The title says it all, doesn't it?
Jackie Mitchell was 17 years old the day she struck out baseball giants Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
The sun shone brightly on April 2, 1931, as Jackie stepped up to pitch. She had just been signed onto a minor league team in Chattanooga (as the only female player) a week before when the Yankees sauntered into town for an exhibition game. Four thousand onlookers filled the stadium to watch, hoping for a glimpse at the famous Babe Ruth.
Babe "performed ably," according to a New York Times reporter present at the game, but he still struck out the first two pitches. Babe angrily demanded that the umpire check the ball, "just as batters do when utterly baffled by a pitcher’s delivery," but they found nothing wrong.
The third pitch sailed past Babe, who missed the hit by a long shot.
He threw his bat in disgust as the audience gave Jackie a standing ovation. Three tosses later, Lou Gehrig struck out as well.
Almost as if in panic (the coaches had certainly not planned for this), Jackie was replaced with another pitcher. Her team lost 14-4, and the team ended Jackie's contract days after the game.
When news of this extraordinary event began to spread, many theorized that the strikeouts were a hoax for some sort of publicity stunt on the Yankees' part. Babe was known for orchestrating events to gain more public attention. Even to this day, historians argue over the validity of Jackie's accomplishments.
But why? Would anyone question it if it was a male pitcher? Would a male pitcher be fired for doing their job well?
Later in her life, Jackie insisted on live television that her pitch to Babe and Lou were not some sort of hoax. But, of course, we do not take her word for it.
For more reading on this fabulous female figure, check out the links below:
by Talya Minsberg for The New York Times
by Tony Horwitz for Smithsonian Magazine
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