On April 2, 1931, the New York Yankees played an exhibition game against the Chattanooga Lookouts. That afternoon, a 17-year-old female pitcher named Jackie Mitchell took the mound. In consecutive at-bats, she threw her signature sinker and struck out two of the most famous hitters in baseball history: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
The event shocked the 4,000 spectators in the stands and immediately generated newspaper headlines across the nation. Decades later, the details of that afternoon still spark debates over whether the performance was a genuine athletic achievement or a carefully orchestrated theatrical event.
Learning the Drop Ball Pitch
Virne Beatrice “Jackie” Mitchell was born on August 29, 1913, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father was an optician who encouraged her to play sports, including baseball, basketball, and tennis. During her childhood, she spent time with her neighbor, Dodgers pitcher and National League MVP Charles Arthur “Dazzy” Vance.
Vance taught Mitchell how to pitch. He specifically showed her how to throw a drop ball, which became her signature pitch. When Mitchell was a teenager, her family moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Joining the Professional Baseball Ranks
In Chattanooga, Joel Engel, the owner of the minor league Chattanooga Lookouts, watched Mitchell pitch. Engel had arranged two exhibition games against the New York Yankees. He signed Mitchell to a contract, making her the second woman in American history to sign with a professional baseball team.
Newspapers published articles discussing her appearance. Before the game, reporters asked Babe Ruth about Mitchell. He stated that women were too delicate to play baseball every day and said they would never succeed in the sport.
Facing the Yankees Lineup
A crowd of 4,000 fans gathered for the April 2 game. The starting pitcher for the Lookouts gave up two hits, prompting the team to bring Mitchell to the mound to face Babe Ruth. Ruth tipped his hat before the first pitch, which was a ball. Ruth swung and missed the second and third pitches. With a 1-2 count, Mitchell threw a strike.
Ruth struck out, threw his bat, and walked away. Lou Gehrig stepped up to the plate next. Mitchell struck him out in just three pitches. The Yankees ultimately won the game 14 to 4.
A True Feat or Theatrical Event
Engel was known for unusual promotions, such as raffling off a house and trading a player for a turkey. The exhibition game was originally scheduled for April 1, leading some to suspect it was planned as an April Fools joke before cold weather delayed it. Neither Ruth nor Gehrig ever claimed the strikeouts were staged.
Days after the game, the baseball commissioner voided Mitchell’s contract. She went to work in her father’s optometry office. Mitchell maintained that the strikeouts were real until her death in 1987 at the age of 74. She stated that the batters were trying to hit her pitches.