
Ten-year-old Dandi (affectionately called “Dan” by family and friends) lives and breathes baseball. She may not be a fence buster but she can “hit ‘em where they ain’t” in the neighborhood pick-up games. The boys know she’s a contender. And there’s no bigger fan of the 1961 Kansas City A’s. So when Charlie Finley, the A’s new owner, announces an essay contest to get batboys, there’s no doubt Dandi will enter the contest. Dandi not only enters the contest—her essay wins! However, her joy is short-lived when the contest officials enforce the For Boys Only rule. Long before the boundary-breaking ruling of Title IX, young women across the country used grit and determination to prove that barriers of gender have no place on a level playing field. Dandi Daley Mackall’s true-life story gives voice and testament to the spirit of these young sports pioneers.
Author

A professional writer for over 20 years, Dandi Daley Mackall has written dozens of articles for popular magazines and published around 500 books for children and adults alike, with sales of over 4 million. A frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, she lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, horses, dogs, & cats. Awards include the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery, the Helen Keating Ott Award for Contributions to Children's Literature; Distinguished Alumni Award from Mizzou; ALA Best Book; Christian Children's Book of the Year, Amelia Bloom, Mom's Choice Awards. Her YA novel, My Boyfriends' Dogs, is now a Hallmark movie.