The South Bend Blue Sox was one of four original teams in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, which operated from 1943 to 1954. Founded during World War II, the league contributed to the war effort by boosting morale through family entertainment. Scouted from across North America, its players constantly balanced outstanding athleticism with league standards of femininity. The Blue Sox played in all twelve league seasons, and their 1946 move from Bendix Field to the more centrally located and better-equipped Playland Park, near here, increased attendance. The team won playoff championships in 1951 and 1952, and the league later received public recognition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 and the 1992 film A League of Their Own.