All-Girls Baseball Team in Seattle Makes History

  This is What’s Trending Today... The 1992 film “A League of Their Own” tells the story of the first all-women’s professional baseball league in the United States. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed during World War II. It was launched in 1943 and play continued until 1954. One of the best teams was the Rockford Peaches from Rockford, Illinois. “A League of Their Own” told about the Peaches. Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, and Geena Davis played three of the women who were on the Peaches team. Actor Tom Hanks played the part of team’s manager. This week, the Rockford Peaches have become a trending topic on social media, thanks to a baseball team of young girls in Seattle, Washington. The newest Peaches team is made up of 6-, 7- and 8-year-olds. And, the girls do not play against other girl teams. This Rockford Peaches team plays against boys. The story has gone viral. The young Rockford Peaches team is the first-ever all-girls team in the history of West Seattle Little League baseball. Its head coach, Sean Eley, formed the Peaches a few months ago. He has a daughter on the team. He told ABC News that he named the team after the original Rockford Peaches. Since the players are so young, the teams do not yet keep score. As a result, there are no winners or losers. But, the Rockford Peaches do play against all-boys teams. And, their coach says they do as well as – or better than – the other teams. "I know baseball," he said. "I play it, I love it, and like I've said, ‘These girls are just as good as the boys, if not better.’" The Rockford Peaches were a trending topic earlier this month when several of the “A League of Their Own” actors came together for a reunion. Geena Davis organized the event during the Bentonville Film Festival in Arkansas.   Naturally, the movie’s cast members reunited on a baseball field. And, they even played a baseball game. Pictures from the game went viral. The first pitch of the game was thrown by Gina Casey. She played for the original Rockford Peaches back in the 1950s. At the reunion, she told reporters that she hopes to teach girls that they can do anything. “You can do anything well, if you try hard,” she said. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Ashley Thompson.   Ashley Thompson wrote this report with materials from ABC News. George Grow was the editor.  Do you play baseball? Are you a girl who plays baseball? Please leave us a Comment, and post on our Facebook page.  ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   manager - n. someone who directs the training and performance of a sports team viral - adj. relating to something that is spread rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another. reunion - n. an organized gathering of people who have not been together for a long time​ original - adj. happening or existing first or at the beginning pitch - n. an act of throwing a baseball to a batter

from Voice of America http://ift.tt/1RogJns
via IFTTT