The Women's Professional Baseball League opened its inaugural season with four teams taking the field in Springfield, Illinois.
The league's first games featured the Los Angeles Queens, the New York Heights, the Boston Hunters and the San Francisco Firebells.
All four clubs are competing in the league's debut campaign, which began with this opening series.
The event represents the first organized professional baseball league for women to launch in the United States in the modern era.
Games are being played at a centralized location in Springfield for the start of the season.
The league structure includes these four founding franchises representing cities on both coasts and in the Midwest.
Organizers have scheduled a full season of competition among the four teams following the opening games.
No previous professional women's baseball league has operated in the United States since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954.
The Women's Professional Baseball League makes its historic debut
This is an independent summary. The complete reporting, supporting context and any primary documents remain with NPR.