Heroine on the Field

The story didn’t end with Geena Davis. A League of Their Own, the 1992 film that briefly put women’s professional baseball at the center of the cultural landscape, focused on the female players who satisfied the nation’s yearning for baseball during World War II. But even after the men returned, women’s participation in the national pastime continued — this time in the Negro Leagues.Mamie “Peanut” Johnson (pictured) was one of only three women to play in the Negro Leagues, spending three seasons with the Indianapolis Clowns. Johnson, a right-handed pitcher, amassed a remarkable 33-8 record during her tenure while hitting well above the Mendoza Line at .273. She will be honored today at Kansas City Bound: Celebrating Black Women in Sports, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center (2345 McGee). Johnson met some of the greats during her ballplaying days, including Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron and Kansas City’s own Buck O’Neil. “I liked just knowing I was good enough to be there with the fellas,” Johnson says. “They were all gentlemen, and I was never intimidated.” Playing in the early 1950s in a segregated league meant that Johnson saw racism firsthand. But she dismissed it as a mere off-field distraction. “It’s easy to deal with racism,” Johnson says. “Just think, You’re no better than me, so why should I worry about you?” For her, the highlight of her career came in 1954, when she pitched in the Negro League All-Star Game. Johnson, who lives in Washington, D.C., says her interest in baseball has waned as the sport has endured the storm of steroids. She worries that the scandal has deeply sullied the reputation of the game in the eyes of young fans. “In my day,” she says, “we didn’t even know what drugs were.” Registration for the event costs $100 to $175. For information, see bwsfkansascity.com.

Fri., April 18, 2008