Post-its, homework breaks and karaoke: inside the Women’s Pro Baseball League’s debut season

The first league of its kind in 70 years brought players from all around the world to Illinois for eight weeks, writing a new chapter in the history of women’s sports On the morning of 14 September, Rocky Henley sat at her rental home’s dining room table amid scattered rulebooks, colorful markers and graph paper. The New York Heights manager drew a chart on a large poster – her method of sketching plays for the evening’s playoff game.

Her assistant manager, Jackson, trudged in from the kitchen in flannel pajama pants and a Heights hoodie and watched her work. He also happens to be her son. The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) is the first league of its kind in 70 years. Players hailed from across the US and 11 different countries to play for four teams: the Heights, Boston Hunters, San Francisco Firebells and Los Angeles Queens. While each team’s namesake city