Famous Female Baseball Players

From the 1900s to the 21^st century, women have excelled at sports despite the cultural norms at the time. Women began playing baseball in skirts and did so until Alta Weiss took hers off and played in bloomers. Racial discrimination forced three female baseball players into the Negro Leagues. Despite the difficulties, the strength of these women helped them to carry on following their dreams. Today, many of these female athletes are getting their due recognition.

Ila Borders
Ila Borders was born in La Mirada, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, on February 18, 1975. Borders' love of baseball started early. Taught and encouraged by her father, this southpaw began pitching overhand at the age of 10, on an all-boys Little League team. At Whittier Christian High School, she played on the boys' baseball team, and during her senior year, she was voted most valuable player. In 1993, she became the first woman in the history of baseball to earn a college athletic scholarship to play ball at Southern California College (now Vanguard University). In February 1994, Borders became the first woman to ever pitch in an NCAA or NAIA game. In 1998, she became the first female starting pitcher in baseball's integrated minor leagues, starting on the St. Paul Saints team (now Kansas City T-Bones) and moved to the Western League in 2000. At the end of that season, she retired from baseball. She was elected to the Baseball Reliquary Shrine of Eternals in 2003, for her contributions to the game of baseball.

Julie Croteau
Julie Croteau was born and raised in Prince William County, Virginia. Throughout her childhood and teen years, she played Little League graduated to the Majors and then into the Babe Ruth League. In 1988, she sued her high school for the right to join the boys' baseball team, but lost the suit. In 1989, she made the men's baseball team during her freshman year at St. Mary's College of Maryland. She played in Major League Baseball's Hawaii Winter League in 1989. Croteau became the first woman to coach in a Division I men's NCAA baseball team when she joined the University of Massachusetts-Amherst as an assistant coach in 1995. She was chosen to coach the U.S. Women's National Team in 2004.

Ida Schnall
Ida Schnall was born in 1888. She was team captain and organizer of the New York Female Giants baseball team in 1913, as well as an advocate for female rights. She died on February 14, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 85.

Mamie Johnson
Mamie “Peanut” Johnson was born in Ridgeway, South Carolina, on September 27, 1935. She began playing baseball at age six with her Uncle Leo “Bones” Belton, who was close to her own age. Following high school, she tried to try out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, but was not allowed to set foot on their field. In 1953, a scout from the Indianapolis Clowns saw her play. She tried out for the team and made it. She was the only woman to ever pitch in the Negro League; thanks to Satchel Paige, she perfected her curve ball and became one of the best pitchers in the league. She retired in 1955, and worked as a nurse for the next 30 years. She is a Mary McLeod Bethune Continuing the Legacy Award winner, has been recognized by President and Mrs. Clinton for her contributions to baseball, and has had a book and a one-woman theatrical show about her life performed at Brown University.

Jackie Mitchell
Although it is not completely clear what year Virnett Beatrice “Jackie” Mitchell was born, it is generally believed to be August 29, 1912, 1913 or 1914. As a little girl, she went with her father to play baseball. Her neighbor, Dazzy Vance, of Brooklyn Dodgers' fame, taught her to throw his drop pitch. She was just five at the time. At age 17, she went to a baseball school in Atlanta, Georgia. It was here that she was noticed by Joe Engel, president of the Chattanooga Lookouts. On March 28, 1931, she signed a contract to play baseball with the Lookouts. In early April 1931, the New York Yankees played an exposition game against the Mitchell's team. Mitchell was put in as pitcher and struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, one after the other. A children's book, The Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth, tells her famous story. Mitchell died January 7, 1987.

Connie Morgan
Constance Enola Morgan was born October 17, 1935, in Philadelphia. Morgan played on the North Philadelphia Honey Drippers, a women's baseball team, from 1949-1954. At age 19, she contacted the Indiana Clowns owner, Syd Pollack, and asked for a tryout. She made the team and signed on to play second base. She became the third woman to play in the Negro League. She played for the Clowns over the next two years. After retirement, Morgan worked for the AFL-CIO and drove a school bus for Philadelphia public schools. Connie Morgan died on October 14, 1996, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Maud Nelson
Maud Nelson was born in Italy as Clementina Brida. She came to America as a child. In 1897, by the age of 16, she was playing for the barnstorming team, the Boston Bloomer Girls. She played briefly for the men's' Cherokee Indian Base Ball club from 1908-1911. She and her husband began the Western Bloomer Girls team in 1911. Following her husband's death in 1917, Nelson returned to Boston's Bloomer Girls. In 1922, she retired, but did not leave baseball. She began the All Star Ranger Girls, managing that team until barnstorming was no longer economically feasible because of the Depression. Maud Nelson died on February 15, 1944, having spent more than 40 years in baseball.

Carey Schueler

Carey Schueler, the daughter of the former White Sox General Manager, Ron Schueler, was born in 1974. She was the 1208^th pick in the 43^rd round of 1993's Major League Baseball draft. She did not sign with the team, going instead to DePaul University where she played basketball.

Helen Stephens
Helen Stephens was born February 3, 1918. She was an all-around athlete, winning two medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She set the world record in the 100 meter event, running it in 11.6 seconds. She played professional basketball and professional softball. She was the first woman to begin and operate her own basketball team. At age 68, she ran the 100 meter event in 16.4 seconds. Stephens is in the National and United States Track and Field Halls of Fame and in the Women's Hall of Fame. She died on January 17, 1994.

Toni Stone
Toni Stone, born Marcenia Lyle Alberga, was born July 17, 1931. She began playing baseball at age 10 in the Catholic Midget League. At 15, she was playing in a mens' semi-professional team, the St. Paul Giants. Over the course of her professional baseball career, she played with the San Francisco Sea Lions, the Black Pelicans, the New Orleans Creoles and finally joining the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953. She was the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues. Before the start of the 1954 season, Stephens' was sold to the Kansas City Monarchs. Following this season, she retired to take care of her husband, 40 years her senior. The Women's Sports Foundation's International Women's Sports Hall of Fame inducted Stephens in 1985. The Baseball Hall of Fame inducted her in 1990, and in 1993, she was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the Sudafed International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. March 6^th was declared “Toni Stone Day” by her hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. She died on November 2, 1996, at a California nursing home. She was 75

Alta Weiss
In 1890, Alta Weiss was born in Berlin, Ohio, and later moved with her family to Rangersville, Ohio. At 14, she began pitching for boys' baseball teams, and in 1907, at age 16, moved to the Vermillion Independents, a men's semi-professional team. More than 1200 people came out to see her debut. She became such a draw, attracting upwards of 3,000 fans, that trains were scheduled to bring fans from Cleveland whenever the Vermillion team was scheduled to play them. In 1908, her father bought a half-interest in the Vermillion Independents and changed the name to Weiss All-Stars. Weiss' specialty pitch was a sinking fastball. Originally, Weiss played with a skirt over her bloomers, but soon discarded the skirt. Upon retirement, Alta worked her way through medical school using the money she had earned playing ball. She graduated as the only female in her class in 1914. She retired from baseball in 1922. She was inducted into the Rangersville Hall of Fame and her uniform is at the Baseball Hall of Fame's women's exhibit. Alta Weiss died in 1964.

Dot Wilkinson
Dot Wilkinson was born in Arizona on October 9, 1921. She played softball professionally with the Ramblers from 1940-1960. When the All-American Girls Professional Baseball teams came to town she would play baseball. In addition, she was a professional bowler, winning the Women's International Queen's Bowling Tournament in 1962. She was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame in 1970, and into the Bowling Hall of Fame in 1990.

Eri Yoshida

Born in Japan on January 17, 1992, Eri Yoshida was the first female in Japan to be recruited by a professional baseball team, the Kobe 9 Cruise. She was 16. In Winter 2010, she came to America to play in the Winter League. At that time she was spotted by Garry Templeton and Mike Marshall of the Chico Outlaws. On April 8, 2010, she signed on to play in the Golden Baseball League for the Outlaws. She is the first female player to have played professional baseball in two countries. She is also the first female since Ila Borders' retirement to play professional ball in the United States.