Who Was The First Female Baseball Player?

In 1869, the first recorded female baseball game took place in Hoboken, New Jersey. The game was between the all-male teams of the New York Nine and the Brooklyn Atlantics. The Atlantics won, but the game was a close one.

It’s believed that the first female baseball player was Lizzie Arlington, who played for the Reading Coal Heavers in Pennsylvania. Lizzie was a good player and helped her team win the Pennsyvlania State

Introduction

The first professional baseball player is widely considered to be Catfish Hunter, who signed with the Kansas City Athletics in 1965. However, the first woman to play professional baseball was Lizzie Arlington, who played for the Reading Coal Heavers in the late 1800s.

Early Life

Born December 25, 1918, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jackie Mitchell was a gifted athlete from a young age. She played basketball, softball and tennis as a child, and was signed by the Chattanooga Lookouts when she was just 17 years old. The following year, she made history when she pitched in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees and struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Playing Career

The first female baseball player was Moses Fleetwood Walker, who played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in the minor-league International Association in 1884. Female baseball continued to be played sporadically over the next several decades, with occasional games and exhibitions. In 1943, Baseball Magazine ran an article titled, “Are Women Capable of Playing Good Baseball?,” which featured six women who played on men’s semi-pro teams.

One of the most popular female baseball players was Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who was also a world-class athlete in track and field and golf. Zaharias played for a women’s team called the House of David during barnstorming tours in the 1930s. During World War II, she toured with a team called The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to entertain troops overseas.

Retirement and Later Life

Retiring in 1954, Rae hoped to become a full-time instructor at the Baseball Clinic for Women, which she had helped found. Though the clinic continued to operate for several years, it was never very successful. In retirement, Rae also became an accomplished bowler and golfer. Jackie Mitchell died in 1987 at the age of sixty-two.

Legacy

The first female professional baseball player was Hobson. She played for an all-female professional team called the Blondes in the 1940s.