Kathryn Johnston: First Girl to Play Little League Baseball

In 1950, twelve year old Kathryn Johnston did something no other girl had done. She played Little League Baseball. But, when she first played, no one knew she was a girl. When Little League tryouts came to Corning, New York, Johnston wanted to play. But, she was afraid that they wouldn't let a girl play. At the time, there were no official rules against girls playing, but she wasn't taking any chances. She tried out with her brother, only she cut her hair and called herself "Tubby." Tubby made the King's Dairy team, playing first base.

Two weeks later, Kathryn decided to come clean. She told her coach. He knew that skill was more important than gender and he allowed her to keep playing, this time as a girl. It was a novelty to see a girl play, and the audiences came. Kathryn even made the paper, the "Corning Leader."

Kathryn was a tough player and wasn't afraid to be aggressive. Some people objected to her style and the fact that she was female, but there wasn't much anyone could do just then. She finished the rest of the season. Then, a ruling was passed. Before Johnston played, the idea that Little League baseball was a boys' only sport was just something people accepted. She challenged that and finished out the rest of the season as herself. But, in 1951, Little League made things official. No more girls. There was no proof that this happened because of Johnston, but people unofficially referred to the decision as the "Tubby Rule."

It would take over twenty years for that rule to be rescinded. The National Organization for Women (Now) represented twelve year old Maria Pepe. Unlike Kathryn, she had never disguised herself. She tried out in 1972 and made the Young Democrats team of Hoboken, New Jersey. But, with the official rules on the books by that time, she was only able to play three games. After that, the team was told if they continued to let her play, they would be taken off the charter. In 1974, the ruling came that girls would be permitted to try out. Little League also started a girls only softball program.