Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, one of only three women to play Negro League Baseball and who became the league’s first female pitcher, passed away Dec. 19, 2017, at the age of 82.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, which will be honoring Johnson and 15 other athletes in the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience opening in March 2018, shared the following information about Johnson:
“The former Indianapolis Clowns pitcher was known as ‘Peanut’ because of her height. At 5 feet, 3 inches, she was a tiny but mighty force in the Negro Baseball Leagues. In fact, she was one of just three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro Leagues. Johnson had initially tried out for a spot on a professional women’s team, but was rejected because of her race. At a time when it was uncommon for women to play professional sports, she was signed by the Indianapolis Clowns. She played with the team from 1953 to 1955, had a 33–8 win-loss record and a batting average of .262.
“In the book, ‘A Strong Right Arm’ by Michelle Y. Green, Johnson insisted the rejection was the best thing that could have happened to her because it led to her recruitment in the men’s Negro Leagues where one of her teammates was Henry Louis ‘Hank’ Aaron…
“A highlight of her career was meeting Satchel Paige who taught her to throw her famous curve ball. ‘He just showed me how to grip the ball to keep from throwing my arm away, ‘cause I was so little,’ she was quoted as saying.
“Johnson was the last living woman to have played in the Negro Leagues.”
