Aug 10, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; MLB umpire Jen Pawol (95) before the Atlanta Braves play the Miami Marlins at Truist Park. Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
Bernice Gera will never be forgotten.
Jen Pawol has made history as the first female umpire to work a regular-season game in the major leagues.
Before she was alive, another moment in Major League Baseball essentially paved the way for her to be here.
Jen Pawol’s moment came 50 years after Bernice Gera fought for inclusion in umpiring.
Gera had to go through hell to be a trailblazer.
Gera made her professional officiating debut on June 24, 1972, when the Class A Geneva Rangers and Auburn Phillies played doubleheaders.
At one point during the game, she called Auburn’s Terry Ford safe in the fourth inning but quickly realized he wasn’t. She addressed her mistake and reversed the call on the field, calling him out.
Auburn manager Nolan Campbell was so upset that he stormed the field to give Gera a piece of his mind.
“That’s the second mistake you made. The first one was putting on that uniform,” he remembered telling her.
In Bernice Gera’s recollection, Campbell actually said: “You made two mistakes. The first mistake was you should have stayed in the kitchen peeling potatoes.”
She wasted no time ejecting him from the game. She would resign after the contest and leave the stadium in tears.
Bernice Gera Was Turned Down From Every MLB Team
Jul 1, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; A detail shot of baseballs before the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Bernice Gera fought through the courts for years for the right to umpire a professional baseball game.
Gera did not set out to be a pioneer or a trailblazer. She was just a girl from Pennsylvania who loved baseball.
Working as a secretary, she desperately wanted to work for one of the major league teams, asking each organization for a job.
Every single team turned her down.
“At first I just tried to get a job with any club, doing anything,” she said in a 1972 interview.
“I would have sold peanuts if they wanted me to. But the answer was negative all the way around.”
“I waited three months for one team to answer. And would you believe that I stayed up nights praying for it to come through?” she added. “When they said no, I decided to become an umpire.”
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