“I encourage the girls to believe in themselves and to never accept anyone saying you can’t do something just because you’re a girl.”
In the summer of 1972, Pepe, then 11, made a Little League team in her hometown of Hoboken, New Jersey — despite Little League Baseball prohibiting girls from playing in the early 1950s.
Pepe earned a spot on the roster as a pitcher, but when word got around that she was playing, Little League baseball threatened to take away the team's charter. Pepe was crushed when her coach, Jimmy Farina, had to boot her from the team after playing three games. Pepe’s family, along with the National Organization for Women, decided to take action, suing Little League Baseball for gender discrimination. The New Jersey Superior Court sided with Pepe and the decision was upheld when Little League Baseball appealed the ruling. By 1974, girls could play Little League.