A Funny Sight

 

May 20, 1905, Neenah

With baseball in full swing, we get a reminder about how much baseball was a part of the fabric of America during the early 20th century, so much so that even special arrangements would be entertained so the home team had a place to play.  In this case, Menasha does Neenah a favor by allowing the use of its ballpark. 

The idea of the Boston Bloomers coming to play the Neenah team later in the season was intriguing so I found this photo of the team.  Evidently, they barnstormed around the country and played exhibitions with the local team.  With the prevailing mores of the time, the article saying it would be a "funny sight" to see the women play says a lot about women's roles in society.  I wonder what the audience for this exhibition would think if they could see women's sports one hundred years hence.  I'm sure their mouths would have dropped to the ground.