CAMARILLO — With the men off fighting World War II, women were left to take over jobs and in some cases, baseball diamonds.
The 1992 Movie “A League of Their Own” dramatized the creation of the wartime All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, but CSU Channel Islands (CI) Professor of Chicana/o Studies Jose Alamillo, Ph.D., said there is one more aspect to the story.
“What many people don’t know is that 11 of those players were Latinas,” Alamillo said.
The little-known story of Mexican American women and their struggle for gender equality will be the subject of a presentation and panel discussion from 2 and 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 25 at the John Spoor Broome Library at CI.
On the panel will be former players from World War II teams such as the Simi Valley “Sluggerettes,” the Oxnard “Merchanettes,” and a Fillmore team comprised of Latina women living on Rancho Sespe in Fillmore.
Also on the panel will be Marge Villa, 92, of La Habra – a member of the team that inspired “A League of Their Own,” directed by Penny Marshall.
“I spent a little time with Penny Marshall and she was great,” Villa said. “She didn’t know third from first, but oh boy, was she sharp at that movie business.”
The 5-foot, 2-inch tomboy grew up on her parents’ ranch east of Los Angeles, often playing ball with her younger brother.
Before the U.S. entered World War II, she played softball for the Orange County Lionettes, and eventually caught the eye of a scout for the All-American League.
In 1946, Villa joined the Kenosha Comets on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Called “Poncho” because of her last name, the curly-haired Californian became a catcher when the regular catcher stubbed her thumb.
“The substitute catcher came up there and did pretty good for a game or two and got hit in the jaw with a foul ball,” Villa said. “I said ‘Any dummy can catch!’ And guess who the dummy was.”
The players wore skirts, which required careful sliding into bases so as not to scrape a bare leg.
“You only let that happen once or twice,” Villa said. “Usually you slide on your buttocks.” Villa played for five seasons on the professional team – from 1946 to 1949 – eventually leaving baseball to marry a local dentist.
At 92, Villa still plays baseball with her teenage grandsons.
“My glove and ball is sitting right by their front door,” Villa said. “They hear me drive up and sometimes I can’t even go inside without them wanting to play ball.”
A “fast pitch” ceremony will follow the presentation, at which time the players will go out on the lawn in front of the Broome Library and throw out a few pitches.
An exhibition of photos and memorabilia called “A League of Their Own” is on display in Room 1320 of the Broome Library through April 4.