Equal to the Game: Women and Baseball is a new exhibit at Whittier College celebrating the contributions of women to America’s favorite pastime. Organized by the Institute for Baseball Studies, the exhibit features photographs and related artifacts and is on display in the Wardman Library foyer and lobby of The Ruth B. Shannon Center for the Performing Arts.
A notable inclusion in the exhibit is a portrait of former Poet Ila Borders ’97, taken on the Whittier College field by famous photographer Annie Leibovitz. Borders was the first woman to receive a scholarship to play men’s collegiate baseball and also the first woman to earn a win in the sport. She later became one of the first female pitchers in men’s professional baseball.
Other stories in the exhibitions include players like Pam Postema, who came close to becoming the first female umpire in major league history; Jackie Mitchell, only the second woman ever signed to a minor league contract; and Rachel Robinson, the wife of Jackie Robinson, who supported her husband throughout his career and became the third woman elected to the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals.
In recognition of Women’s History Month, the exhibitions will be on display until March 31 in the library and April 28 in the Ruth B. Shannon Center for the Performing Arts.
As part of the exhibit, a symposium will be held on Wednesday, March 29th in A.J. Villalobos Hall featuring a panel of alumnae from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as well as scholarly presentations on women and baseball. The event is organized by The Institute for Baseball Studies, in collaboration with the USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media, and Society and the International Women’s Baseball Center.
