Toni Stone

Marcenia Lyle Alberga

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5'7", Weight 135 lbs.

• Born July 17, 1921 in Bluefield, WV USA
• Died November 2, 1996 in Alameda, CA USA

Biographical Information

Toni Stone was the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues. She began her career with the San Francisco Sea Lions (1949) and the New Orleans Creoles (1949-1952). She was signed by Syd Pollack, owner of the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953 to play second base. In the 1953 season Stone appeared in 50 games and hit .243. Stone was sold to the Kansas City Monarchs prior to the 1954 season and retired following the season.

He was so good that he'd ask batters where they wanted it, just so they'd have a chance. He'd ask, "You want it high? You want it low? You want it right in the middle? Just say." People still couldn't get a hit against him. So I get up there and he says, "Hey T., how do you like it?" And I said, "It doesn't matter, just don't hurt me." When he wound up -- he had these big old feet -- all you could see was his shoe. I stood there shaking, but I got a hit. Right out over second base. Happiest moment in my life. - Stone describing her most memorable baseball moment when she played against Satchel Paige.

She was born in West Virginia but grew up in St. Paul, MN.

While she was largely ignored by the larger media when she was an active player, as the Negro Leagues were on their last gasp at the time and her presence and that of other female players such as Mamie Johnson and Connie Morgan was considered a side-show, she gained much more recognition in her final years and especially after her passing in 1996, as she was re-evaluated as a top athlete at a time when there were few opportunities for women to be active in sports beyond the amateur level and as a pioneer. A first recognition came in 1993 when she was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. She has been the subject of a play, entitled "Toni Stone" that was staged off-Broadway in 2019 and later toured around the country. She was elected to the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame in 2021 and on February 9, 2022, she was honored with a "Google Doodle" as part of Black History Month.

Further Reading

• Manny Randhawa: "Toni Stone: Pioneer for women in pro baseball", "The Negro Leagues", mlb.com. [1]
• A.J. Richard: "Playing with the Boys: Gender, Race, and Baseball in Post-War America", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 48, Nr. 1, Spring 2019, pp. 18-28.
• Sarah Wexler: "See baseball trailblazer Toni Stone in animated Google Doodle", mlb.com, February 9, 2022. [2]

Related Sites

• Toni Stone at the SABR Bio Project