Jackie Robinson is one of the most influential and famous names in sports for breaking the color barrier of Major League Baseball on April 15, 1947. But softball has its own counterpart whose name is often forgotten or unknown.
Betty Chapman made her debut for the Admiral Music Maids of the National Girls Baseball League on July 18, 1951, becoming the first African American professional softball player.
The name of the league Chapman played with is misleading – despite “national” and “baseball” in the moniker, it was actually a professional softball league in the Chicagoland area. The NGBL began in Forest Park, Illinois, founded by Emery Parichy and Charles Bidwell, the owner of the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals).
The league is somewhat forgotten due to its competition with another league many have heard of: the All-American Girls Baseball League, which inspired the movie ‘A League of Their Own’ starring Tom Hanks. Both leagues began with softball, but the AAGBL shifted to baseball during its first season. The NGBL originally had softball in its name, but researchers believe it was replaced by baseball for marketing.
NGBL pitchers threw underhand and used a 12-inch ball. There were other differences between the leagues: the NGBL offered higher salaries and was considered more competitive; it also allowed players to wear shorts instead of skirts and focused less on beauty standards. Most importantly, the NGBL was integrated.
Enter, Betty Chapman.
Chapman was born Aug. 18, 1930, and grew up in Illinois. She attended New Trier High School and then Illinois State University in 1949. She studied elementary education and wrote for the student newspaper, the Vidette. She even became the “Women’s Sports Editor” for the publication. She played plenty of sports herself and was listed in the yearbook as being involved in volleyball, tennis, hockey, and basketball in college.
A 20-year-old student, Chapman joined the Admiral Music Maids.
In a newspaper clipping announcing her signing, Music Maids owner Frank Darling said Chapman is a utility player and “can be used behind the bat or in the outfield.” The team owner was impressed by Chapman’s long ball at a tryout and said that “the signings of Miss Chapman represent several months’ search for talent among colored girl players.”
In her debut game in the summer of 1951, she had two RBIs in the Maids’ loss to the Bluebirds. Later that week, she scored the game-winning run vs. the Checashers. Chapman’s hot start in the league continued to catch media attention. Ten days after her debut, she was batting over .500 and nicknamed “Miss Minnie Miñoso” after White Sox legend Orestes Minnie Miñoso, who broke the color barrier for the MLB team. The 1951 headline read, “Minnie Minoso does OK with Music Maids.”
In two seasons, Chapman’s mark on history was made.
The NGBL ran from 1944 to 1954, and Chapman’s team, the Music Maids, was a staple for nine seasons. Other teams included the Bloomer Girls, Bluebirds, Rock-Olas, Chicks, Queens, Cardinals, and Sparks.
Chapman was a pioneer – playing professional softball not only decades before Title IX was passed, but also as a Black woman. This Black History Month and every time the AUSL takes the field, we celebrate the trailblazers that came before us.
More on the Music Maids and the NBGL can be found at nationalgirlsbaseballleague.com. Thank you to Adam Chu and the digital archive of the National Girls Baseball League for documenting the history of professional softball.
Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter for the AUSL. You can follow her on X @savannaecollins.
