THAT’S THE WAY I SAW IT
Even Cooperstown Can’t Get It Right
Ben Walker, Associated Press writer, wrote an article titled: “Big call is coming up for only woman umpire.” In this article he talks about Ria Cortesio working her way through the Minor Leagues with maybe a possible shot at being a Major League umpire. As many times before he has Bernice Gera as the first lady professional umpire, which isn’t true.
I didn’t write Ben Walker as it has been my experience that when you send people corrected information they never answer your letter.
Amanda Clement was the first lady professional umpire.
The Daily Pitch website of the USA Today Baseball Weekly set the record straight on 4-26-2001, but evidently Ben Walker doesn’t read The Daily Pitch.
The other day I noticed in the publication, “Memories and Dreams,” published exclusively for Friends of the Hall of Fame, tells on page 17 how they started developing women’s exhibits around 1978 and they said nothing about the first woman umpire. The only artifacts at that time were from some baseball cards of the AAGBL and a few items from Amanda Clement who was a 19th century umpire. She umpired 1905-1911. Even Cooperstown can’t get it right about Amanda Clement.
Maybe someday we will all know who and when baseball had its first professional lady umpire, but don’t count on that fact.
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