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This paper reviews the literature on women's baseball prior to the establishment of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by P. K. Wrigley in 1943. Around the turn of the century, women had fewer opportunities for participation in sports and long standing stereotypes permeated the thoughts and ideals of society with respect to women in sport. One limitation was the stereotype of the delicate, sickly, passive female; a second restraint was the common belief that women's primary goals were of marriage and motherhood; a third limiting factor was the belief that women should behave in a "genteel" manner. It was also commonly believed that participation in sport could result in women becoming infertile, coarse, unfeminine, and possibly immoral. The only place for women to be involved in sports was within the confines of women's colleges and clubs. The growth in popularity of baseball was fostered by the idea of participation, collegiality, and the overall ideal of "sport for sports sake." Competition, however, was viewed with alarm. Baseball clubs were formed to allow women not attending college to participate. Such clubs were often unfortunately exploited for their spectacle value. Women, however, tended not to view their involvement with baseball as a matter of women's rights but simply enjoyed the game. Many women interested in baseball felt the opposition towards their participation in baseball was too great, and concentrated their efforts in non-participant roles including those of spectators, journalists, scouts, and, eventually, owners. (Contains 36 references.) (LL)

College-level history courses can be improved by including instruction about social history, particularly the leisure time activities of the dominant cultural group. Paris of the late 19th century had the well-deserved reputation of being the pleasure capital of Europe. This reputation developed in spite of the disparity that existed between the wealth and high cultural achievements on one hand, and urban squalor and poverty on the other. This environment gave life to new night clubs and sophisticated cabarets which sprang up in Paris in the 1880s. This paper describes the cabaret life of Paris of that period, and pays particular attention to the "Chat Noir," the first cabaret to inspire the cabaret fanaticism that swept across Europe at this time. (DB)