True Life Tuesday: Toni Stone

Toni Stone was the first woman to play baseball in a men's professional league. Reading her story I think this would make an excellent movie.

Toni Stone was born Marcenia Lyle Stone on July 17, 1931 in West Virginia. When she was 10 years old her family moved to St Paul, Minnesota. From a young age she was an amazing athlete. She played football, basketball, golf, hockey and tennis. However baseball was her true love. She would skip school to play the game. At 16 she was earning $2-$3 a game with the Twin City Colony Giants. Eventually she would quit school and move to San Francisco to live with her sister. This is when she changed her name to Toni Stone.

From 1943-1945 she played with an American Legion team. She claimed to be 17 instead of 27 in order to meet the age restrictions of the league. She joined the San Francisco Sea Lions in 1946 with whom she travelled the country. She was upset to learn that she was making less than her male teammates. After this she joined the New Orleans Creoles who she played for from 1949-1952. In 1953 the Indianapolis Clowns brought her in to replace Hank Aaron when he moved up to the Milwaukee Braves. While with the team their game attendance hit an all time high and she was used in the team's promotional materials. 

Toni retired after the 1954 season due to a lack of playing time. She moved to Oakland to work as a nurse and help care for her husband, Aurelious Alberga, whom she married in 1950. In 1993 she was inducted into both the Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. Also in 1990 the city of St Paul declared March 6th as Toni Stone days. She died on November 2, 1996 of heart failure.