Apologies for the truncated version of this episode that appeared initially. This has been rectified in this re-posting.
Bernice Gera tried exceptionally hard to become one of baseball's pioneers. And, in many ways, she succeeded when, 53 years ago this week, a court ordered the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues to hire her as the first professional female umpire in minor league history. But her story is also an indictment of the culture of baseball, as she was hounded and bullied out of the sport by the worst misogynits on and off the field after umpiring just one game. Her story is a reminder that Baseball has always resisted change, often with threats of violence, that would allow it to be more inclusive, even when that change would have no effect on the game itself.
Plus, happy birthday to Ed Sartwood and Bob Forsch!
And farewell to Bud Daley, Gaylen Pitts, Rudy May, and Ray Semproch.
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