Google honors first woman to play professional baseball with animated doodle

Wednesday’s Google Doodle honors Negro Leagues’ second baseman Marcenia “Toni” Stone, who overcame gender and racial discrimination to become the first woman in history to play professional baseball full-time in a men’s major baseball league.

Google began to pay tribute to Black historical figures on its homepage on Feb. 1 as part of its celebration of Black History Month.

Wednesday’s illustration was created by San Francisco-based illustrator and animation director Monique Wray, Google announced in a press release.

“Toni was a trailblazer, a Black woman doing things she’s not expected to do, whether the world likes it or not, speaks to me,” Wray said in a Google news release.

Born in Bluefield, West Virginia, in 1921, Stone began her playing career in 1946 when she played for the San Francisco Sea Lions.

During her career, Stone’s .280 batting average helped earn her a spot on the Negro League All-Star team while she also traveled across the nation playing second base for the minor league team New Orleans Creoles, Google said.

In 1953, Stone took over from future Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron at second for the Indianapolis Clowns.

It was there she made a name for herself when she hit a single off of Negro League pitching legend Satchel Paige during her debut season.

She retired from professional baseball in 1954.