Baseball's Girl Umpire

Twelve-year-old Amanda Clement raced to the ballpark across the street from her house in Hudson, South Dakota. She couldn’t wait to join her brother, Hank, and the boys for a game of baseball.

Would they let her play? She could throw, run, and bat as well as any of them, but they let her play only when they needed her. She would probably have to umpire again. At least she’d be part of the game. Amanda knew all the rules, and the boys could count on her.

Over the next few years, local teams began asking her to call their games, too. One summer day in 1904, Amanda and her mother traveled to Hawarden, Iowa, to watch Hank pitch in the championship semiprofessional game. Two local teams were scheduled to play a game before the semipro teams. Amanda agreed to be the umpire. Little did she know she’d be making baseball history that day.

As Amanda finished the morning game, she saw two men walking toward her. To her surprise, they were the managers of the semipro teams. They were impressed with her umpiring and wanted her to call the afternoon championship game. They would even pay her. 

Making History

The large crowd watched in disbelief as the 5-foot-10-inch 16-year-old took her position behind the pitcher’s mound, where umpires stood. She was about to become the first female paid to umpire a baseball game.

“Strike!” “Ball!” “Safe!” “Out!” Amanda was calm and confident and made her calls fairly. She was “right on the spot,” watching closely as each play was made.

News of Amanda’s expert umpiring spread. Newspaper reporters said that she “knows her baseball book,” is “the possessor of an eagle eye,” and “is absolutely fair.” Managers began to ask for her first when they needed an umpire.

Amanda was popular with the fans, too. She “makes a hit with the crowd when she throws up her right arm and shouts, ‘Stee-rike,’” wrote a reporter. At one game, the spectators weren’t happy with the umpire and insisted on replacing him with Amanda. They decided to collect the money to pay her and hired a car to take her to the game.

Amanda became a big attraction. Posters that said “The Only Lady Umpire in the World” drew large crowds to games. She made “an inspiring sight on the baseball diamond.” Her uniform was a white blouse, blue ankle-length skirt, cap, and black necktie. Later she wore a shirt with “UMPS” on the front.

In those early days of baseball, crowds threw bottles at male umpires and shouted insults like “Kill the umpire!” But Amanda usually received polite comments such as “Beg your pardon, Miss Umpire, but wasn’t that one a bit high?” And if a player was unruly, she wasn’t afraid to stand up to him or take action. Once, she threw out six players in a game. 

A Tough Job

Being an umpire was hard work. Amanda made all the calls for the entire game. She couldn’t take a break and go to the dugout as the players did.

And she worked in all kinds of weather. She took special pride in umpiring a game that lasted 17 innings on a day when the heat reached 100 degrees. The game ended in a tie at sundown.

Umpiring suited Amanda. “It isn’t as easy as it looks, but for all that, there is a good deal of enjoyment in the work. Of course the players kick sometimes, just awfully, but not when I’m umpiring… You’ve got to have confidence in your ability or you won’t do well at anything.”

Amanda’s career as an umpire lasted six years. She called about 50 games each summer and was paid a top fee for the time, $15 to $25 a game. With her earnings, Amanda paid for college, where she studied physical education.

Many years later, other women followed in Amanda’s footsteps as umpires. Today, women are referees in professional soccer, basketball, football, and tennis.