A STRONG RIGHT ARM

By chance, the author visited the newly opened Negro Leagues Baseball Shop in Maryland and discovered that there really were women who played professional baseball—and one of them was right there in the store. She was smart enough to ask Mamie Johnson if anyone had ever written her story and smart enough to grab at the chance. The result is at once unique, yet sadly representative of the hold racism had on every facet of society. From the time she was a young child, Mamie just wanted to play baseball. She had been taught to play like the boys, and her pitching ability had far surpassed most of the youngsters she played with and against. As she grew older, she had to constantly overcome the double prejudice of gender and race, but she usually managed to find a way to play. When Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947, teams quickly began raiding the Negro Leagues for their best talent. It was at this time that Mamie and two other black women were contracted to play in the Negro Leagues. Although it was initially an economic decision made to boost gate receipts, the women made the most of the opportunity and were wildly popular. It was there that Mamie was given her nickname of “Peanut,” a reference to her small size. Mamie is a strong, feisty woman who is—rightfully—immensely proud of her place in baseball history. She has formed the They Played Baseball Foundation to allow former Negro League players to pass on their vast knowledge of baseball. Green has wisely allowed her to tell the story in her own voice, a charming and personable one. The reader is richer for the opportunity of meeting Mamie in this poignant and fascinating story of a great lady. (Biography. 10-14)