Mamie “Peanut” Johnson
Born: September 27, 1935, Ridgeway, SC
Died: December 18, 2017, Washington,DC

Mamie “Peanut” Johnson was the Negro Leagues first female pitcher. She got her nickname after a hitter said she was no bigger than a peanut. Satchel Paige helped Johnson develop her curve ball. At age 17, she went to Alexandria, Virginia, hoping to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. However, she was denied the chance to try out for the team because of her race. Johnson continued to play baseball, and in 1953, she signed with the Indianapolis Clowns—a team managed by Oscar Charleston. Player Toni Stone had recently joined the team and Connie Morgan would join in 1954. The trio would make history as the only women to play in the Negro Leagues. In 2008, Johnson became the only woman drafted by a major league baseball team when she was picked by the Washington Nationals in a ceremonial Negro Leagues Draft. After retiring from baseball in 1955, Johnson earned a nursing degree from North Carolina A&T State University. She would go on to work at Sibley Memorial Hospital for 30 years, and she spent the rest of life sharing her story and that of the Negro Leagues. Johnson’s story is recounted in the “Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie Peanut Johnson” by Michelle Y. Green.

Sources: The Society for American Baseball Research, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball, Encyclopedia Britannica, National Public Radio, and the Library of Congress were the primary research sources for the biographical information contained in this exhibition label.