On January 13, 1972, former secretary and housewife, Bernice Gera, won her suit against the National Association of Baseball Leagues (NABL) and became the first female umpire in professional baseball.

Gera enrolled in the Florida Baseball School in 1967 to become an umpire where she was forced to live in an off-site motel because the school only had facilities for men. Gera excelled in the program, which lasted for six weeks. Upon completion of the program, however, the NABL rejected Gera as an umpire, saying that she did not meet the physical requirements of the job.

Gera took the NABL to court on the basis of discrimination. The NABL argued that umpires were required to be at least five feet ten inches tall and weigh 170 pounds. The court in New York State Div. of Human Rights v. New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League determined that these requirements were not warranted by claiming "that umpires must command respect of big men or by factors relating to increased size of professional catchers, physical strain, travel conditions and length of games" The court determined that these requirements were also inherently discriminatory against women.

Gera won her case on January 13, 1972, and became the first female umpire in professional baseball. She umpired her first – and only – game on June 24, 1972. After the Class A Minor League game between the Geneva Rangers and Auburn Phillies, Gera quit, saying that the other umpires refused to cooperate with her on the field.

To this day, there have been only a few females who have umpired minor league games, and no females have ever umpired a major league game.