And after she won that fight and took the field for her first game, June 24, , Bernice Gera retired. Now, 35 years later, she remains one of just five women ever to don the blue uniform and take the field as part of an umpiring crew in affiliated baseball. But Gera did not set out to be a pioneer or trailblazer. She was just a girl from Pennsylvania who loved baseball. She moved to Queens, N. However, just days before she was slated to start her new career in Auburn, N.
The appellate court upheld Gera's favorable ruling twice upon appeal. Her first game was the opener of a doubleheader as the Geneva N. Rangers hosted the Auburn Phillies. Her lone game was not without controversy, either. In the fourth inning, she initially ruled an Auburn baserunner safe on a play and then reversed her call.
This opened the door for Auburn manager Nolan Campbell not only to challenge her decision, but to say that she "should be in the kitchen, peeling potatoes," which not surprisingly earned him an early trip to the clubhouse. Following that game, Gera abruptly retired because, according to published reports from the time, her fellow umpires "refused to cooperate with her on the field.
The end of her umpiring career did not end Bernice Gera's affiliation with professional baseball, however, nor did it dim her love of the sport. She moved on to a job in the community relations and promotions department of the New York Mets, where she worked for many years before she and Steve retired to Florida. When Gera passed away in at the age of 61 from kidney cancer, she left a legacy that has been pursued by surprisingly few women.
Only one, Pam Postema, has climbed as high as Triple-A, spending six years in the Pacific Coast League before being released following the season.
