GRPL Local History Department

Grand Rapids Chicks Baseball Team Research Guide

Manuscript Collection

Gillette, Norma (mss 182) 1947-1949. Clippings, photos of Grand Rapids Chicks.

Grand Rapids Chicks (mss 58) 1948-1954. Photos, official programs, clippings.

Moran, Marguerite (mss 121) 1945-1948. History of the Grand Rapids Chicks. Correspondence, photos, scrapbooks and clippings.

Risinger, Helen Earlene (mss 160) 1943-1954. Risinger played for the Grand Rapids Chicks. Baseball cards, team history, published material, clippings, photos, programs and scrapbooks.

Photgraph Collections

Robinson Photo Collection AAGPBBL Series. Boxes 922, 923, 938. About 1000 negatives 1945-1954, especially 1947-1949. Images include all teams and about 100 identified players during the spring training of 1947-49. Also images of chaperones, officials, practices and action game shots.

Copy Photo Collection (mss 185) Box 1, folder 20. Snapshots of players.

Newspaper Articles

Newspaper articles may be found in both The Grand Rapids Press and Grand Rapids Herald during the time period the league was in existence. The Lyden's index references some articles from The Grand Rapids Press under "Sports-Baseball" during the period 1945-1954. Also, recent retrospective articles may be located using current Grand Rapids Press indexes.

Magazine Articles

Harms, Richard. (September, 1993) GR Loved its Chicks. Grand Rapids Magazine, p. 41.

Oral History

Olson, Gordon L. (Producer) (1991) Girls of Summer: the Grand Rapids Chicks. (Videotape) Interviews of former members of the Grand Rapids Chicks. Available for purchase in the Local History Department of the Grand Rapids Public Library, 60 Library Plaza, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

Books

Browne, Lois. (1992) Girls of Summer: in Their Own League. Toronto: Harper Collins. **M796. 35706. B817g

Fidler, Merrie A. (2006) The Origins and History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. M796.35706 F449o

Gregorich, Barbara. (1993) Women at Play: the Story of Women in Baseball. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co. 796. 35764. G86;

Ingham, Gai (1994) Women in Baseball. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. 796.3570973 B455w;

Johnson, Susan E. (1994) When Women Played Hardball. Seattle, WA: Seal Press.
796. 35764. J637w

Macy, Sue. (1993) A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. New York: Holt. j79635764. M259w

Other Sources

The Public Museum of Grand Rapids has a collection of Chicks memorabilia, uniforms and color slides.

Page last updated: 09/29/08