Toni Stone

About

Became the first female to play major league baseball, joining the San Francisco Sea Lions in the Negro Leagues in 1949. She was not welcomed and most of her fellow players shunned her. She recorded two RBIs in her first professional at bat.

Before Fame

Starting out playing sandlot baseball around St. Paul, she quickly rose to play semipro baseball.

Trivia

She was one of three women who played in the majors during the Negro League era. She retired in 1955 after being sold to a new team due to a lack of playtime.

Family Life

She married a man 40 years older than her. 

Associated With

It was Jackie Robinson's popularity that led to the decline of the Negro League, which hired her as a publicity stunt.