Toni Stone First (REAL) Female PRO Baseball player!
Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 4:09 pmI saw this on google and believe it is worth noting here! Also it is ironic that I share same first and last name with except my first name is with a y Tony Stone lol!
Toni Stone (July 17, 1921 – November 2, 1996), born as Marcenia Lyle Stone in West Virginia, was the first of three women to play professional baseball full-time for the Indianapolis Clowns, in the previously all-male Negro leagues. This also made her the first woman to play as a regular on an American big-league professional male baseball team. A baseball player from her early childhood, she went on to play for the San Francisco Sea Lions, the New Orleans Creoles, the Indianapolis Clowns, and the Kansas City Monarchs before retiring from baseball in 1954. Sadly a sign of the times Stone was taunted at times by teammates, once being told, “Go home and fix your husband some biscuits,” but she was undeterred. It has been widely reported that during an exhibition game in 1953, she hit a single off a fastball pitch delivered by legendary player Satchel Paige, although this is also disputed.
Legacy
All of these accomplishments may make her "one of the best players you have never heard of", according to the Negro League Baseball Players Association.
In 1990, she was included in two exhibits at the Baseball Hall of Fame, one on "Women in Baseball" and another on "Negro League Baseball". In 1993, Stone was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. In 1990, Stone's hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota, declared March 6 "Toni Stone Day". Saint Paul also has a field named after Toni Stone located at the Dunning Baseball Complex.
In 2020 and 2021, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) nominated Stone for the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award.
On February 9, 2022, Google honored Stone's legacy and achievements by making her the Google Doodle on their homepage. The image depicts Stone fielding a baseball from her second base position and throwing the ball in the direction of first base, as the opposing team's runner crosses in front of her in the direction of second base. The Doodle was created by San Francisco-based illustrator and animation director, Monique Wray. Toni Stone died on November 2, 1996, of heart failure at a nursing home in Alameda, California. She was 75 years old.
It should be noted a total of 3 women play for the African American league total they were
Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson, Connie Morgan!
All this info was from Toni Stone Wikipedia page sources named there!
Toni Stone (July 17, 1921 – November 2, 1996), born as Marcenia Lyle Stone in West Virginia, was the first of three women to play professional baseball full-time for the Indianapolis Clowns, in the previously all-male Negro leagues. This also made her the first woman to play as a regular on an American big-league professional male baseball team. A baseball player from her early childhood, she went on to play for the San Francisco Sea Lions, the New Orleans Creoles, the Indianapolis Clowns, and the Kansas City Monarchs before retiring from baseball in 1954. Sadly a sign of the times Stone was taunted at times by teammates, once being told, “Go home and fix your husband some biscuits,” but she was undeterred. It has been widely reported that during an exhibition game in 1953, she hit a single off a fastball pitch delivered by legendary player Satchel Paige, although this is also disputed.
Legacy
All of these accomplishments may make her "one of the best players you have never heard of", according to the Negro League Baseball Players Association.
In 1990, she was included in two exhibits at the Baseball Hall of Fame, one on "Women in Baseball" and another on "Negro League Baseball". In 1993, Stone was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. In 1990, Stone's hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota, declared March 6 "Toni Stone Day". Saint Paul also has a field named after Toni Stone located at the Dunning Baseball Complex.
In 2020 and 2021, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) nominated Stone for the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award.
On February 9, 2022, Google honored Stone's legacy and achievements by making her the Google Doodle on their homepage. The image depicts Stone fielding a baseball from her second base position and throwing the ball in the direction of first base, as the opposing team's runner crosses in front of her in the direction of second base. The Doodle was created by San Francisco-based illustrator and animation director, Monique Wray. Toni Stone died on November 2, 1996, of heart failure at a nursing home in Alameda, California. She was 75 years old.
It should be noted a total of 3 women play for the African American league total they were
Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson, Connie Morgan!
All this info was from Toni Stone Wikipedia page sources named there!