Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The newsletter that loves baseball as much as Carlos from Benchwarmers loved booze.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about a woman who defied all odds to make her dream of playing professional baseball a reality.

Toni Stone grew up in West Virginia during the 1920s and 30s.

Even as a kid, she was obsessed with baseball.

At the time, it was pretty frowned upon for young girls to be out playing sports that were traditionally masculine.

Toni was always true to herself, playing ball with the neighborhood boys and earning the nickname “Tomboy.”

Sometimes she would even skip school to get some hacks in.

Her mom tried to steer Toni towards more "ladylike" stuff, so she got her a pair of ice skates, and truthfully, she wasn’t half bad on the ice, but Toni’s true love remained baseball.

At 16, she started playing exhibition games on the weekend with the Twin City Colored Giants, and getting paid $2-$3 per game.

Her parents sensed she wasn't going to give up on this baseball thing, so they allowed her to keep going.

Eventually, she went ALL IN and dropped out of high school to pursue a career in professional baseball.

She moved to San Francisco in ‘43 and lived with her sister, while she chased the dream.

During those early years in the bay, Toni worked odd jobs to make ends meet and played for a local American Legion team.

In ‘49, she joined the San Francisco Sea Lions, but quit shortly after when she learned her male teammates were making more money than her.

Toni then inked a deal with the New Orleans Creoles and played there from ‘49-’52.

In 1953, Stone signed her first LEGIT pro contract to play with the Indianapolis Clowns - a legendary Negro League team,

The team signed her to play second base making her the first woman to play professional baseball regularly in a major men's professional baseball league.

You might be asking...who did she replace at second?

Well, the season before they signed Stone, the Clowns had a promising young prospect playing up the middle.

A guy named Henry Louis Aaron.

Yes, this Henry Aaron.

Toni appeared in 50 games and had a respectable .243 batting average.

Because she was the only woman in the league, the men gave her a lot of shit, but she definitely held her own.

The next year, her contract was sold to the KC Monarchs; she retired after that season due to a lack of playing time.

Over 70 years later, Toni Stone's legacy is that of a trailblazer who defied gender and racial stereotypes to make history.

Her dedication and grit helped pave the way for the women in today’s game.

THE CHILDREN’S GAME

Its true - we can’t play this game forever, but we can pass it on.

Our friends at Homage make some pretty amazing gear for adults, but they have some cool kid’s stuff as well.

Gotta start ‘em early!

Quick Links:

• There’s No Crying in Baseball Onesie

• Legends Never Cry Onesie

• You’re Killin’ Me Smalls Onesie

• Wild Thing Onesie

• You’re Killin’ Me Smalls Youth Tee

• Dime-A-Dog Youth Tee

• Wild Thing Youth Tee

• Legends Never Cry Youth Tee

• Topps Youth Tee

• There’s No Crying in Baseball Youth Tee

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Happy dropped out in sixth grade to focus on baseball.

He made it to the big leagues and even won a World Series with the White Sox in 1917.

Unfortunately, he is best known for his participation in the Black Sox Scandal.

When interviewed about the incident later he said:

A sad end to an otherwise phenomenal career.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites:

• The Yips: Rick Ankiel completely reinvents himself

• The Kidnapping: 51 Hours of hell for Wilson Ramos

• The Stalker: Obsessed fan reaches her breaking point