Thursday, August 23, 2001
First girl in LLWS to be honored
Associated Press
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- "Tubby" Johnston missed out on
the Little League World Series as a player. The team didn't make it
far enough, and Tubby was out of town when the coach tried to set
up an exhibition game.
"I don't remember how far we went. I know we didn't make
all-stars," Tubby said. "But I do remember I was in Rochester,
N.Y., visiting my aunt after our season was over with. My mother
called me and said, 'Your coach called and said that they wanted
you to participate in an exhibition game at the Little League World
Series, but I told them you probably wouldn't be interested because
you're in Rochester.' "
"Tubby" was actually Kathryn Johnston, a 12-year-old girl who
played for the King's Dairy team in Corning, N.Y., in the summer of
1950.
Little League honored Johnston -- now Kathryn Massar -- on
Thursday by selecting her to throw out the ceremonial first pitch
at the World Series U.S. semifinal game Thursday night.
A gifted athlete used to playing ball with the boys, Kathryn cut
her hair short, tucked it under her cap, and went with her
11-year-old brother, Tommy, to tryouts. Afraid a girl wouldn't be
allowed to try out, she took the name "Tubby," a male character
from the "Little Lulu" comic strips.
"When we heard that Little League tryouts were coming to
Corning, I wanted to try out," said Kathryn, who now lives in Yuba
City, Calif., about 45 miles north of Sacramento. "But my brother
said, 'You can't, you're a girl.' I said, 'That's not going to stop
me.' "
Tommy didn't tell, and both made the team, with "Tubby"
playing first base and batting third and Tommy playing short stop
and batting fourth.
It wasn't until two weeks into the season that Kathryn let her
coach in on the secret.
"I played for a couple of weeks, then I told the coach I needed
to talk to him about something, and I told him the that I was a
girl and not a boy," she said. "He said, 'You're darn good, and
we're going to keep you on the team,' and the team was fine with
it."
Not everyone liked the idea. An article in The Leader of Corning
revealed Kathryn's identity. Attendance at her games increased as
people came for the novelty of seeing a girl play baseball. But
some objected to her presence -- and to her rough play.
"I was always a little aggressive," Kathryn says with a smile.
"There was one time someone was running around first base and I
tripped him. And then when I slid into home plate, I knocked the
catcher over. I was a little rough."
There was little anyone could do, though. Kathryn obviously was
good enough to play, and at the time there was no rule prohibiting
girls from playing Little League.
That didn't take long to remedy. Little League added a rule to
the books in 1951 that barred further participation by girls. By
then, Kathryn was too old to play Little League and had been
recruited by a fast-pitch softball team in nearby Elmira.
Lance Van Auken, a Little League spokesman and co-author with
his wife, Robin, of the book "Play Ball: The Story of Little
League," said there was no direct evidence that Little League
passed the rule because of Kathryn. But Little League officials
were aware of her, and the timing probably was more than
coincidence, he said.
It wasn't until 1974, after losing a lawsuit in New Jersey, that
Little League officially allowed girls to play again. When the
courts allowed 12-year-old Maria Pepe to play in Hoboken, N.J., she
was touted in the media as the first girl ever to play Little
League baseball.
That caught the attention of Kathryn's sister, Mary Burr, who
persuaded Kathryn to set the record straight. Kathryn sent a letter
to Little League and a newspaper clipping from The Leader. Although
there are rumors of girls who played about the same time as
Kathryn, the newspaper article makes her the first recorded female
player.
Since then, hundreds of girls have played Little League baseball
and thousands have played in Little League's mostly female softball
leagues. Eight girls have reached the Little League World Series,
including Tatiana Maltseva, a catcher for Russia and the only girl
in this year's series.
"I think it's wonderful -- I think it's great," Kathryn said.
"If you're good enough to make a Little League team, then you
should be allowed to play. I wish I could do it all over again."
