Maybelle Blair, “A League of Their Own” Inspiration, Comes Out at 95
metroweekly.comMaybelle Blair, who inspired Madonna’s character in the sports comedy-drama A League of Their Own, recently came out at age 95.Blair played for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League — the first professional women’s baseball league in the country — in the 1940s.
Her story and that of the league were picked up by the 1992 film A League of Their Own, but LGBTQ representation in the movie remained subtext at best.Now, the 2022 Amazon Prime Video television reboot is highlighting AAGPBL’s queer women.
At the same time, Blair is speaking up about her own story.“I hid for 75, 85 years and this is actually basically the first time I’ve ever come out,” Blair said at the Tribeca Film Festival in June, where she was promoting the new show.The AAGPBL started in 1943, when many young men left to fight in World War II.
The league operated until 1954 and created a blueprint for future women’s sports.Blair pitched for the Peoria Redwings in 1948 before switching to play softball for the Chicago Cardinals.
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