gets our business every time, it’s convenience.
The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is in the same complex as the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre.
This Centre is recognized as Canada’s largest collection of Cretaceous-period marine reptile fossils.
“Bruce,” the Guinness World Record-holding mosasaur is their most famous resident.
He’s a marine lizard larger than a T-Rex at 43-foot (13-meter) long!
So, be sure to take in both museums when you visit.
While we ended up staying in Morden, our initial destination was Miami, Manitoba. Surprise! Who even knew there was such a place?
At any rate, the Miami Railway Station Museum had been the draw for us. And while trains are great, the museum’s Cold War Bunker had been the must-see on my list. The bunker had been used as a Fallout Reporting Post (FRP) in case of a nuclear attack during the Cold War.
While you’re in Miami, I’d recommend you check out the Miami Variety Store for a nostalgic look at how small town businesses used to be. The store carries everything from beer to donuts and handmade moccasins to hardware!
Who Should Visit the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum?
The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a great stop for sports enthusiasts, especially baseball fans.
It’s also a good place to learn more about professional sports in Manitoba in the 20th century.
While it’s small, there are various interesting tidbits in the exhibits and archives.
It took me about half an hour to go through the museum.
The Access Event Centre, where the museum is located, is in the heart of the city.
With many events held at the Centre, it’s fully accessible for those with mobility problems.
How Do You Visit the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum?
The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is situated in the Access Event Centre in Morden, Manitoba.
Parking: There's lots of free parking in front of the Access Event Centre.
Street Address: 111C Gilmour St., Morden, Manitoba
The museum is open year round. Check hours and days on the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame website.
Keep up to date with what’s happening on the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Facebook page.
Subscribe the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame Museum YouTube channel.
Plan your visit with Google maps.
More Things to See and Do in Manitoba
Read more museum reviews on guide2museums.ca for museum attractions in Manitoba.
Discover More Sports Sites
- Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame Museum Review
- National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum: Hayward, Wisconsin
- Hockey Hall of Fame: Museum of Ice Hockey History in Toronto, Ontario
- Curb Motorsports Museum: Kannapolis, North Carolina
- NASCAR Hall of Fame: Charlotte, North Carolina
- World Snowmobile Headquarters Museum: Eagle River, Wisconsin
- Polaris Experience Center: Polaris Snowmobile Museum in Roseau, Minnesota
- Snowmobile Hall of Fame and Museum: St. Germain, Wisconsin
guide2museums.com 