Women’s baseball legend and A League of Their Own inspiration Maybelle Blair reveals what it was like to publicly come out as gay at AGE 95: ‘I just blurted it out… but I have never been so happy’

An inspiring female baseball player has revealed what it was like to come out at the age of 95.

Maybelle Blair, now 97, whose career inspired the 1992 classic film A League of Their Own, was on stage at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2022 when she tThe courageous decision ‘out of the clear blue sky’ to live in her truth.

The panelist, who had been there to discuss the premiere of Amazon’s TV adaptation of the blockbuster, came out to the entire public – and has been reflecting on the milestone moment ever since.

She told me recently The guard: ‘It felt like all the blood was draining from my head, all the way to my toes. I didn’t know what was happening.’

Maybelle told the publication, “I just blurted out, ‘I want everyone to know that I was in the closet for 95 years.’ That old door flew open. I sat there, my eyes wide open, my mouth probably open. I thought, “Oh my God, after 95 years you said that?”

‘And I did. I wasn’t afraid anymore because I was so old and, apart from my family, it didn’t really matter what people thought.

‘Afterwards I sat down and had a beer and I’m telling you, I’ve never been happier in my life. I was a new girl at 95. So maybe you’ll have me for another 95 years.’

In a 2022 clip discussing the show, she told the audience, “I think it’s a great opportunity for these young prom girls to realize that they’re not alone, and you don’t have to hide.

“I’ve been hiding for 75, 85 years and this is actually the first time I’ve ever come out.”

And her revelation was met with applause from the crowd.

Maybelle, now 97, told the outlet that she has since been embraced by the LGBTQ+ community and described as an inspiration.

‘That gave me a great feeling. So many people have told me how I helped them get out, and their families now understand what is going on in their lives,” she said.

The former athlete said she had been inundated with nothing but positive feedback, claiming no one had experienced anything negative ‘to my face’.

A native of California, Blair was known as All The Way Mae when she pitched for the Peoria Redwings in 1948.

The historic athlete played professional softball for the Chicago Cardinals in the 1950s.

After her sports career, Maybelle worked for aerospace company Northrop Corporation – but admitted that they was ‘terrified’ that someone would find out about her sexuality and be fired as a result.

‘At that time they had no sympathy for gays. And I didn’t know what my family would have thought. I could not do it.

‘I had to date men I didn’t want to date. But I did – and I looked pretty decent, I guess, because they kept asking me out.

“I have just walked this straight and narrow path. It was hard at times, but I did it.”

Maybelle said people often asked her why she wasn’t married, but she used the “excuse” that the right man hadn’t come along.

She said her eventual coming out opened up “a new world” for her and she shared that candidly: ‘I would have liked to come out of the closet immediately if people had accepted gays.

“The music is really loud for me now, and every step I take is a little more alive now that I can be who I am.”

Despite her advanced age, Maybelle shows no signs of slowing down as she is currently coordinating her passion project: helping create an international women’s baseball center in Illinois.

“I think they should be able to have their own baseball house. I still have a few things I need to do before I get six feet under.”