The Bloomer Girls
The Bloomer Girls team was founded in 1924 in Chicago by Ed Bumgardner and his son Hubert and relocated to Forest Park in 1935. Emery Parichy began sponsoring the club in 1938 and became its owner in 1942. He built the stadium (Parichy Stadium) which would later host early rounds of the 1939 and 1940 World Softball Championships. The ballpark became such a center of activity for the women’s game that a softball magazine gave Forest Park the nickname “Girls Softball Town – USA.”
Parichy owned a roofing business in Oak Park (starting in 1926). He eventually became school board president for Proviso High School, now Proviso East in Maywood; president of the Forest Park Library Board; helped start the Park District of Forest Park; and was chairman of fund-raising for Loretto Hospital.
Parichy owned a roofing business in Oak Park (starting in 1926). He eventually became school board president for Proviso High School, now Proviso East in Maywood; president of the Forest Park Library Board; helped start the Park District of Forest Park; and was chairman of fund-raising for Loretto Hospital.
1946
Top - Paulina Pirok Dorothy McKaige, Cachter, Wilda Mae Turner Pitcher, Ann Pallo, Catcher, Winnie Reed, Tosh Vaugn, Lena Gernic
Bottom - Ricki Caito, Jean Sample, Kay Shinon, Ann Hartnet, Lil Hackson, Irene Chromcik, Mary O’Connor
Top - Paulina Pirok Dorothy McKaige, Cachter, Wilda Mae Turner Pitcher, Ann Pallo, Catcher, Winnie Reed, Tosh Vaugn, Lena Gernic
Bottom - Ricki Caito, Jean Sample, Kay Shinon, Ann Hartnet, Lil Hackson, Irene Chromcik, Mary O’Connor
Pinky Pirok and Ricky Caito
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Sonny Berger (South Bend Blue Sox, AAGPBL) and Wilda Mae Furner Parichy’s Bloomer Girls (NGBL)
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The League
Emery Parichy
The team was part of the National Girls Baseball League (NGBL), which was started in 1944. (Though “National” was in the name, the NGBL only played in the Chicago area.) The NGBL differed from the All American Girls Baseball League, which was started the year before and had a Midwest regional scope (and was featured in the movie “A League Their Own”). The leagues did not play against each other, and they had different rules. The All American Girls Baseball League required players to wear skirts and used the girls’ appearance to promote games. Players signed contracts to guarantee moral and ethical behavior. The NGBL was more about the sport. The league annually drew over 500,000 fans by the late-1940s.
The league had six professional teams: the Bloomer Girls (owned by Mr. Parichy), the Blue Birds, the Chicks, the Queens, the Cardinals, and the Admiral Music Maids. In the NGBL’s final year Parichy bought the other five teams in an effort to keep the League afloat.
While the National All-American Girls Baseball League was not integrated, the NGBL featured Betty Chapman, the first African American professional softball player, who played for the Admiral Music Maids. The Parichy Bloomer Girls featured Chinese-American left-handed pitcher Gwen Wong in 1947 and Japanese-American catcher Nancy Ito in 1953.
The NGBL was disbanded in 1955.
The league had six professional teams: the Bloomer Girls (owned by Mr. Parichy), the Blue Birds, the Chicks, the Queens, the Cardinals, and the Admiral Music Maids. In the NGBL’s final year Parichy bought the other five teams in an effort to keep the League afloat.
While the National All-American Girls Baseball League was not integrated, the NGBL featured Betty Chapman, the first African American professional softball player, who played for the Admiral Music Maids. The Parichy Bloomer Girls featured Chinese-American left-handed pitcher Gwen Wong in 1947 and Japanese-American catcher Nancy Ito in 1953.
The NGBL was disbanded in 1955.
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Parichy Stadium
Parichy Stadium in Forest Park was at the Northwest corner of Harlem and Harrison. The stadium also featured a great restaurant and the first baseball museum ever established, predating the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Across the street was Vogel’s Tavern. In 1954 the stadium was torn down to make way for the Eisenhower Expressway expansion.
Wilda Mae Turner
known for fast-pitching perfect games
1948
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Ricki Caito
Mary Rudd 1948
Charlotte Licher
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Dorothy “Boots” Klupping
Later she played for AAGPBL’s Racine Bells
Gwen Wong 1947
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While the National All-American Girls Baseball League was not integrated, the National Girls Baseball League had Gwen Wong, a Chinese-American left-handed pitcher, and Betty Chapman, who played on the Admiral Music Maids of Chicago.
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