Tubby Johnston

Kathryn "Tubby" Johnston

Sutter County resident Kathryn Massar, the first girl to play organized Little League baseball, threw out the
ceremonial first pitch at the World Series U.S. Semifinal game Thursday night in South Williamsport, Pa. In
1950, as a self-described tomboy in Corning, N.Y., Massar convinced Little League officials

tubbyjohnston@yahoo.com

Tubby Johnston played for the King's Dairy Team in
Corning, N.Y., in the summer of 1950.

"I first tried out for Little League with my younger brother,Tommy, for the King's
Dairy team in Corning, N.Y. I cut my hair short and tucked the rest under my baseball
cap. I gave the impression that I was a boy so that I could play baseball. I used the
nickname "Tubby", a character from my favorite comic strip,"Little Lulu."

"My father always took me out, and we would play baseball. He would
throw the ball and I would bat. My father told me that I was pretty good
so I went out for the team. My brother didn't think I'd make the team,
but I was better than him. Once I was on the team, I talked to the coach in the dugout
and told him that I was a girl. He said, " Well, if you're good enough to make the
team, you're good enough to stay on the team."

"In fact, I was a drawing card for the King's Dairy team, because once they found out
that I was a girl, more people came out to see the games. This made little difference
to me as I just wanted to play baseball."

BREAKING THE BASEBALL BARRIER