Robert Clayton initiated and is one of the men who led the effort to have legislation passed by the DC City Council to have Rosedale Community Center Field named for Ms. Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. Ms. Johnson was the first woman pitcher to play in men’s professional baseball, and only one of three women to play professionally in the Negro Baseball League. This is the first field in the District of Columbia named in honor of a woman. Robert Clayton drafted testimony that was presented at the DC Council Hearing on support of the bill. He described Johnson’s story as “undertold” and thought that calling attention to her at the field on which she was discovered can inspire today’s youths. “Mamie Johnson’s story makes all things possible for young African American women who are aspiring to be respected in a male-dominated world,” Clayton said.

On April 19, 2013, Robert Clayton; DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray; representatives of the DC Department of Parks and Recreation; Shawn Bertani, Senior Director/Community Relations for the Washington Nationals; other community leaders and baseball fans attended the field dedication ceremony. To learn more, read “A Field Named in her Honor, Female Baseball Legend Pitches the Sport to District’s Black Youth” (Washington Post), “A Legacy on the Baseball Diamond” (Washington Post), “Mayor Gray Dedicates Mamie Johnson Field”. For more articles, click here.

Mamie Johnson and Robert Clayton (seated third and fourth from the left)

Jerome Ross, Robert Clayton at the Podium, Mayor Gray, and former ANC Commissioner Gladys Mack.

Jesus Aguirre, Director of the D.C. Department of Recreation, (third from left); Mayor Vincent Gray (fourth from left); Mamie “Peanut” Johnson (at the podium) and Robert Clayton holding encased ” A Strong Right Arm” which is being donated to the National Museum for African American History and Culture.