RIDGEWAY, S.C. _ The walls and shelves in Mamie "Peanut" Johnson's home are filled with plaques and memorabilia from a baseball career that took her from dusty fields across the Midwest to the White House.
As one of only three women to play in the Negro Leagues, Johnson wasn't always afforded the best view during her travels. Barred from whites-only hotels, Johnson would stay in the homes of host families while her male teammates slept on the bus or in boarding houses.
It made no difference to Johnson: She was playing baseball.
Johnson will add to her mementos collection next weekend when she's honored in her hometown of Ridgeway, a sleepy community in South Carolina's Fairfield County where she learned to throw a baseball 70 years ago.
Officials will present Johnson, who lives in Washington, D.C., with a key to the town and name a street after her during ceremonies at the town hall on June 5.
The festivities will take place close to where Johnson and her uncle played catch with balls they made out of rocks, twine and masking tape on her grandparents' 80-acre farm.
Though Johnson left South Carolina when she was 9, she used the skills she honed throwing to uncle Leo "Bones" Belton _ and chucking rocks at crows perched on her grandparents' fence _ to become the only woman to pitch in the Negro Leagues.
After being shunned by the All-American (and all-white) Girls Professional Baseball League, Johnson played three seasons with the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues, compiling a 33-8 record (according to most accounts) and one of the sport's great nicknames.
Mocked by an opposing batter who said the 5-foot-3, 115-pound Johnson was "no bigger than a peanut," Johnson struck him out.
The name stuck.
To read the complete article, visit thestate.com.
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