IL Worcester Red Sox

Maria Pepe Chose Her Uniform, and Now Girls Everywhere Can Too

Published on March 7, 2024 under International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


Maria Pepe has a "thing" for uniforms, and rightfully so. Who knew that her 1972 Hoboken Young Democrats baseball cap, the only uniform piece she was allowed to keep after being removed from her Little League team, would someday end up in Cooperstown? Well, Judith Weiss, with the National Organization for Women, may have had an inkling.

In 1939, at the time of the Little League's foundation, there were no rules about the players' genders on the three teams that existed. However, after it was discovered that a young girl tried out for a team with her hair tucked into the baseball cap, a clause was added to the Little League regulations saying, "Girls are not eligible under any conditions." For the next two decades or so, each individual manager was able to decide whether to break this rule or turn away girls who wanted to participate in the game.

Maria's baseball journey began like that of many young athletes. She was excited every time she received an invitation to join her neighborhood friends and play baseball, a sport she grew up watching with her father. Upon being asked to try out for Little League baseball, she became excited by the idea of joining her friends as they went to play ball in the springtime. The uniform, a representation of belonging to something bigger than herself, was the most thrilling part for Maria.

Photo via three games into the season, Maria faced immense backlash from opposing coaches, parents, and even politicians who got word of her participation in Little League baseball. The true turning point came when the Little League headquarters delivered an ultimatum stating that if Maria is not removed from the team, their charter (an insurance policy protecting the area's Little League teams from assuming responsibility for injuries) would be jeopardized. As a result, Maria removed herself from the team because the thought of costing other kids their baseball careers was unfathomable. The ultimatum, and consequent removal of Maria from the team, stemmed from the belief that girls did not belong in baseball. To this day, Maria questions these beliefs; in the 2013 PBS documentary titled Makers: Women Who Make America, she said, "Why the others were so afraid of having a girl participate [in baseball] is always something that I'll reflect back on as an adult."

Judith Weiss of the Essex County chapter of the National Organization for Women filed a complaint against the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights on behalf of Maria Pepe, with permission from her parents. Little did she know she caused a legal battle that would leave a lasting impact on gender equality in sports.

Photo via https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20140821_A_pioneer_watches_Mo_ne_with_admiration_and_pain.html

Court hearings ensued, with psychologists testifying to women's emotional ability to play baseball with boys and doctors debating whether girls' bones were strong enough for the sport. Twelve-year-old Maria was confused, wondering why her emotions or bone strength even mattered; to her, "everyone was missing the whole point, the point being that I had an ability" rather than belonging to a "classification of... 'well you're a girl so you're not supposed to.'"

In 1973, the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights decided that the Little League's gender clause was classified as discrimination against an individual, which is illegal when the act takes place on public land. The Little League, still unwilling to allow girls to play baseball, appealed the decision to the New Jersey Appellate Supreme Court, who, after two years of legal battles, upheld the ruling that it was discrimination to exclude Maria from playing.

Following the removal of the gender clause from the Little League's Federal Charter, over 30,000 young women signed up to participate on teams across the country. There is no doubt that Maria's fight not only opened doors for girls in baseball, but also sparked a larger conversation about gender equality in sports. She realized the question was not just about her right to play baseball, but about challenging the belief that girls should be limited in their athletic pursuits. Her perseverance paved the way for generations of girls to come, showing them that they too could pursue their passions without limitations.

As Maria reflects on her journey, she returns to her beloved uniform, which has become a metaphor for belonging. Her advice to young people? "I think you gotta find your own uniform in life... something that you fit into, that you feel is where you should be."

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