OTD A groundbreaking broadcast debut in Chicago.

Mary Shane became one of the first female announcers in MLB history, making her debut on White Sox games over WMAQ radio and Channel 44. Mary joined Lorn Brown, Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall in the booth. She was the first full-time female play by play broadcaster for a Major League Baseball team.

Shane only lasted the 1977 season. Shane was pulled from the White Sox Broadcasts before the 1977 season concluded and her contract was not renewed. While her voice was an issue, Mary distinguished herself as a hard worker.

Broadcasting partner Jimmy Piersall stated: “She never had a chance. Even a bad baseball player gets at least one full season to see if he’ll come around. But because of all the in-bred prejudice against a woman covering a baseball team, Mary didn’t even get that. It was a real shame, because I thought she had what it takes to make it. Someday, the idea of a woman bringing a woman’s perspective to baseball broadcasting will be a tremendous innovation somewhere.”

She returned to Massachusetts, where she became an award-winning sportswriter covering the Celtics, before passing away at 42, on November 1, 1987.