Steven Martinez/ Espiritu Chicano
Baseball Fans - meet Las Aztecas!
Usually, when you think of baseball in Los Angeles, you think of the Dodgers. But, baseball in southern California goes way back before the Dodgers even arrived in Califas!
The cult classic, "A League Of Their Own" (a great movie!), tells a fictionalized version of the women who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 40's and 50's. But before those women hit the field, L.A. already had female baseball teams stepping up to the plate, paving the way!
Meet "The Aztecas", an all-women Chicana team from Pacoima, Ca. that played ball before crowds of community fans in the 1930's! The team was formed by sisters, Della Ortega and Ramona Frias. Their maiden name was Fonseca.
The women were playing at a time when People of Color were not welcome in all of the parks in L.A. Racism was rampant, but, they didn't let that stop them!
The top picture is a picture of the team with their manager. Della Ortega is standing, second from the right.
The bottom picture is of another Mexican American, all-women team from Kansas City also called The Aztecas.