The first four teams were founded in South Bend, Indiana; Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin; and Rockford, Illinois. The players were recruited wherever they could be found, but the best source seemed to be the Girls Athletic Association (GAA). The first season began in the summer of 1944. The league thrived the first few seasons garnering much popularity and fan support.

But when the war ended in 1945, things began to get hard. Especially the fact that when the men returned and took up their old jobs, forcing women out of the workplace and challenging the popularity of women