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WEBVTT KERRY CAVANAUGH SAT DOWN WITHMAMIE "PEANUT" JOHNSON, AT THEOWINGS MILLS BRANCH OF TBALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY.THERE IS AN EXHIBIT THEIRDEDICATED TO HOW SHE MADE HERMARK ON A MAN'S SPORT.KERR MAMIE "PEANUT" JOHNSONSAYS SHE GREW UP PLAYING PICKUPBASEBALL WITH THE NEIGHBORHOODBOYSBUT HER LIFE CHANGED WHEN APROFESSIONAL SCOUT SPOTTED HERON A WASHINGTON D.C. SANDLOTMORE THAN 60 YEARS AGO.>> IT REALLY WASN'T A BIG THINGFOR ME BECAUSE I PLAYED BALLWITH THE BOYS ALL THE TIMEKERRY: JOHNSON DOWNPLAYS HPROFESSIONAL BASEBALL DEBUT WITHTHE INDIANAPOLIS CLOWNS IN 1953, BUT SHE DID ENJOY SURPRISINGNEGRO LEAGUE PLAYERS WHOQUESTIONED HER CREDENTIALS AS 95 POUND PITCHER.>> HE ASKED ME, HOW DID I EXPECTTO STRIKE ANYBODY OUT BECAUSE WASN'T BIG AS A PEANUT.I STRUCK HIM OUT AND THE NAMESTUCK.KERRY: JOHNSON WAS ONE OF THREEWOMEN WHO PLAYED IN THEALL-BLACK BASEBALL LEAGUE ANDHER CAREER RECORD OF 33 WINS ONTHE MOUND PROVED SHE BELONGTHER>> WHEN THEY SAW THAT I WAS APITCHER AND NOT A GIMMICK, IWAS A DIFFERENT STORYALTOGETHER, AND I WAS TREATED ASONE OF THE OTHER PITCHERS.KERRY: JOHNSON DESCRIBESDIFFERENT ERA OF BASEBALL, WHERESOME GAMES WERE PLAYED IN COWPASTURES AND SHE FELT RICHEARNING $600 A MONTH.SHE SAYS ASIDE FROM A FEWLOGISTICAL ALLOWANCES, SHE WASTREATED JUST LIKE THE MALEPLAYERS IN THE LEAGU>> WHEN WE DID GET TO A LOCKROOM AND WHATEVER, WE CHANGEDFIRST OR LAST, A WHOLE LOT OFTIMES WE HAD TO CHANGE ON THEBUS.KERRY: JOHNSON'S BASEBALL CAREERENDED WHEN THE NEGRO LEAGUE DIIN 1955.SHE WENT ON TO A 30-YEAR CAREERIN NURSING.MS. JOHNSON TRAVELS TO EDUCAYOUNGER GENERATIONS ABOUT THE

Advertisement Woman reflects on time as Negro League player Mamie 'Peanut' Johnson won 33 games as a pitcher

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Mamie "Peanut" Johnson said she grew up playing pickup baseball with the neighborhood boys. Johnson’s life changed when a professional scout spotted her on a Washington, D.C. sandlot more than 60 years ago. Download the WBAL app. “It really wasn't a big thing for me because I played ball with the boys all the time,” Johnson said. Johnson downplays her professional baseball debut with the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953. But she did enjoy surprising Negro League players who questioned her credentials as a 95-pound pitcher. “(A player) asked me how did I expect to strike anybody out because I wasn't as big as a peanut,” Johnson said. “I struck him out and the name stuck.” Johnson was one of three women who played in the all-black baseball league. She said her career 33 wins on the mound proved she belonged there. “When they saw that I was a pitcher and not a gimmick, it was a different story altogether and I was treated as one of the other pitchers,” Johnson said. Johnson describes a different era of baseball, when some games were played in cow pastures and she felt rich earning $600 a month. She said aside from a few logistical allowances, she was treated just like the male players in the league. “When we did get to a locker room, we changed first or last,” Johnson said of women players. “A whole lot of times we had to change on the bus.” Johnson's baseball career ended when the Negro League did in 1955. She went on to a 30-year career in nursing. Johnson, 81, travels to educate younger generations about the Negro League and her role in it, including at the Owings Mills library, which houses a tribute exhibit to the league. Also on WBALTV.com: