Casey and the Cops

August 27, 1962

Casey was a ballplayer. The Honolulu police knew all about that because Casey was a pitcher and first baseman on their local PAL team. But Casey was also a girl, and the cops, whose league was supposed to be all-boy, didn't know that until rookie Casey was in her first season in 1959. (When a ballplayer is only 9 it's sometimes hard to tell unless the player has a ponytail, and Casey had carefully cut hers off.) By the time the PAL officials found out that she was Carol Kishimoto, Casey had become a star. This year, with 12-year-old Casey pitching (above) or playing first base (where she hit a solid .325), the team won the 50th state's pee-wee championship over more than 400 rivals.