The Forgotten Female Pitcher Who Struck Out Babe Ruth

October 20, 2026

By TrivBits, Staff Writer — Published October 21, 2026

Did you know that one of baseball’s most legendary moments involved a woman striking out the sport’s greatest slugger? In 1931, a seventeen-year-old pitcher named Jackie Mitchell faced off against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game—and sent them both back to the dugout swinging. This forgotten female pitcher made history that spring day in Chattanooga, Tennessee, yet her incredible achievement has been relegated to the margins of baseball lore, dismissed by some as a publicity stunt and overlooked by others who simply can’t believe it happened.

The story raises fascinating questions about gender, sports, and the thin line between myth and reality. Was Mitchell’s feat genuine athleticism or staged theater? And why has this remarkable moment been so thoroughly erased from mainstream baseball history?

Key Takeaways

Jackie Mitchell signed with the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league team in 1931, becoming one of the first female professional baseball players in organized baseball.
During an exhibition game against the New York Yankees on April 2, 1931, Mitchell struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.
Days after the game, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis voided Mitchell’s contract, citing baseball as “too strenuous” for women.
Debate continues about whether the strikeouts were legitimate or orchestrated for publicity, though witnesses described Ruth’s visible frustration.
Mitchell’s achievement has been largely forgotten, representing a curious gap in both sports history and women’s athletic accomplishments.
The incident occurred during a brief window when women’s participation in professional baseball seemed possible before being formally banned.

The Forgotten Female Pitcher Who Made Baseball History

Virne Beatrice “Jackie” Mitchell was born in 1913 and grew up in a Memphis neighborhood next door to a minor league pitcher named Dazzy Vance, who would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Vance taught the young girl his signature pitch: a wicked sinker that dropped sharply as it approached the plate. Mitchell practiced relentlessly, developing a pitching style that relied on movement and deception rather than raw power.

By age seventeen, Mitchell had caught the attention of Joe Engel, the president of the Chattanooga Lookouts, a Double-A minor league team. Engel was known for promotional stunts—he once traded a player for a turkey—but he also recognized genuine talent. In March 1931, he signed Mitchell to a professional contract, making national headlines. The contract was real. The money was real. And soon, the strikeouts would be real too.

That Day in April: When the Bambino Met His Match

The New York Yankees stopped in Chattanooga on April 2, 1931, for an exhibition game during their barnstorming tour north from spring training. A crowd of roughly four thousand spectators packed Engel Stadium, many drawn by the novelty of seeing a woman play professional baseball. Mitchell wasn’t the starting pitcher; she entered the game in the first inning after the starting pitcher walked the leadoff batter.

Babe Ruth stepped to the plate first. The Sultan of Swat, the most feared hitter in baseball, faced a teenager throwing sinking pitches. According to newspaper accounts, Ruth tipped his cap to Mitchell before settling into his stance. The first pitch came in for a called strike. Ruth swung and missed at the second. The third pitch—another sinking fastball—caught the outside corner. Strike three.

Ruth reportedly argued with the umpire, then flung his bat down in frustration as he walked back to the dugout. The crowd erupted. But the drama wasn’t over.

Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse himself, stepped up next. Mitchell threw three pitches. Gehrig swung through all three. Two of baseball’s greatest hitters had been retired consecutively by a seventeen-year-old woman throwing a nasty sinker. The third batter, Tony Lazzeri, drew a walk, and Mitchell was removed from the game. Her line: one-third of an inning, no hits, one walk, two strikeouts.

Publicity Stunt or Genuine Achievement?

Skeptics immediately questioned whether the strikeouts were legitimate. Ruth himself later suggested it was a setup, though his visible anger that day told a different story. Some sportswriters claimed the Yankees intentionally struck out to generate publicity. Others pointed out that exhibition games were typically loose affairs where players didn’t always give full effort.

But several facts complicate the “staged” narrative. First, Ruth was intensely competitive and famously hated looking foolish. Witnesses described him as genuinely frustrated, not playacting. Second, Mitchell’s sinker was reportedly exceptional—the kind of pitch that could fool any batter, especially one unfamiliar with her delivery. Third, exhibition games were important for the Yankees’ brand; deliberately losing to a woman could have backfired spectacularly in an era of rigid gender roles.

The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. Ruth and Gehrig may not have been trying their absolute hardest, but Mitchell’s pitches were good enough to exploit that reduced effort. She threw strikes. They swung and missed. The outcome, whatever the intent, was real.

Baseball’s Swift Response: Erasing Women from the Game

Jackie Mitchell’s moment in the sun lasted exactly a few days. Less than a week after her historic performance, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis voided her contract. The official reason? Baseball was “too strenuous” for women. The decision effectively banned women from professional organized baseball, a prohibition that would last for decades.

The timing was suspicious. Mitchell had embarrassed two of baseball’s biggest stars on a national stage, and the male-dominated sport moved swiftly to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. The “too strenuous” justification was particularly absurd given that women regularly performed far more physically demanding labor in factories, farms, and homes. The real issue wasn’t physical capability—it was preserving baseball as an exclusively male domain.

Mitchell continued playing baseball in exhibition games and with barnstorming teams throughout the 1930s, but she never again appeared in organized professional baseball. She eventually left the sport, worked various jobs, and lived quietly until her death in 1987. By then, her achievement had been largely forgotten, reduced to a footnote or dismissed as a curiosity.

Why This Story Matters Today

Jackie Mitchell’s strikeouts represent more than interesting sports trivia. They reveal how exceptional achievements by women have been systematically minimized, questioned, and erased from collective memory. When a woman succeeds in a male-dominated arena, her success is often attributed to luck, staged circumstances, or men “letting” her win—never to her own skill and preparation.

The incident also highlights a fascinating “what if” moment in sports history. What if baseball had embraced female players in 1931? What if Mitchell’s success had opened doors rather than triggering a ban? The sport might look very different today. Instead, women were formally excluded, and it would take until the 1990s before the ban was officially lifted, though no woman has since played in Major League Baseball.

Mitchell’s story deserves to be remembered not because it was a stunt or a novelty, but because a skilled athlete threw excellent pitches against the best hitters in the world—and won. That’s the surprising truth at the heart of this forgotten moment: it actually happened, and we almost let it disappear entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Jackie Mitchell the only woman to play professional baseball?

No, though she was among the first. A handful of women played in professional leagues before baseball’s gender ban, and later the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League operated from 1943 to 1954. However, Mitchell was one of very few to play in organized men’s professional baseball, making her case particularly notable.

Did Babe Ruth really strike out, or was it staged?

The strikeout definitely occurred—multiple newspaper accounts and witnesses confirmed it. Whether Ruth gave his full effort remains debated. Contemporary accounts describe him as visibly angry, suggesting genuine competitive frustration rather than acting. Mitchell threw legitimate strikes that Ruth failed to hit, regardless of his effort level.

Why did the commissioner void Jackie Mitchell’s contract?

Commissioner Landis claimed baseball was “too strenuous” for women, but the decision appears to have been motivated by a desire to preserve baseball as an exclusively male sport. The timing—just days after Mitchell embarrassed two baseball legends—suggests the ban was a direct response to her success rather than a genuine concern for women’s health.

What happened to Jackie Mitchell after baseball?

Mitchell continued playing exhibition baseball throughout the 1930s but never returned to organized professional baseball. She eventually left the sport, worked various jobs including at an optical company, and lived a quiet life until her death in 1987. Her historic achievement received little recognition during her lifetime.