“There’s no crying in baseball!”

More than three decades after Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own arrived in theaters, the movie still feels remarkably timeless. It is funny, nostalgic and genuinely moving—but for those of us who love Illinois history, there is another reason to keep coming back to it.

The movie was filmed in locations across the Midwest, and several of its most memorable scenes were shot right here in Illinois.

That makes A League of Their Own the perfect excuse for a road trip.

You can start in Chicago, where the Rockford Peaches’ story takes shape, then work your way west through Berwyn, Wheaton and Union. Along the way, you’ll visit a legendary baseball stadium, a spectacular lakefront cultural center, a historic music venue, a railroad museum filled with vintage equipment and a grand historic house.

It is part movie pilgrimage, part history road trip—and entirely Illinois.

Stop One: Wrigley Field — Where the Peaches Try Out

1060 W. Addison Street, Chicago

Begin your tour at one of the most recognizable places in Chicago: Wrigley Field.

In the movie, the stadium is supposedly Harvey Field, the fictional ballpark where women from across the country gather to try out for Walter Harvey’s new professional baseball league.

In reality, it is Wrigley Field.

Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell at Wrigley Field. Copyright: ©Columbia Pictures Creator: Columbia Pictures/Photofest

The production transformed the Cubs’ home into the fictional stadium, including temporarily changing the scoreboard to read “Harvey Field.” Principal photography for the movie actually began at Wrigley Field on July 10, 1991.

Standing outside Wrigley today, it is fun to imagine the scene: hundreds of hopeful women arriving in Chicago, each convinced she might be the next great baseball player.

For Dottie Hinson, Kit Keller, Marla Hooch and the other players, this is the beginning of everything.

For movie fans, it is the beginning of the tour.

Filmed at Wrigley Field. Copyright: ©Columbia Pictures Creator: Columbia Pictures/Photofest

Backyard Tourist tip: You don’t have to attend a Cubs game to experience the movie connection. Wrigley Field offers tours that provide a closer look at the historic ballpark. The surrounding neighborhood is a great place to stop for a bite, or drinks.

Stop Two: South Shore Cultural Center — Charm School

7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago

From Wrigleyville, head south toward the lakefront and the South Shore Cultural Center.

This is one of the most beautiful stops on the entire tour—and one of the most entertaining movie connections.

In A League of Their Own, the players are sent to charm school to learn how to behave like “proper” ladies. Their baseball skills aren’t enough. If the league is going to survive, its owners believe the women need to become polished public personalities as well.

The scenes were filmed at the South Shore Cultural Center, particularly its elegant solarium.

South Shore Country Club Postcard circa 1908

The building has a fascinating history of its own. Originally developed as the South Shore Country Club, the complex features grand rooms, ornate details and expansive lakefront grounds. Today it is a Chicago Park District cultural center surrounded by a 65-acre park that includes a nature sanctuary, golf course and beach.

That makes this more than simply a movie stop.

Take time to look at the building itself. The architecture helps explain why Hollywood has repeatedly found it useful as a period-film location.

And yes, you can still picture Marla Hooch being told that she would look better in the dark.

This is also a stop on the Blues Brother’s Driving Tour, and also is where President Obama got married!

Stop Three: Fitzgerald’s — The Suds Bucket

6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn

Now head west toward Berwyn and FitzGerald’s.

If the South Shore Cultural Center represents the Peaches being told how they should behave, Fitzgerald’s represents what happens when they finally get a chance to cut loose.

In the movie, Fitzgerald’s became the interior of the Suds Bucket, the bar where the women drink, dance and briefly get to forget about baseball, expectations and the war.

According to Turner Classic Movies, the production spent approximately three weeks at Fitzgerald’s to film a sequence that lasts only a few minutes on screen.

That is one of my favorite things about movie locations: the enormous amount of real-world work that can disappear into a few minutes of finished film.

Who can forget Marla singing “It Had To Be You” at the Sudsbucket?

FitzGerald’s itself has a history that stretches well beyond Hollywood. The building dates to the early 1900s and has housed several different establishments before the Fitzgerald family purchased it in 1980. It remains a live music venue today. So this is a particularly good stop for the Backyard Tourist.

Don’t just stand outside and take a photograph.

Go see a show.

The best movie-location pilgrimage is one where the location is still being used for the thing that made it interesting in the first place.

Stop Four: Cantigny — The McCormick House

1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton

The next stop takes you to Wheaton and Cantigny Park.

The Robert R. McCormick House at Cantigny was another Illinois location used in A League of Their Own. Cantigny stood in as the Harvey Mansion, where Tom Hank’s character is offered the job to manage the women’s team.

This is where your movie road trip becomes something much bigger.

Cantigny is a 500-acre estate containing gardens, museums, historic landscapes and the former home of newspaper publisher Robert R. McCormick.

The McCormick House has recently reopened following an extensive renovation, and visitors can experience the historic home through guided and self-guided experiences.

Even if you’re here because of A League of Their Own, give yourself several hours.

Walk the gardens.

Visit the First Division Museum. (It’s awesome!)

Explore the house.

And remember that one of the pleasures of a filming-location road trip is discovering that the real location is often more interesting than the movie version.

Stop Five: Illinois Railway Museum — All Aboard the Peaches

7000 Olson Road, Union

Finish the Illinois portion of your tour by heading northwest to Illinois Railway Museum.

This might be my favorite stop for anyone who loves both movies and museums.

The Illinois Railway Museum provided the vintage railroad equipment and depot settings for the Peaches’ travels. Railroad depot scenes and scenes aboard the train were filmed here, including footage involving the historic Nebraska Zephyr.

And unlike a movie set, the Illinois Railway Museum is very much a real museum.

It is the largest railroad museum in the United States, with historic locomotives, passenger cars, streetcars and other railroad equipment spread across a massive campus.

This is the place where you can really slow down.

See the trains.

Walk through vintage passenger cars.

Stand on the depot platform.

Then imagine the Rockford Peaches arriving with suitcases, baseball uniforms and all the uncertainty of a team traveling through wartime America.

The museum currently operates trains on a seasonal schedule, so check its calendar before making the drive. In 2026, regular train operations run through the summer and into October on scheduled days.

Making It a Day—or a Weekend

The Illinois locations make a terrific road trip because they naturally divide into sections.

Chicago portion

Wrigley Field → South Shore Cultural Center

These are the two essential Chicago stops. They’re also the locations most directly associated with the Peaches’ arrival in the world of professional baseball.

Western suburban portion

FitzGerald’s → Cantigny

Berwyn and Wheaton make an easy continuation of the trip, with plenty of opportunities for lunch, coffee, gardens and exploring historic communities along the way.

Northwest Illinois finale

Illinois Railway Museum

Save the railway museum for the end and give yourself several hours. This isn’t a quick roadside photo opportunity. It’s a destination in its own right.

And that’s really the secret to this road trip.

You’re not simply chasing movie locations.

You’re following the story of a movie through real Illinois places that have stories of their own.

Want to Go Beyond Illinois?

If A League of Their Own has you wanting the full road trip, the story doesn’t end at the Illinois border.

The Rockford Peaches’ home games were filmed at League Stadium in Huntingburg, Indiana, while Bosse Field in Evansville became the home of the Racine Belles. The movie also used locations in Kentucky and New York, including Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame sequence. (AFI Catalog⁠)

That turns a local filming-location excursion into a much larger Midwest baseball road trip.

But you don’t have to go that far.

For a Chicago-area traveler, the Illinois locations offer something pretty special: within a relatively manageable drive, you can stand where Dottie tried out, visit the place where the Peaches endured charm school, dance at their fictional neighborhood bar, explore a historic mansion used in the film and ride the same kind of vintage railroad equipment that carried the team across the country.

And somewhere along the way, you’ll probably find yourself saying it.

There’s no crying in baseball.

There is, however, plenty of history in Illinois.

Before You Go

Because several of these locations are active museums, cultural institutions or businesses, check current hours and access policies before making the trip. In particular, the Illinois Railway Museum operates seasonally, and access to the McCormick House at Cantigny can vary by day and programming.

For the most up-to-date visitor information:

All locations and filming details are based on published film-location and institutional sources; filming locations can sometimes be described differently in secondary sources, so this tour focuses on the Illinois sites with the strongest documentation.

A League of Their Own: A Driving Tour of the Illinois Filming Locations