Maybelle Blair Inspired ‘A League of Their Own.’ At 95, She’s Far From Done.

Blair was one of about 20 former players whom the show’s producer, Will Graham, and the actress Abbi Jacobson spoke to for the show’s development. Graham said that Blair had been open about her sexuality with them during the making of the show, but he did not expect her to come out in a public forum. He called her “an extraordinary human being.”

“We have a tendency to believe that life before Stonewall for queer people was pretty bleak, and of course it was hard and still is in many ways. But she found joy and found herself, and I think queer people always do that whenever and wherever we are,” Graham said. “I’m so grateful that she’s in my life.”

Blair first began to become aware of her sexuality in fifth grade, and her first love came when she was a senior in high school. “I’ll never forget her,” she said. But she kept her relationships private and never married.

“I was so worried about my family because in those days nobody knew anything about people being gay or what have you. It was so nerve-racking,” she said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/04/sports/baseball/maybelle-blair-a-league-of-their-own.html