{"product_id":"curveball-9781613736562","title":"Curveball","description":"From the time she was a girl growing up in the shadow of Lexington Park in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Toni Stone knew she wanted to play professional baseball. There was only one problem--every card was stacked against her. Curveball tells the inspiring story of baseball's \"female Jackie Robinson,\" a woman whose ambition, courage, and raw talent propelled her from ragtag teams barnstorming across the Dakotas to playing in front of large crowds at Yankee Stadium. Toni Stone was the first woman to play professional baseball on men's teams. After Robinson integrated the major leagues and other black players slowly began to follow, Stone seized an unprecedented opportunity to play professional baseball in the Negro League. She replaced Hank Aaron as the star infielder for the Indianapolis Clowns and later signed with the legendary Kansas City Monarchs. Playing alongside some of the premier athletes of all time including Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Buck O'Neil, and Satchel Paige, Toni let her talent speak for itself. Curveball chronicles Toni Stone's remarkable career facing down not only fastballs, but jeers, sabotage, and Jim Crow America as well. Her story reveals how far passion, pride, and determination can take one person in pursuit of a dream. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMartha Ackmann\u003c\/b\u003e is a journalist and the author of the award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Mercury 13: \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight\u003c\/i\u003e. Her sports commentary has appeared in the\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, and on National Public Radio's \u003ci\u003eOnly a Game\u003c\/i\u003e. She has held fellowships and grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the Society for American Baseball Research. She teaches in the gender studies department at Mount Holyoke College. \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Lawrence Hill Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50360373313810,"sku":"9781613736562","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ddc2f90b-141c-48dc-a980-719045151901.jpg?v=1728361315","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/curveball-9781613736562","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}