Maine South High School freshman Maeve Maloney has always had a particular talent when it comes to art.

That’s why her mother, Karen Maloney, perked up when she saw the Chicago White Sox’ email announcing a fan submission contest in honor of Major League Baseball’s Jackie Robinson Day celebrations on April 15.

Almost immediately, Karen Maloney encouraged her daughter to create a submission for the contest, thinking she had a shot to impress.

“When this came up, I sent it to her and said, ‘You should do this because you’re a good artist,’” Karen Maloney said.

On Friday night, as the White Sox commemorated one of baseball’s most revered legends, Maeve Maloney made a point to draw attention to another icon in the sport.

Robinson made his mark as the first Black player in Major League Baseball in 1947, but it didn’t take long before Toni Stone followed as the first Black woman to break into professional baseball by signing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1953.

Maeve Maloney wanted to highlight Stone’s accomplishments and draw more attention to the legacy she carved out, and the gateway she opened for the many women who dream of playing sports at the highest level.

Stone joined the Indianapolis Clowns after eventual Hall of Fame inductee Hank Aaron departed from the team, and she slotted in at his spot at second base.

“You could hear from her story how hard she really worked for that,” Maeve Maloney said. “I really do appreciate that. It’s an inspiration.”

Stone played for the New Orleans Creoles in the Negro Southern League for three years before signing with the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953.

Stone played in 50 games for the Clowns, famously hitting a single off another Hall of Famer, Satchel Paige. Stone batted .243 that year before being traded to the Kansas City Monarchs, where she retired after the 1954 season.

Nearly 70 years later, Stone’s impact serves as an example for aspiring athletes.

In fact, Maeve Maloney plays Stone’s position — second base — in Maine South’s softball program, along with occasional stints in the outfield.

She loves fielding ground balls and rotating with the shortstop to cover the base, depending on where the ball is put into play.

“It definitely requires a lot of communication and work,” she said.

She hopes her submission drew more attention to the accomplishments of Stone, who died in 1996. When the time came to honor the contest’s winners, Maeve Maloney walked onto Guaranteed Rate Field and soaked in the moment.

“It’s just really exciting,” she said. “For me, it’s like really cool to be able to have that shown because she really is inspiring and a good example for girl athletes, too.”

For Karen and Chuck Maloney, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side and raised a family of Sox supporters, it was a proud night.

“I’m proud of her, for one, just doing this,” Karen Maloney said. “And she’s worked hard. She sees how it is to work hard to become a good athlete and she has got a good work ethic. The fact that it’s the night of honoring Jackie Robinson, who faced adversity that we’ll never know, it’s really nice. It’s nice as a parent to see that your kids are learning what others had to go through to just be able to play ball.”

She also thanked the White Sox for taking the time to celebrate Robinson’s legacy, but also for shedding more light on Stone’s impact.

“I’m just really grateful to the White Sox organization,” Karen said. “It’s really a nice park for families to go to, and I don’t know if everybody realizes that.”

Maeve, who said she was surprised to be picked as one of three winners, was simply trying to share with others what she learned through her research for the contest.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I would win at first,” Maeve said. “I kind of just entered it for fun because I like to draw. First, just researching Jackie Robinson made me think, ‘Well, he was the first African-American man to play baseball (in the major leagues), so who was the first African-American woman to play (professional) baseball?’ Which led me to Toni Stone, who is known as the female Jackie Robinson.”

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