"...you strike three or four of them out and, you know, it's alright."
December 20, 2017 8:10 AM   Subscribe

Baseball pioneer Mamie Johnson (previously on MetaFilter), the first woman to pitch in the Negro Leagues, dead at 82.
posted by tonycpsu (14 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 8:26 AM on December 20, 2017


82 doesn't seem all that old. In my mind, the Negro Leaugues era sat further back in history.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:01 AM on December 20, 2017 [1 favorite]


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posted by epj at 9:04 AM on December 20, 2017


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posted by lord_wolf at 9:21 AM on December 20, 2017


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posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:50 AM on December 20, 2017


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posted by Navelgazer at 9:59 AM on December 20, 2017


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Love this -
Johnson played for the [Indianapolis] Clowns from 1953-55, and posted a 33-8 record in addition to a .270 batting average. That’s also where she picked up her nickname.

Johnson was mocked by Hank Bayliss, the Kansas City Monarchs’ third baseman. Bayliss taunted the 5-foot-3, 115-pound right-handed pitcher, saying she was “no bigger than a peanut.”

Johnson struck him out, and the name stuck.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:08 AM on December 20, 2017 [3 favorites]


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posted by Smart Dalek at 10:28 AM on December 20, 2017



posted by MovableBookLady at 10:55 AM on December 20, 2017


82 doesn't seem all that old. In my mind, the Negro Leaugues era sat further back in history.

The Negro Leagues rapidly declined after the beginning of integrated baseball in the late 1940s, with the Negro National League folding after 1948 and the Negro American League surviving, in sort of a rump form, through the 1950s, though the teams increasingly operated on a barnstorming basis.
posted by AndrewInDC at 12:23 PM on December 20, 2017 [1 favorite]


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posted by songs_about_rainbows at 5:13 PM on December 20, 2017


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posted by 4ster at 6:29 PM on December 20, 2017


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posted by gryphonlover at 8:00 PM on December 20, 2017


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If you're ever in Kansas City, stop by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. It's a great museum and the explanation of the rise and fall (and rise and fall again) of the Negro Leagues, which were definitely leagues in the plural, is fascinating. Lots of characters! And there's a whole section where you'll learn more about Mamie Johnson and her compatriots.
posted by librarylis at 11:59 AM on December 21, 2017


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