RADNOR, Pa. (Sept. 17, 2012) – On Wednesday, Oct. 10, author and scholar Martha Ackmann, Ph.D. presents an inspiring story of baseball’s “female Jackie Robinson” at Cabrini College.
Ackmann’s address, “Toni Stone’s Challenge to Baseball and America,” will focus on the first woman to play professional baseball on men’s teams, as Stone replaced the legendary Hank Aaron as star infielder with the Negro League’s Indianapolis Clowns.
Ackmann is the 2012 Jolyon Pitt Girard Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Cabrini College. Her presentation on Oct. 10 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Widener Lecture Hall on the Cabrini campus (610 King of Prussia Road, Radnor).
Ackmann’s book “Curveball” (Chicago Review Press, 2010) details Stone’s story, depicting a woman whose ambition, courage and raw talent propelled her from ragtag teams barnstorming across the Dakotas to playing in front of large crowds at Yankee Stadium. Much like Robinson in the major leagues, Stone had to endure jeers, taunts, and even attempted sabotage from teammates and opponents alike to succeed in professional baseball.
Stone, who also played with the legendary Negro League’s Kansas City Monarchs, played at Philadelphia’s Connie Mack Stadium for the Clowns in 1953 and the Monarchs in 1954. Connie Morgan, a 19-year old Philadelphian who starred at Bartram High School, replaced Stone on the Clowns when she was traded to the Monarchs.
Ackmann teaches gender studies at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. A frequent commentator on National Public Radio, her work on baseball has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times, and on ESPN. She is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and is the former Augustus Anson Whitney Scholar in Non-Fiction at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.
Ackmann earned a bachelor’s degree from Lindenwood College, a master’s degree from Middlebury College, and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts. More information is available at www.marthaackmann.com.
Founded in 2008, the Scholar-in-Residence Program at Cabrini College honors the 35-year teaching career of Jolyon Girard, Ph.D., in the College’s History Department. The program brings eminent historians to campus as a way to honor the creativity of teaching, something Girard personified at Cabrini.
About Cabrini College
Students do extraordinary things at Cabrini College, a residential Catholic college welcoming learners of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds. Founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the College provides a transformational “education of the heart,” focusing on academic excellence, leadership development and a commitment to social justice.
Cabrini offers 1,300 full-time undergraduate students more than 30 majors, pre-professional programs, concentrations and minors. More than 1,900 students are in graduate studies programs at the main campus in Radnor, Pa., and at 13 off-site locations. The College’s serene 112-acre campus is located 30 minutes from Philadelphia.