This interview served as a follow-up to original interviews conducted with both Ms. Westerman and Ms. Hutchison earlier in 1992. Following the release of the movie, A League of Their Own, based on the women of the AAGPBL, we scheduled a second interview to record their reactions to the film. The first portion of the interview includes Ms. Westerman and Ms. Hutchison talking together. These two women have been friends for almost fifty years and the conversation between them was relaxed and punctuated with an occasional teasing comment. Ms. Hutchison then had to leave and we completed the interview with Ms. Westerman and her husband Ray Westerman. The couple dated during the early years of Ms. Westerman's ballplaying career and were married in 1950. Ms. Westerman continued playing with the league for two years after her marriage.
Ms. Westerman and Ms. Hutchison begin the interview by providing their initial reactions to the film. They both were generally pleased, particularly with the way in which their ballplaying was portrayed. Both women were also pleased with the inclusion of portions of the three-inning ball game played by actual AAGPBL players that provided the background during the credits of the film. They talk about the interaction among the women in the league. They then discuss the number of married and single women in the league and the effect marital status had on their ballplaying. They also talk about those women who were married and who played while pregnant. They discuss the backgrounds of many of the women from the league--where they all came from, how they were recruited. Next they describe spring training, including where training was held, early promotional games, assignment to teams, and number of players on the teams.
Ms. Westerman talks about being traded to different team and the difficulties of breaking into a new group of teammates. She played on four different teams during her career. Both women talk about the ways in which players were placed on teams and the inability of the players to question those decisions. They also discuss the effects of injuries, contract negotiations, pay ranges, differences in salaries among different players, and players cut from the league. Ms. Westerman talks about one manager's emphasis on knowing the rules of the game, and both women talk about other league managers. They continue with a discussion of how the actresses in the film learned to play baseball and the problems they encountered. They also talk about events in the film such as the publicity stunts, charm school, and emphasis on looks. They discuss their interaction with the heads of the league. They also talk about the representation of the chaperone in the film, which they felt was very funny but very inaccurate.
The final portion of the interview includes Ms. Westerman and her husband, Ray. They begin by talking about how much Mr. Westerman was able to visit Ms. Westerman while she was playing ball, especially during road trips. Mr. Westerman talks about his experience of being a fan in the stands watching his wife play baseball, while others either cheered or booed. They also talked about other married ballplayers and how the league attempted to accommodate their spouses in terms of jobs. Ms. Westerman talks about her family's support while she played ball. She also discusses the change in the size of the ball and adjustments in the rules over the years. She also mentions the size of the crowds in various locations. She discusses the difficulties in getting quality ballplayers after the pitching changed to overhand in the later years of the league. She completes the interview by listing all the team names and the cities in which she played during her eight years with the league.
