<P> When World War II threatens to shut down Major League Baseball, candy magnate and Cubs owner Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall) persuades his fellow owners to bankroll a women's league . Ira Lowenstein (David Strathairn) is put in charge, and Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) is sent out to recruit players . Capadino attends an industrial - league softball game in rural Oregon and likes what he sees in Dottie, the catcher for a local dairy's team . Dottie turns down Capadino's offer, happy with her simple farm life while waiting for her husband Bob (Bill Pullman) to come back from the war . Her sister and teammate, Kit (Lori Petty), however, is desperate to get away and make something of herself . Capadino is not impressed by Kit's hitting performance, but agrees to take her along if she can change Dottie's mind . Dottie agrees, but only for her sister's sake . </P> <P> Dottie and Kit head out to Harvey Field in Chicago for the tryout . There they meet a pair of New Yorkers, taxi dancer "All the Way" Mae Mordabito (Madonna) and her best friend, bouncer Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell), along with soft - spoken right fielder Evelyn Gardner (Bitty Schram), illiterate, shy left fielder Shirley Baker (Ann Cusack), pitcher / shortstop and former Miss Georgia beauty queen Ellen Sue Gotlander (Freddie Simpson), gentle left field / relief pitcher Betty "Spaghetti" Horn (Tracy Reiner), homely second baseman Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh), who was scouted by Ernie, Dottie and Kit in Fort Collins, Colorado, first baseman Helen Haley (Anne Ramsay), and Saskatchewan native Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers (Renée Coleman). They and eight others are selected to form the Rockford Peaches, while 48 others are split among the Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, and South Bend Blue Sox . </P> <P> The Peaches are managed by Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), a former marquee Cubs slugger who initially treats the whole thing as a joke . The league attracts little interest at first . With a Life magazine photographer in the stands, Lowenstein begs the players to do something spectacular . Dottie obliges when a ball is popped up behind home plate, catching it while doing a split . The resulting photograph makes the magazine cover . A publicity campaign draws more people to the ballgames, but the owners remain unconvinced . Due to Kit's and Dottie's sibling rivalry, Kit is traded to the Peaches' rival, the Racine Belles . </P> <P> The Peaches end the season qualifying for the league's World Series . In the locker room, Jimmy gives Betty a telegram that informs her her husband was killed in action in the Pacific Theater . The grief - stricken Betty leaves the team . Later that evening, Dottie receives a surprise when Bob, who was serving in Italy, shows up, having been discharged from the Army . The following morning, Jimmy discovers that Dottie is going home with Bob . Unable to persuade her to at least play in the World Series, he tells her she will regret her decision . </P>

When did a league of their own take place