As we head towards another Baseball World Series, I wanted to elevate this girls story of striking out baseballs finest. Jackie Mitchell’s story isn’t just about baseball it’s about daring to throw hard even when the world tells you to sit down.
On a day in 1931, 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell stepped onto the mound for the Chattanooga Lookouts. The stands buzzed with excitement few could have predicted what was about to happen.
Facing Babe Ruth, she threw a wicked drop pitch taught to her by Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance, her childhood neighbor. Ruth swung and missed. Then again. On the third strike, he walked off, shaking his head. Moments later, Lou Gehrig stepped up to the plate and struck out just as quickly. Two of the greatest hitters in history, sent back to the dugout by a teenager. By a girl.
Babe and Lou watching their challenger
Her performance was historic, and she signed one of the first pro baseball contracts ever awarded to a woman. But within days, the commissioner voided her deal, declaring baseball “too strenuous” for women.
Still, Jackie refused to quit. She toured watching their the country with barnstorming teams, dazzling crowds with the same fearless pitching that had stunned Ruth and Gehrig. By the time she retired in 1937, she had already changed the way the world looked at women in sports.
Jackie Mitchell’s story isn’t just about baseball, it’s about daring to throw hard even when the world tells you to sit down.
This is what my blog is about!
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