Former baseball player Maybelle Blair has taken on the role of honorary chair for the advisory board of the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL). This league, which is set to begin in 2026, will feature six teams dedicated to women players.
At the age of 97, Blair is a pioneer in women’s baseball, famously inspiring the classic movie “A League of Their Own” through her contributions to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She will lead a board made up of distinguished women from sports and business, including a leader from the new Professional Women’s Hockey League, a former ESPN executive, and accomplished baseball pitcher Ayami Sato, who has won six World Cups.
Blair expressed her excitement, saying, “We have been waiting 70 years for a women’s professional baseball league. It means so much for the girls. It is going to be our great opportunity, and we must take advantage of it now.”
The WPBL aims to be the first professional league for women since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ended in 1954. Co-founders Justine Siegal, noted as the first woman to coach a Major League Baseball team, and businessman Keith Stein, have a vision of fostering a vibrant culture of women’s baseball in the United States.
To prepare for the upcoming season, the league plans to organize a scouting camp in the spring of 2025, followed by a player draft later that same year. The inaugural season, including regular games, playoffs, and a championship, is scheduled for the summer of 2026.
Blair will even have the honor of throwing the first pitch in the WPBL’s opening game. Siegal highlighted the importance of honoring the legacy of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League while also creating new pathways for today’s aspiring players.
The advisory board also includes notable figures such as Nona Lee, former legal officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Laura Gentile, the founding head of espnW, and Digit Murphy, president of the Toronto Six hockey team, signaling a strong commitment to advancing women in sports.
