Maybelle Blair Who Inspired ‘A League Of Their Own’ Officially Comes Out At 95

Maybelle Blair was among the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League of 1943, which inspired the classic A League Of Their Own. Blair, who is now 95, publicly came out as a lesbian while promoting an Amazon Prime series of the original movie in 2022.

The promotion post bared the truth about Blair’s sexuality and was met with cheer from fans who were inspired by her courage. “For the majority of her life, sports legend 95-year-old AAGPBL player, Maybelle Blair felt like she had to hide her authentic self,” the caption read.

Maybelle Blair comes out at 95 years old

During the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, Blair opened up further about her romantic and sexual preferences and the pushback she battled within herself. “I hid for 75, 85 years, and this is actually basically the first time I’ve ever come out,” she admitted at the event. She also recalled feeling guilty when she “had a crush on this girl in high school.”

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Blair kept her feelings to herself until she got on the baseball team and experienced the best time of her life. “They asked me to go out to a bar. Well, it turned out to be a gay bar, and I was never so happy in my life,” she admitted. “It was really bad because in our day you wouldn’t dare tell your family or hint to anybody that you were gay – it was the most terrible thing in the world.”

Blair inspires acceptance

Unlike back in the day, Blair was celebrated when she opened up about her gayness, and this made her feel at home. “Today, she came out publicly for the first time. We couldn’t be happier for her and continue to push for love, acceptance, and education on and off the field,” Amazon Studios stated on Instagram.

The series, A League Of Their Own, seeks to go beyond the film to take “a deeper look at race and sexuality, following the journey of a whole new ensemble of characters as they carve their own paths towards the field, both in the league and outside of it.”