I could beat them on the courts, but I can't beat them on the field. — Bernice (image via The Day, Google News Project) Bernice Gera was the first female umpire in professional baseball. For one game, at least. She'd passed umpiring school in Florida with flying colors, but then wasn't picked up for minor league play. "I would have done anything," she said. "I would have shined the ballplayers' shoes. That's how much I loved baseball." She filed suit for discrimination and fought five years to be allowed on the field. When she finally won in 1972, though, the other umpires refused to heed her calls — so Bernice quit halfway through the fifth inning of her very first game. "Umpires must work as a team," she told reporters. "But I went on the field alone. I had no partner."
A Woman to Know: Bernice Gera
A Woman to Know: Bernice Gera
A Woman to Know: Bernice Gera
I could beat them on the courts, but I can't beat them on the field. — Bernice (image via The Day, Google News Project) Bernice Gera was the first female umpire in professional baseball. For one game, at least. She'd passed umpiring school in Florida with flying colors, but then wasn't picked up for minor league play. "I would have done anything," she said. "I would have shined the ballplayers' shoes. That's how much I loved baseball." She filed suit for discrimination and fought five years to be allowed on the field. When she finally won in 1972, though, the other umpires refused to heed her calls — so Bernice quit halfway through the fifth inning of her very first game. "Umpires must work as a team," she told reporters. "But I went on the field alone. I had no partner."