Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Tells Her Baseball Story at DSU

Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, only one of three women to play in the Negro Leagues, said she never thought much about the uniqueness of competing with and against men.

The day after her speaking engagement at DSU, Mamie "Peanut" Johnson had lunch with DSU President Harry L. Williams.

 

“I just loved to play baseball,” said Ms. Johnson, 77, who regaled an auditorium of students in the Bank of America Building at Delaware State University on April 25 with stories about her baseball career and her perspectives on life in general.

 

Nicknamed “Peanut” because of her short 5-foot 3-inch stature, she told the DSU crowd that baseball had been a part of her life since age six. As a youth she proved her worth on the diamond by winner a spot on the all-white Long Branch Police Athletic Club team in New Jersey.

 

After being refused a try-out for the All-American Girls League, she turned that rejection into pure determination and became one of only three women to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, and the only female to pitch.

 

At the age of 22 she was a member of the Indianapolis Clowns (1953-1955). During her tenure, her record was 33-8.  Her batting average ranged from .262 to .284.  After her baseball career, she was a dedicated nurse for 30 years.

 

Her life in baseball is told in her 2005 book A Strong Right Arm – The Story of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson.

 

The event is sponsored by the DSU Sport Administration Graduate Program, the DSU Women’s Senate, the DSU Department of Athletics, and Public & Allied Health Sciences.  For more information contact Dr. Sonja Jackson-McCoy, at (302) 857-7634.