When Carl Stotz created Little League® in 1939, it started out as a simple neighborhood league for his nephews to play organized baseball during the summer in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Nearly 85 years later, it has since become the world’s largest youth sports organization, alive in communities all around the world. But, up until 1974, only boys were permitted to play on the Little League field.
All the spots on the diamond were reserved for males, as even a female coach or umpire were both extremely uncommon in the early days of the program. Women typically worked in administrative and domestic positions, and it was an uphill battle for females of all ages to fight for the right to participate.
“When we started the Little League, the idea of a girl playing baseball, even with other girls, was simply unthinkable,” said Mr. Stotz in a May 1973 issue of the Detroit News.
However, a legal battle in 1974 sparked by a 12-year-old girl from Hoboken, New Jersey, opened the door for everyone to have the chance to play Little League.
The birthplace of baseball, Hoboken is home to the first official recorded game, which was played back in 1846. More than a century later, a young Maria Pepe would take the field just blocks away from the original site to pitch in three Little League games, as news quickly made its way around town and back to Little League Baseball’s headquarters in Williamsport.
Though Ms. Pepe was not necessarily the first girl to play Little League, when the organization caught wind of Ms. Pepe playing in the league, it gave Hoboken Little League an ultimatum: dismiss Ms. Pepe, or have its charter revoked. The penalty was the most extreme one that Little League can hand down, as it prevented leagues from being able to enter tournaments, wearing the Little League patch, and accessing all the other benefits of being affiliated with the organization. Ultimately, Ms. Pepe was kicked out and Hoboken Little League had its charter reinstated. Robert H. Stirrat, the Vice President and Public Relations Director of Little League at the time, said afterward that “as far as we’re concerned, the incident is closed.”
Despite what Mr. Stirrat thought was a conclusion on the situation, Ms. Pepe’s battle was just beginning. After her story got picked up in the New York media cycle, the New York Yankees invited Ms. Pepe and her family in to honor her, and the…
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