Mamie "Peanut" Johnson
Born: Sept 27, 1935
Right-handed pitcher
Mamie, who along with Connie
Morgan and Toni Stone, was one of three women
to play in the Negro leagues.
Mamie Johnson, the daughter of
Gentry Harrison and Della Belton Havelow, was
born on September 27, 1935, in
seven years old, she would play
baseball every day. When she left South
or anything interfere with her love
of playing baseball. She practiced while
pursuing her studies at
At the time, amateur and professional baseball teams were
segregated. When
she was 17 years old, Ms. Johnson
was rejected as a team member by the White
Female Baseball League. This unfair
treatment and prejudice became her own
victory. She proclaimed, "If I
had played with white girls, I would have
been just another player, but now I
am somebody who has done something that
no other woman has done."
In 1953, Bish Tyson, a former
player with the Negro League, observed Ms.
Johnson practicing on a field in
athletic abilities. He maintained
that she was a great player and suggested
that she play professional
baseball. He introduced her to Bunny Downs,
Manager of the
team. What an outstanding
achievement for a female athlete!
While pitching her first game with the Clowns, a batter on
the opposing team
yelled to her, ""What
makes you think you can strike a batter out? Why, you
aren't any larger than a
peanut!"" Mamie never said a word, but the
batter
soon found out what she could do! 1
- 2 - 3 - OUT! From that day, the 100
pound baseball player had the
nickname, Peanut.
Mamie ‘Peanut,’ Johnson played
professional baseball for three seasons, from
1953 to 1955, with the
games and lost 8 games. Her batting
average ranged from .262 to .284. Of
this opportunity, she exclaimed,
"Just to know that you were among some of
the best male ball players that
ever picked up the bat, made all of my
baseball moments great
moments."
After her baseball career ended, Ms. Johnson was a licensed
nurse for thirty
years. Currently, she manages the
Negro Baseball League's Memorabilia Shop
in