This little girl has made history!

Hall of Fame to Honor Katie Brownell

11-year old Perfect Game Little League Pitcher to Donate Jersey

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will soon pay tribute to 11-year old Little League pitcher Katie Brownell, who threw a perfect game on May 14, striking out all 18 batters in leading her Dodgers team to an 11-0 victory over the Yankees. Brownell is the only female in the Oakfield-Alabama Little League program, which is located between Buffalo and Rochester, New York

To commemorate her special achievement, Brownell will donate her perfect game jersey to the Baseball Hall of Fame in a ceremony to be held July 7 at 2 p.m. The jersey will be placed on display in the Museum’s recently-opened Today’s Game exhibit, and will become a part of the Women in Baseball exhibit or Youth Baseball exhibit, when both are redesigned and rededicated in 2006.

In addition to the jersey donation, the Hall of Fame will host a roundtable discussion July 7 with Brownell, Lance Van Auken, the senior communications executive with Little League Baseball in Williamsport, PA, and Maria Pepe, whose fight to continue playing after she had been dismissed from her team, resulted in Little League admitting girls.

Pepe played thee games in New Jersey in 1971 before she was dismissed. Her case took until 1973 to be resolved, at which point, she was too old to play. Her case was upheld in Superior Court in New Jersey, and helped open the doors for girls to have an equal chance to play in the all-male Little League. In 1974, 30,000 girls registered to play Little League and today, about 400,000 girls play Little League Baseball and Softball.

“We are honored to be receiving Katie’s perfect game jersey,” said Jeff Idelson, vice president of communications and education for the Baseball Hall of Fame. “Katie’s accomplishment helps to further illustrate that you don’t have to be male to be a team-leader in baseball. Her overall success in Little League demonstrates that baseball gives boys and girls a fair and equal opportunity to both play and be very successful. Her story helps to connect the dots of the story of women in baseball dating back to Civil War times.”

Open seven days a week the year round, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, the Hall of Fame is open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. through Labor Day. Ticket prices are $14.50 for adults (13 and over), $9 for seniors (65 and over) and for those holding current memberships in the VFW, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion and AMVets organizations, and $5 for juniors (ages 7-12). Members are always admitted free of charge and there is no charge for children six years of age or younger, active and retired card-carrying military personnel. For more information, visit our Web site at baseballhalloffame.org or call 888-HALL-OF-FAME (888-425-5633) or 607-547-7200.

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