Download This Version in Microsoft Word format
TO DESIGNATE JUNE 5, 2010, AS MAMIE "PEANUT" JOHNSON DAY IN SOUTH CAROLINA, IN ORDER TO HONOR THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE WOMAN WHO HELPED TO BREAK DOWN THE RACIAL AND GENDER BARRIERS IN THE GAME OF BASEBALL.
Whereas, born on September 27, 1932, and reared in Ridgeway by her maternal grandmother Cendonia Belton, Mamie "Peanut" Johnson grew up playing baseball with the neighborhood boys, coached by her uncle, Leo "Bones" Belton; and
Whereas, the team marked the diamond with a pie plate for first base, part of a broken flower pot for second, a tree root for third, and the lid of a five-gallon King Cane sugar bucket for home plate; and
Whereas, when her grandmother died, she moved to Long Branch, New Jersey, to live with relatives and was soon chosen to be the first female and the first African-American player on the local police athletic league's baseball team; and
Whereas, she dispelled any rare complaints from teammates when she helped the team to win two league championships; and
Whereas, after she moved to Washington, D. C. to live with her mother, she played for Washington's recreational baseball league on the St. Cyprian's squad upon her graduation from high school; and
Whereas, in 1952, she responded to a notice for tryouts with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, but when she was not even allowed on the field to try out, the racial discrimination severely disheartened her; and
Whereas, by 1953, the Indianapolis Clowns had contracted her for two hundred dollars a month, and over three years she and Negro League legend "Satchel" Paige pitched thirty-three wins and only eight losses in an otherwise all-male league; and
Whereas, during these years on the road in professional baseball, the ninety-eight-pound pitcher earned the name "Peanut" when she struck out an exasperated opponent; and
Whereas, after the integration of the major leagues, the Negro leagues suffered serious decline, and she left the baseball world to study medicine and engineering at New York University; and
Whereas, she later graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a nursing degree, and she spent most of her adult life as a registered nurse; and
Whereas, she married Charles Johnson from Washington and together they reared one son, Charlie; and
Whereas, in 1999, Mamie Johnson founded the They Played Baseball Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission to communicate the history of the game, particularly concerning the Negro leagues, to today's youth; and
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are grateful for the legacy of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson and for her contributions to our magnificent national pastime. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, designate June 5, 2010, as Mamie "Peanut" Johnson Day in South Carolina, in order to recognize and honor the contributions of the woman who helped to break down the racial and gender barriers in the game of baseball.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Mamie "Peanut" Johnson.
This web page was last updated on May 4, 2010 at 12:46 PM