Best Bets • 09-02-22

This profile is part of Queerty’s 2022 Out For Good series, recognizing public figures who’ve had the courage to come out and make a difference in the past year, in celebration of National Coming Out Day on October 11.Name: Maybelle “Mae” Blair, 95Bio: Born in 1927 (the same year Babe Ruth hit his record-breaking 60th home run), Blair enjoyed a long career in both baseball and softball, pitching for the Peoria Redwings baseball team in the late 1940s and then for several teams in the National Women’s Softball League in the early and mid 1950s.After retiring from sports, Blair continued to play an active role in promoting women’s baseball and supporting young female athletes. Over the years, she served as the co-chair on many AAGPBL Players Association reunions, as well as on the Board of Directors and was Chair of the Fundraising Committee.She has also been actively working for many years to fundraise for an official center for the International Women’s Baseball Center to be built in Rockford, Illinois, serving as a place to celebrate the groundbreaking players depicted in Penny Marshall’s 1992 film A League of Their Own.Happy 94th Birthday to Maybelle Blair! Maybelle played for the 1948 Peoria Redwings.