Lavonne “Pepper” Paire-Davis was one badass woman. Not only did she inspire the movie A League of Their Own AND Geena Davis‘s role (which almost went to Demi Moore), she was a a star of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s.
In 1943, the league was created because everyone was afraid that WWII would disrupt the MLB, and they wanted something to fall back on. Pepper joined in 1944 and played for TEN SEASONS.
At catcher and shortstop, she and her teams won five championships, and helped countless women follow their dreams and became an inspiration to many. Here’s what Pepper said in 1995 about it all:
“I know what it’s like for your dream to come true, mine did. Baseball was the thing I had the most fun doing. It was like breathing.”
While sad that she had to go at all, we’re glad to hear that she passed peacefully at the age of 88, due to natural causes in L.A.
You’l be missed, Pepper!
[Image via AP Images.]