Nevertheless, she persisted

I’ve been inspired by the story of Helene Hathaway Robison Britton for years, since I first came across of this plucky woman while on a freelance assignment for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2022, I got to write about her for St. Louis’ Riverfront Times.

As the story says:

One hundred and eleven years ago, a brave, tenacious, pearls-wearing mother of two owned the Cardinals. A woman who couldn’t vote, or even go to a game without a male escort, sat in the owner’s box and kept score. A woman who had grown up in privilege but learned to love the game of “base ball” from her father and uncle. 

Her name was Helene Hathaway Robison Britton, and she owned the Cardinals from 1911 to 1917 after inheriting the team from her uncle, Stanley Robison. Her inheritance made national headlines, most speculating that she would sell the team. Yet she had no intention of selling. Instead, Robison Britton held her own with her fellow owners at a time when she couldn’t keep her maiden name if she wanted to, or even easily divorce her gambling, drinking and abusive husband. 

Want to read more? Here’s the link.