Toni Stone: First Woman to Play Baseball in the Negro American League

At this time of the year, baseball season is ending, and football has taken over. This article is a reprint from a few years ago. The history of Blacks playing baseball has been almost forgotten. However, there is one name that needs to be remembered. When hearing of Black baseball players, most people will recall names such as Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, or Jackie Robinson. However, there is one name that needs to be remembered, which is Toni Stone.

I came across her name while researching something else. I wanted to know more about her, so I purchased a book about her life entitled “Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone” written by Martha Ackmann. This book traces her early life to when she joined the Negro Leagues. The book is an interesting look into her life as a child and her passion for playing baseball.

Toni Stone was born Marcenia Lyle Stone in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 17, 1921. She began playing baseball at the age of 10. The author noted that Toni excelled at everything including swimming, golf, track, hockey, tennis, and ice skating. By the age of 15, she played for the St. Paul Giants, a men’s semi-professional team. Later she went on to play for the professional team known as the San Francisco Lions in 1949. She quit when she did not receive the pay that she was promised.

Toni went on to play for the New Orleans Creoles from 1949-1952. She traveled with teams throughout the South. She always worked hard and learned from her parents Boykin and Willa Stone. They moved to St. Paul in the 1930s and started a business. She watched her parents work hard at making a living through the Depression. Toni vowed that “If I can’t be the best, then I will just leave it alone.”

She told an interviewer that it was hard playing Black baseball. She faced discrimination on all fronts, both outside and inside of the game. She was routinely disrespected by the men on many of the teams. Despite this treatment, she maintained an impact on the field. She faced such players as Satchel Paige who many considered one of the best pitchers in the game of baseball. But Toni Stone held her own. After the 1954 season, Toni moved to Oakland, California to work as a nurse and to care for her sick husband, who died later at the age of 103. Toni died in a nursing home on November 2, 1996. Toni Stone should be remembered in the annals of the baseball home of fame. She was an outstanding ball player and a great human being!!