Although she was signed to save a lagging Negro League team’s ticket sales, she proved to be far more than just a novelty player.

Marcenia Lyle Stone was born July 17, 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Of her four siblings, Stone was the most athletic and wanted to do nothing more than to play sports, much to the disappointment of her parents. One account shares that Stone’s family sat their 10-year-old daughter down with a local priest to talk her out of her addiction to sports, but he instead ended up asking her to play for his Little League team.

By the time she was 15, Stone was playing for a local semi-professional team, the Twin City Colored Giants. Regarded as a phenom, she played second baseman alongside men that towered over her 5-foot-7 frame.

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