The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a
circuit that began to operate in 1943. Since the only organized
ball for women in the United States was softball, the league
officials created a hybrid game which included both fast-pitch
softball and baseball. Compared to softball, the crucial
differences were that nine (not ten) players were used, and
runners could lead off, slide and steal bases. In its twelve
years of history the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League evolved through many stages. These differences varied
from the beginning of the league, progressively extending the
length of the base paths and pitching distance, while decreasing
the size of the ball until the final year of play in 1954. Rules
of play  |Season||Ball size (inches)||Length of base paths
(feet)||Pitching distance (feet)||Pitching style| |1944||11½"
(midseason)||68' (midseason)||40'||Underhand|
|1946||11"||70'||43'||Underhand (Limited side-arm)| |1949||10"
(red seam)||72'||55' (midseason)||Overhand| A portion o