Well, I am extremely excited to welcome, again, someone who is not a stranger to the Negro

League's Baseball Museum, but she brought Tony Stone to life in a sensational, off-Broadway production at the Roundabout Theater called Tony Stone.

And this is Ms. April Mathis.

Welcome to Black Diamonds.

How are you?

I'm well.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for having me.

Well, it is so great to catch up with you again. We did something pretty spectacular.

And I say we because I just feel like we're all part of this Negro Leagues family. I had the esteem honor of welcoming quite a few cast members here to the Negro Leagues baseball

museum as you guys were in rehearsal. This was back in 2019. And that was so much fun for me

to have the cast come out and our dear friend Samantha Barry

and worked with us to kind of organize and coordinate a day trip.

That was one heck of a day trip to bring you guys.

Yeah, to bring you guys out to Kansas City

and kind of get you all immersed in this Negro Leagues experience as you all were prepping and

and particularly you playing the lead and as i mentioned you brought tony stone to life what did it

mean for you to play this role uh well know, not having much knowledge of the Negro Leagues period,

or I will be honest and say baseball in general, for that matter,

to find out that she existed and had the career that she had

and that she was the first woman period to play

professional baseball, not just black woman, but the first woman to put on a professional

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