We wanted to share this design.
In the first image, the left-side emblem is the original National Girls Baseball League (NGBL) mark, adopted after the circuit changed its name in 1946 from the National Girls Softball League (NGSL) to the National Girls Baseball League.
A few things about the league:
The NGSL/NGBL was a women's fastpitch softball league that operated in the Chicagoland area from 1944 to 1954. It featured some of the top players of the era and competed with the Midwest-based All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).
Although the mark includes the word "Pro," the league was never officially called the National Girls Pro Baseball League. The term was used to signal its professional status. The shift to “Baseball” was also meant to attract baseball fans by highlighting that the league followed nearly all standard baseball rules, aside from the larger ball, shorter base paths, and underhand pitching.
The words "Nite Ball" appear in the design because, prior to 1951, games were played almost exclusively at night, with weekend day games added in later seasons.
On the right is our modern recreation of the original mark, along with variations showing the central figure in different team uniforms. We selected only primary uniforms, and not every club is represented.
To date, we’ve only been able to verify the uniform colors of seven of the many teams that played in the NGBL.
Let us know how we did recreating this piece of league history, or if you have any questions!
