SWINGING INTO HISTORY

In Depression-era America, Toni Stone, a young Black girl, grew up to become the first woman to play professional baseball.

Marcenia “Tomboy” Stone lived, loved, and breathed baseball. Her goal: to hear Negro League fans call out her name. Her parents wanted her to figure skate like other girls, which she did successfully, but “gliding solo was dull as ice.” When Stone’s family's priest offered her a spot on the church baseball team, she “ROCKETED line drives and KABOOMED homers.” She also weathered insults from boys; the coach refused to teach a girl. As an adult, she moved to California and changed her name to Toni. She eventually landed a minor league contract, but in the racist Jim Crow South, she entered the stadium through the “colored” door, and her teammates did not welcome her (“You ought to be home washing dishes”). Her big break came when she was selected to replace Hank Aaron on the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro League—the first woman to play professional baseball. In an author’s note, baseball enthusiast Swanson expands on the racism and gender discrimination Stone faced. Stone’s words appear on banners across the bold, energetic illustrations by Freeman (“I didn’t concern myself that there weren’t any women in the game”), as well as those from the press (“an accomplished player”), all of which round out this upbeat tribute.

A welcome addition to the annals of women’s sports.