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Toni Stone was the first woman to play professional baseball in the *** League. She was a second
base man and she played for the Indianapolis Clowns and then later for the Legendary Kansas
City Monarchs. And in fact when a guy by the name of Henry Aaron moved from the *** League
to the major, she replaced him as the star infielder for the Indianapolis Clowns. She
played with people like Satchel Paige, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Buck O’Neil, lots of
people know Buck O’Neal as he later became the coach for the Chicago Cubs but a much
beloved figure in baseball. And before she got to that position, she had barnstormed
around the United States with a variety of teams including a team called the San Francisco
Sea Lions and the New Orleans Creoles, but at this time of the World Series it's interesting
to think about Toni Stone because baseball historians call her the best baseball player
you’ve never heard of, and sometimes they also call her the female Jackie Robinson.
She was born in St. Paul; she spent most of her adult life in the bay area of Oakland
and San Francisco. She said, “ I love my San Francisco.” I think of Toni Stone where
we are around today, she would be routing for the Giants. People often ask me what kind
of a baseball player she was. She was scrappy, she was determined I think her story says
a lot about persistence and heart but she was also a great baseball player. One time,
the 1953 Season, playing in the *** League, she batted 364, forth in the league behind
Ernie Banks.