Helen Filarski hanging out with Connie Wisniewski after a game at the @MilwaukeeChicks' ballpark, @BorchertField in 1944.#AAGPBL pic.twitter.com/wm1eLPXRaO
— AAGPBL Official (@AAGPBL) April 16, 2019
Let's take a better look at that photo.
Beautiful. A great look at the wall between the grandstand and the foul area, not to mention the light standards and ads down the third base line.
Helen Filarski was a young infielder from the east side of Detroit. When she first heard about the league in 1943 from friends who played in her local semi-pro league, she was just eighteen and her parents forbade her to try out. One of those friends was Milwaukee pitcher Connie Wisniewski. Filarski eventually joined the league in 1945 at a tryout in Chicago (a tryout where Wisniewski was pitching to the young recruits) and was assigned to the Rockford Peaches.
Here we have Filarski presumably visiting her friend in Milwaukee. I don't know if she tried to join the league in 1944 (her own account isn't clear on the timeline); perhaps this photo was taken during a tryout session, or just a visit to see a friend.
Wisniewski is wearing her uniform, with its Milwaukee city seal at the center. A bat lies at her feet.
You can also see that the grandstand's lower boxes are filled with wooden folding chairs. The seats in the back, under the roof, are more traditional stadium seating.
Over Wisniewski's shoulder, we get a good look at the outfield wall ads.
You can also see the thick light standards installed just nine years earlier, in the foul territory between the grandstand and the diamond.
Our next closeup provides a look at the roof, flagpole, and the centerfield lights in the distance. And is that a net over the left field fence to catch those short home runs?
Simply magnificent. I can't wait to see what else the AAGPBL has in its archives.
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