Bloomer Girls - 1890s-1930s

[jjbond]

I've started looking into the Bloomer Girl era of baseball, which spanned from the 1890s until the mid-1930s. These were professional barnstorming teams composed (primarily) of women, who traveled across the United States playing exhibition games against men's teams. (and of course, they were named after the "bloomer" style of dress that allowed for greater mobility).

To that end, I've started a collection of both cards and postcards from this era, and gathering research to learn more.

So far I've ordered some books:




Any other books that I should look into?

[jjbond]

I've picked up some postcards and a cabinet card so far.
My favorite is a Boston Bloomers cabinet card. They were one of the first, and most famous, of the Bloomers teams, beginning in the mid 1890s. (many imitations seemed to latch onto the name later on). They featured Maud Nelson, who later ran her own Bloomer Girls team.


Here's two from the Western Bloomer Girls. As was the norm with virtually all Bloomer Girls baseball clubs of the era, the team was comprised of males and females, in this case, two men and nine women. In 1911, Maud Nelson (former Boston Bloomer Girls standout) formed and managed this Western Bloomer Girls team along with husband Joe Olson. This club originated in Watervleit, Michigan and represented the ladies' champion baseball club of the area.



And a few from the Star Bloomer Girls. Like other Bloomer Girls teams, the Star Bloomer Girls engaged in barnstorming across the country.

[jjbond]

I initially had looked into women in 19th century baseball through the Virginia Brights / Dixie / Sub Rosa cards, the N48 & N508 tobacco cards. It seems that these do not represent actual female players, but more likely actresses (or employees), as the same women appear in various topical scenes besides baseball.




That being said....I do think there is a direct connection between the appeal of using women in baseball-themed advertising in the 1890s (and again during the postcard era of the 1910s), and the rise and popularity of the Bloomer barnstorming teams.

[jjbond]

Here are some later images of female baseball players (actresses) used to sell postcards.

[jjbond]

But back to the actual Bloomer Girls. While I'm waiting for my research books to arrive, I've been scouring the internet, looking for examples of their photos, cabinet cards, postcards, etc.

I'm gathering together the images I'm finding onto my blog, trying to organize them by Bloomer teams.

https://baseballbloomergirls.blogspot.com/