There aren't many who can say they've struck out famous baseball players Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but among those few is Verine "Jackie" Mitchell.
Mitchell who grew up learning how to pitch from Baseball Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance and was playing for the Englettes in Tennessee when, owner Joe Engel, saw her and asked her to play for the Chattanooga Lookouts. His team was know to attract crowds with unusual antics.
Jackie became the second female pitcher signed to the Minor leagues and went on to strike out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the same game.
After the game, Babe, who was upset by the experience was quoted as saying, "I don't know what's going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball. Of course, they will never make good. Why? Because they are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball every day."
And unfortunately just a few days later the baseball commissioner voided her playing contract saying that the league would be "too strenuous" for her.
However, Mitchell, who had a true love for the game continued playing in exhibition games with a traveling team named "House of David". She drew in many crowds and inspired many but finally withdrew from playing the sport professionally when she felt like they weren't taking her skills seriously and turning her more into a gimmick than a serious athlete. (The owners seriously once asked her to pitch while sitting on a donkey).
None the less, she will forever go down in history as the woman who struck out 2 of the worlds best baseball players. Her legacy is one that shows that talent, fortitude and doughtiness have no boundaries.
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