153: Maybelle Blair - MLB

Maybelle (May) Blair is a baseball pioneer. In the movie, "A League of Their Own," Madonna's character was named after Maybelle, Mae Morabito. However, the character Madonna played was nothing like the real May. May did not join the AAGPBL (All-America Girls Professional Baseball League) until it was firmly established. But along the way, May certainly made her mark in baseball and softball. She played highly-competitive softball on the west coast, was discovered by a scout looking for great talent for a women's professional softball team, the Chicago Cardinals who were owned by the same Charles Bidwell who owned the NFL's Chicago Cardinals, and she made such an impression on everyone, that she ultimately wound up in the AAGPBL with the Peoria Redwings. While her career on the diamond is truly something to marvel at, today at the age of 95, she's still going strong making appearances and signing autographs, and remains a proponent of omen's professional baseball. In fact, there is a women's professional baseball league set to launch in May 2026. May's off the field life is also quite remarkable. And on today's episode of Sports' Forgotten Heroes, Kat Williams, author of the book, "All the Way," a biography on May, joins the show to discuss the life of this baseball pioneer.