Professional baseball player. She was the first of three women to play full-time professional baseball for the Indianapolis Clowns in the previously all-male Negro League. She was also the first woman in the United States to play regularly for a big league baseball team. She started playing baseball when she was five years old and played for the San Francisco Sea Lions, New Orleans Creoles, Indianapolis Clowns, and the Kansas City Monarchs. She played second base and had a .243 batting average while running 100 yards in 11 seconds. She hit a single off a fastball pitch given by famed player Satchel Paige during an exhibition game in 1953. In 1954, she retired and relocated to Oakland, California, to work as a nurse and care for her husband. In 1990, she was included in two exhibits at the Baseball Hall of Fame, one for Women in Baseball and another for Negro League Baseball. She was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. In 1990, her hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota, declared March 6 as Toni Stone Day. Saint Paul also has a field named after her, located at the Dunning Baseball Complex.
Professional baseball player. She was the first of three women to play full-time professional baseball for the Indianapolis Clowns in the previously all-male Negro League. She was also the first woman in the United States to play regularly for a big league baseball team. She started playing baseball when she was five years old and played for the San Francisco Sea Lions, New Orleans Creoles, Indianapolis Clowns, and the Kansas City Monarchs. She played second base and had a .243 batting average while running 100 yards in 11 seconds. She hit a single off a fastball pitch given by famed player Satchel Paige during an exhibition game in 1953. In 1954, she retired and relocated to Oakland, California, to work as a nurse and care for her husband. In 1990, she was included in two exhibits at the Baseball Hall of Fame, one for Women in Baseball and another for Negro League Baseball. She was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. In 1990, her hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota, declared March 6 as Toni Stone Day. Saint Paul also has a field named after her, located at the Dunning Baseball Complex.
Bio by: Debbie Gibbons
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