4 Things the Movie A League Of Their Own Got Wrong About the Rockford Peaches

Many Rockfordians will argue that there are many great things our city should be known nationwide, heck worldwide for, but we also realize the Rockford Peaches usually top everyone's list.

Unknown Facts About the Rockford Peaches

I have lived in the Rockford area all of my life, and the first time I really heard about the Rockford Peaches was after watching the movie A League Of Their Own in 1992. (Shame on me, I totally know). As YOU probably know, the Rockford Peaches were the stars of that movie, but did the movie really do the real Rockford Peaches justice?

We all know a lot of movies past, present and future are based on real-life events, and I hope we also know those movies often glorify those real-life stories too. One of the most successful and beloved baseball movies of all time, A League of Their Own, was no exception to the rule.

Before I go into the things the movie got wrong about the real Rockford Peaches, let's start with pointing out what they got right.

1. The Rockford Peaches did play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and were one of only two teams that played in every season of the league.
2. All of the players in the AAGPBL were held to high appearance and behavior standards.
3. The Rockford Peaches were a highly successful team in the AAFPBL.

4 Things the Movie 'A League Of Their Own' Got Wrong About the Rockford Peaches

 A League Of Their Own does a great job showing us what like was like in the AAGPBL, but it is not a true account of what life was like as a Rockford Peach. Here are 4 big things the movie got wrong about the real Rockford Peaches...

1. There was no player named Dottie Hinson on the Rockford Peaches.

When I was a kid, my grandfather and his brother owned Charles Street Hardware in Rockford, and pretty much my Dad's whole side of the family worked there. I remember my dad and grandpa always talking about how Dottie from the Rockford Peaches used to shop in the store a lot, and how the real Dottie was FAR different from the Dottie played by Geena Davis in the movie. In fact, the internet can't seem to agree if the character of Dottie Hinson was based on real Rockford Peaches Dorothy "Dottie" Green or Dorothy "Dottie" or "Kammie" Kamenshek. (most people claim Kamenshek). Perhaps the character was a mixture of both?

2. The Rockford Peaches Didn't Win the AAGPBL's 1943 Championship, the Racine Belles did.

The Rockford Peaches didn't even play in the 1943 championship game that is depicted at the end of A League Of Their Own. The Racine Belles played the Kenosha Comets and won.

3.  Rockford Peaches players pitched differently than they show in the movie.

According to collider.com, AAGPBL pitchers threw in a slightly different underhand style until the 4th season of the league in 1946 when they switched to the pitching style shown in the movie, which was based on the first season of the AAGPBL.

4. The fields the Rockford Peaches played on looked different than those shown in the movie.

Not only did the baseball fields the AAGPBL teams played on look different than what was shown in A League Of Their Own, but they were smaller too. The movie used standard MLB-sized fields, while the fields of the AAGPBL were sized to softball standards. They did get slightly larger as the years passed but were never as big as MLB fields.

Are you looking for more fascinating tidbits about the movie A League Of Their Own? Check this link out!