Amanda Clement

Amanda E. Clement

• School Yankton College, University of Nebraska

• Born March 20, 1888 in Hudson, SD USA
• Died July 20, 1971 in Sioux Falls, SD USA

Biographical Information

Amanda Clement was the first woman ever the be paid to umpire a baseball game. The famous first occurred in 1904 in Harden, IA, when she accompanied her brother, semi-pro player Hank Clement, to a game there when the umpire hired to work the game did not show up. She had often umpired sandlot games back in South Dakota, so her brother volunteered her to take over the officiating duties. Not only did she handle the situation quite well, but she became a full-time paid umpire, traveling all over the Midwest to work semi-pro games in return for enough money that she could put herself through college with her earnings. She built a reputation as an excellent umpire and could pick her chopice of games to work as a result, as she was in high demand. Her being a woman was an advantage, as players were less likely to use coarse language or make a show in disputing a call, as there was a strong expectation of them adopting a gentlemanly attitude towards respectable women.

She umpired about 50 games a season from 1904 to 1911, while studying at Yankton College and at the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1909. She played on the basketball team at Yankton and was reportedly one of its star players. She also refereed high school basketball games during that time, making her a pioneer in that field as well. After graduation, she worked as a high school teacher and also taught courses at the University of Wyoming. She quit working in 1929 to take care of her ill mother, and when she returned to the wirk force in 1934, it was as a social worker in Sioux Falls, SD. She retired in 1966 as the county's welfare supervisor, and passed away in Sioux City in 1971. In 1964, she was elected to the South Dakota sports Hall of Fame and in 2014 to the Yankton College alumni Hall of Fame.

Related Sites

• Amanda Clement at the SABR Bio Project