Jackie Mitchell (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Virne Beatrice "Jackie" Mitchell Gilbert (August 29, 1912, 1913 or 1914 – January 7, 1987) was one of the first female pitcher
s in professional baseball
history. Pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts
Class AA minor league baseball
team in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees
, she struck out Babe Ruth
and Lou Gehrig
in succession.
to Virne Wall Mitchell and Dr. Joseph Mitchell. When she learned how to walk, her father took her to the baseball diamond and taught her the basics of the game. Her next door neighbor, Dazzy Vance
, taught her to pitch and showed her his "drop ball", a type of breaking ball
. Later, Vance would pitch in the major leagues and eventually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
When Mitchell was 17, she played for a women's team in Chattanooga, Tennessee
and attended a special baseball school in Atlanta, Georgia
. There, she attracted the attention of Joe Engel
, the president and owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts
, who offered her a contract to play for the season. On March 28, Mitchell signed the contract and became an official member of the Lookouts, a Class AA minor league team.
and the Chattanooga Lookouts were scheduled to play an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tennessee
on April 1, 1931. Due to rain the game was postponed until the next day. Seventeen-year-old Jackie Mitchell, brought in to pitch in the first inning after the starting pitcher had given up a double and a single, faced Babe Ruth
. After taking a ball, Ruth swung and missed at the next two pitches. Mitchell's fourth pitch to Ruth was a called third strike. The crowd roared for her. Babe Ruth was quoted in a Chattanooga newspaper as having said:
Next up was Lou Gehrig
, who swung through the first three pitches to strike out.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
voided her contract and declared women unfit to play baseball as the game was "too strenuous". Mitchell continued to play professionally, barnstorming
with the House of David, a men's team famous for their very long hair and long beards. While travelling with the House of David team, she would sometimes wear a fake beard for publicity. She retired in at the age of 23 after becoming something of a side show – once being asked to pitch while riding a donkey
. She refused to come out of retirement when the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
formed in 1943. Major League Baseball
would formally ban the signing of women to contracts on June 21, . The ban lasted until when Carey Schueler
was "drafted" by the Chicago White Sox
for the 1993 season.
In she was invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch
for the Chattanooga Lookouts
on their season opening day.
She died in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
on January 7, 1987, and was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga.
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
s in professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
history. Pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, has been a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club since the 2009 season. The Lookouts...
Class AA minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, she struck out Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
and Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
in succession.
Early life
It is uncertain in what year Mitchell was born. Some sources suggest 1912, others 1913, and still others 1914. She weighed only a little over 3 pounds (1.4 kg) when born in Fall River, MassachusettsFall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
to Virne Wall Mitchell and Dr. Joseph Mitchell. When she learned how to walk, her father took her to the baseball diamond and taught her the basics of the game. Her next door neighbor, Dazzy Vance
Dazzy Vance
Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance was a star Major League Baseball starting pitcher during the 1920s.-Biography:...
, taught her to pitch and showed her his "drop ball", a type of breaking ball
Breaking ball
In baseball, a breaking ball is a pitch that does not travel straight like a fastball as it approaches the batter. A pitcher who uses primarily breaking ball pitches is often referred to as a junkballer. A breaking ball will have some sideways or downward motion on it...
. Later, Vance would pitch in the major leagues and eventually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
When Mitchell was 17, she played for a women's team in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
and attended a special baseball school in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. There, she attracted the attention of Joe Engel
Joe Engel
thumb|Joe Engel, 1913Joseph William Engel was an American right-handed pitcher and scout in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his entire career with the Washington Senators, and went on to become a promoter and team owner in the minor leagues. He was born in Washington, D.C...
, the president and owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, has been a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club since the 2009 season. The Lookouts...
, who offered her a contract to play for the season. On March 28, Mitchell signed the contract and became an official member of the Lookouts, a Class AA minor league team.
Against the New York Yankees
The New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and the Chattanooga Lookouts were scheduled to play an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
on April 1, 1931. Due to rain the game was postponed until the next day. Seventeen-year-old Jackie Mitchell, brought in to pitch in the first inning after the starting pitcher had given up a double and a single, faced Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
. After taking a ball, Ruth swung and missed at the next two pitches. Mitchell's fourth pitch to Ruth was a called third strike. The crowd roared for her. Babe Ruth was quoted in a Chattanooga newspaper as having said:
I don't know what's going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball. Of course, they will never make good. Why? Because they are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball every day.
Next up was Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
, who swung through the first three pitches to strike out.
Later career
A few days after Mitchell struck out Ruth and Gehrig, baseball commissionerBaseball Commissioner
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
voided her contract and declared women unfit to play baseball as the game was "too strenuous". Mitchell continued to play professionally, barnstorming
Barnstorm (sports)
Barnstorming in athletics refers to sports teams or individuals that travel to various locations, usually small towns, to stage exhibition matches....
with the House of David, a men's team famous for their very long hair and long beards. While travelling with the House of David team, she would sometimes wear a fake beard for publicity. She retired in at the age of 23 after becoming something of a side show – once being asked to pitch while riding a donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
. She refused to come out of retirement when the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...
formed in 1943. Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
would formally ban the signing of women to contracts on June 21, . The ban lasted until when Carey Schueler
Carey Schueler
Carey Schueler is the daughter of former Chicago White Sox General Manager Ron Schueler. She was the first woman ever drafted by a Major League Baseball team when the White Sox picked the 18-year old left-handed pitcher in the 43rd round of the 1993 MLB draft.Up until that time she had been a...
was "drafted" by the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
for the 1993 season.
In she was invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch
Ceremonial first pitch
The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team...
for the Chattanooga Lookouts
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, has been a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club since the 2009 season. The Lookouts...
on their season opening day.
She died in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
Fort Oglethorpe is a city in Catoosa County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,263. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area...
on January 7, 1987, and was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga.
See also
- Dr. Alta WeissAlta WeissAlta Weiss Hisrich , born Alta Weiss, was an American minor league baseball pitcher from Ohio who drew large crowds to exhibition games at minor league and major league venues in the US states of Ohio and Kentucky...
- pitched for the Vermilion Independents then the Weiss All Stars starting in 1907 - Mamie JohnsonMamie JohnsonMamie “Peanut” Johnson was one of three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro Leagues. She was born in Ridgeway, South Carolina in 1935...
- pitched for the Indianapolis ClownsIndianapolis ClownsThe Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League.- Founding :They began operation in Cincinnati in , and operated between Cincinnati and Indianapolis in 1944 and 1945 before officially moving in...
in the 1953-1955 seasons - Ila BordersIla BordersIla Borders , is a former left-handed pitcher in college and independent professional baseball player.-Biography:Borders was the first woman pitcher to start a men's NCAA or NAIA college baseball game, playing for Southern California College in the 1994-96 seasons and Whittier College in the 1997...
- pitched for the St. Paul SaintsSt. Paul SaintsThe St. Paul Saints are a professional baseball team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. The Saints are a member of the North Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
starting in 1997 then several other teams and retired from minor league baseball in 2000 - Eri YoshidaEri Yoshidais a high-school student at Kawasaki-kita Senior High School in Kawasaki, who at the age of 16 became the first female drafted by a Japanese professional baseball team, Kobe 9 Cruise of Kansai Independent Baseball League, to play alongside male teammates....
- pitched for the Kobe 9 Cruise of the Kansai Independent Baseball LeagueKansai Independent Baseball LeagueThe is a professional baseball league in Japan. Its debut season was in .The league's activities became public in 2008. Plans to form the league were announced at a press conference on March 6. On July 30, the names of the four teams were released....
starting in the 2009 season