One Year: Mary Shane's Rookie Season

Summary

Slow Burn – One Year: Mary Shane's Rookie Season

Podcast: Slow Burn (Slate Podcasts)
Episode: One Year: Mary Shane's Rookie Season
Air Date: July 29, 2021
Host & Producer: Josh Levine

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Episode Overview

This episode of Slow Burn's "One Year" series revisits the 1977 rookie season of Mary Shane, the first woman to secure a full-time job as a Major League Baseball broadcaster. Through vivid storytelling, archival audio, and first-person interviews, the episode explores Shane’s breakthrough, the sexism she faced, her emotional journey through public scrutiny, and her enduring legacy. The narrative encapsulates both her struggles and triumphs, offering insight into the challenges of being a female pioneer in one of America’s most traditionally masculine professions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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The Underdog White Sox and Chicago's Baseball Identity

• The Chicago White Sox, a team rooted in working-class fandom, contrasts with the image of the more popular Cubs.
• The 1977 season began with little hope but quickly became one of the franchise's most exciting years. By July, the Sox were improbably in first place, leading to one of the season's most electric games: a doubleheader comeback in front of 50,000+ fans.
  [02:13 – 05:51]

Notable Quote:

"Woe be gone. It's like, what now? What can fall on our head today?"
— Bob Strunk, White Sox fan [02:13]

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Mary Shane’s Early Life and Path to Broadcasting

• Mary Shane grew up in Milwaukee, falling in love with baseball early. Societal expectations pushed her towards traditional roles. Personal tragedy—her sister’s death—rekindled her love for the sport and helped her push for her dream.
• She got her sports journalism start after winning a Brewers' trip at a PBS auction, then made her way to local radio, despite being doubted and dismissed as "too feminine."
  [07:33 – 12:38]

Notable Quote:

“You’ll never be one of the boys, Mary. You’re too feminine.”
— Brewers Announcer Merle Harmon, as recalled by Shane [11:20]

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Breaking Barriers in a Sexist Industry

• The 1970s presented significant obstacles for women in sports media. Shane, and others like Helene Elliott, faced skepticism, exclusion (especially from locker rooms), and open sexism in the press box.
  [12:38 – 14:21]

Notable Quote:

"When I told my guidance counselor in high school that I wanted to be a sports writer, she laughed at me."
— Helene Elliott, sportswriter [12:38]

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Mary Shane's Big Break

• Shane introduced herself to legendary broadcaster Harry Caray, who invited her on air. After multiple guest appearances, she was invited for the unprecedented opportunity to join the White Sox broadcast team.
• Her hiring drew national attention, seen by some as legitimate progress, by others as a gimmick. Owner Bill Veeck both praised her talent and acknowledged her marketing potential, noting women made up a third of baseball’s audience.
  [15:28 – 24:32]

Notable Quotes:

"Would you like to do this full time?"
— Harry Caray, to Mary Shane [19:01]

“I think they certainly are entitled to some representation.”
— Bill Veeck, White Sox owner [23:55]

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The Pressure of Representation and Gendered Criticism

• Despite the hype, Shane was only given a part-time role—35 games out of 162—and struggled to hit her stride. She constantly fought scrutiny over her voice, knowledge, and presence.
• Criticism poured in from fans and colleagues alike. She received advice to alter her voice to sound less “shrill,” and encountered resistance from a particular peer, Lauren Brown, who reportedly undermined her live on air. [30:13 – 34:44]

Notable Quotes:

“You learn how to do that. Broadcasting is an art…You cannot wander into the booth and sit there and all of a sudden open your mouth.”
— Susan Waldman, Yankees announcer [31:06]

“She would make a comment, and then Lauren Brown would say something like, 'Well, what Mary meant to say there was…' as if she was incapable of articulating her own thoughts.”
— Patrick Shane (Mary’s son) [34:17]

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Personal Struggles and Aftermath

• The professional toll intertwined with a crumbling marriage and the demands of single motherhood, making 1977 a personally hard year for Shane.
• She was eventually dropped from the broadcast team before the season ended and did not have her contract renewed.
  [34:44 – 38:44]

Notable Quotes:

"She would never say that because she was not a whiner at all, and she was not a victim. But I think in her heart for sure, she felt like she hadn't gotten a shot."
— Laura Shuett, Shane’s niece [38:07]

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Reinvention: Writing, Resilience, and Legacy

• Shane returned to teaching, but soon pivoted back to sports journalism, covering high school sports in Iowa and later the Boston Celtics for the Worcester Telegram. She fought for equal access in locker rooms and quietly mentored other women, including Jackie MacMullan.
• Shane’s second act as a writer was deeply fulfilling, insulated from the cruel focus on her voice. She broke stories—Larry Bird confided in her—and was respected by peers for her professionalism and tenacity.
• Health struggles ended her life at 42; her legacy continued through her memoir (unpublished, yet powerfully written) and the women she inspired.
  [38:44 – 45:43]

Notable Quotes:

"I think it was a field leveler for her. Sure, it said Mary Shane, but when they're reading it, they don't hear a woman reading it to them...she can write."
— Patrick Shane [43:15]

"If you’re not working, please be quiet and leave."
— Mary Shane (as recalled by Jackie MacMullan) [43:32]

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The Broader Picture: Women in Sports Broadcasting Today

• Decades later, women in the broadcast booth remain exceedingly rare. The 2021 all-woman crew for the Orioles marked a historic first, but Susan Waldman remains the only woman in a full-time MLB booth.
  [46:35 – 47:29]

Notable Quote:

“I've said many times I think I'm not accepted in this business. I am tolerated. And now I've been there so long that they can't get rid of me. They wouldn't blink an eye if every woman disappeared.”
— Susan Waldman [47:11]

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Mary Shane's Final Reflection

• The episode closes on Shane’s own words describing the solace and joy she found in baseball:

“I just remember the feeling of being at the ballpark, the hot dogs and the green grass...I kept hoping for extra innings. I didn't want the game to end.”
— Mary Shane (from her memoir) [48:02]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• The joy and pain of fandom: “Woe be gone. It's like, what now? What can fall on our head today?” — Bob Strunk [02:13]
• Facing institutional skepticism: “When I told my guidance counselor...she laughed at me.” — Helene Elliott [12:38]
• The false start of full equality: “She was asked to do the impossible...it was hard on her.” — Laura Shuett [34:44]
• A mother’s love and resilience: “She always pretended that I was part of the decision…with tears in my eyes, ‘yes, mom, we can do it.’” — Patrick Shane [39:25]
• Barriers remain: “I've said many times that I think I'm not accepted in this business. I am tolerated.” — Susan Waldman [47:11]
• The essence of Mary Shane: “I just remember the feeling of being at the ballpark…kept hoping for extra innings. I didn't want the game to end.” — Mary Shane [48:02]

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Important Segments (Timestamps)

• [02:13] White Sox fan culture & context
• [07:33] Mary Shane’s background & family expectations
• [12:38] Experiences of women in 1970s sports journalism
• [19:01] Shane’s big break: Audition & hiring
• [23:55] Team owner Bill Veeck’s motivations
• [30:13] Life in the broadcast booth & gendered criticism
• [34:44] Workplace sabotage & personal cost
• [38:44] After White Sox: Reinvention and sports journalism career
• [46:35] Women’s progress in sports broadcasting to present
• [48:02] Closing reflection: Baseball as solace

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Episode Takeaways

• Mary Shane broke an important barrier in baseball broadcasting, but did so in a system unprepared to support or evaluate her fairly.
• Her journey reflects both the possibilities and limits for women in sports media in the 1970s—a theme still relevant today.
• Despite setbacks, Shane’s passion, professionalism, and resilience left their mark not only on the game but on future generations of women in sports.
• Her final lesson: The magic of pursuing what you love, regardless of the odds or the world’s expectations.

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For those interested in the intersection of sports, gender, and resilience, this compelling episode offers inspiration and an unsparing look at both progress and persistent inequity.

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

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[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

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[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

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[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

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[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

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[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Hey slow burn listeners. Thanks for all your great feedback on our new show, One Year. We really appreciate it. The Slow Burn team is hard at work on Season six coming out this fall. In the meantime, we're going to drop a few more episodes here that we think you'll enjoy. If you like our show, the best way to follow One Year is in its own feed in your podcast app. You'll get all of our episodes as soon as they come out and plus bonus content you can't get anywhere else. Just search one Year from Slate on any podcast app. How would you describe the White Sox franchise for people that aren't familiar with it? Like, what's the experience like of being a White Sox fan?

[Narrator/Host]

Woe be gone. It's like, what now? What can fall on our head today?

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

That's Bob Strunk. He's a retired public defender and he's been rooting for the Chicago White Sox baseball team for more than 60 years, since 1959. From the point of view of a Die hard fan. The most important thing to understand about the White Sox is that they are not the Chicago Cubs.

[Narrator/Host]

The working class city people were the Sox fans, whereas the Cub fan is some creature that was dropped into the Chicago area that's all happy and giddy and you had a team actually marketing losing lovable losers. They'd feel part of some sort of cult, like a Save the Whales bunch to me.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The Cubs play on the north side of Chicago, an old timey Wrigley Field with its hand operated scoreboard and ivy covered outfield walls. The White Sox play on the south side. Their old stadium, Comiskey park, got demolished in 1991, which was maybe for the best.

[Narrator/Host]

Concrete falling, moldy smell. They had some silly rock concert there once where part of the upper deck was in flames. The place was falling apart for sure.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

One of the franchise's many low points came in 1976. The White Sox had the worst record in the American League and their badness was all encompassing. They couldn't hit and their pitching was even worse. When the Sox did make the national news, it was for their innovative uniforms.

[Narrator/Host]

We have a fashion and sports first to report tonight. What every well dressed member of the Chicago White Sox wore today was shorts. Dark blue shorts with of course, white socks.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

There was no good reason to expect that 1977 would go any better for the White Sox, but miraculously it did.

[Narrator/Host]

They were winning games, they were coming from behind and people were buying tickets. I've never seen the fans more jacked up than they were in 1977.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

At the end of July, the Sox were in first place and their toughest opponents were coming to town for a big weekend series. Bob Strunk was in the left field bleachers.

[Narrator/Host]

Here come the Kansas City Royals in their favor to win the division. And the place was jammed Friday nights. Forget about it. We were buying beer by the case out there. I don't know how many runs Kansas City scored in the first inning. Kansas City had a big lead and the White Sox overcame it and won the game.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The Sox came back to win on Saturday too. On the last day of the series. On Sunday, July 31, more than 50,000 fans packed into Comiskey park for a doubleheader.

[Narrator/Host]

This is banner day today. Loads of folks with their banners that they'll be parading between ball games and they would be happier doing it. After a White Sox victory in game.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

One of that doubleheader, the Sox were on the verge of Defeat. Down by two runs in the bottom.

[Narrator/Host]

Of the 10th inning, right hander ready. The two strike pitch. Here's a 20 to long drive. Way back, way back. It is no river blood up to Red Harbor. The game is all tied up. I swear it was magical. It was electric. It was just a feeling that you never really experienced before.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

And the rally wasn't over yet.

[Narrator/Host]

Here's a swing and a shot. Face him. Here comes the running around. Here's the throttle of the plate. Mannerhomes coming in. Back win. Back win. Back win. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

That was Lauren Brown on the radio call. But you may have noticed another voice in the background a few seconds later. That broadcaster got her moment.

[Narrator/Host]

I tell you, these Royals must be demoralized. I have never in my life seen anything like it. It's the most fantastic showing I've ever seen.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The voice you just heard belonged to the first woman to get a real job as a major league announcer. Her name was Mary sheen. For feminists, 1977 was a thrilling time. The Equal Rights Amendment was close to getting ratified. The National Women's Conference hosted rollicking debates on civil rights, gay rights and abortion. And individual women were getting all kinds of new opportunities. NASA recruited its first class of women astronauts. The Episcopal Church in the United States ordained its first official woman priest. And on the south side of Chicago at Comiskey Park, a woman became a sportscasting pioneer. Mary Shane was an underdog, and her rise to prominence shocked the baseball world. In 1977, she was trying to carve out space for herself and for all women in one of America's most sexist industries.

[Narrator/Host]

In this country, any kind of change is fought.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I had the firm belief that they set women up to fail.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

Hey, you're in the big leagues now, kid. You gotta stand on your own.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

I'm Josh Levine, and this is one year, 1977, Mary Shane's rookie season. At 9 years old, Mary Shane knew what she wanted to do when she grew up.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

My dream was to play second bass. Yes. When I was a kid, I was convinced by the time I grew up they would have a woman playing second base.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

There was one rather large obstacle blocking her path to the majors. She didn't actually play baseball as a girl in Milwaukee in the 1950s. She was never given the opportunity. But that didn't stop Mary from falling in love with the sport. In 1957, her dad got them tickets to Game 5 of the World Series. The Milwaukee Braves versus the New York Yankees.

[Narrator/Host]

These fans are buzzing here at the stadium. Now Burdette's into the wind up. And the 02 pitch. I put you to the Wilson.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

That Monday afternoon was one of the highlights of Mary's young life. But less than a decade after the Braves won the title, the franchise left Milwaukee for Atlanta. Without a team to root for, Mary's fandom started to fade. She was in her early 20s by then and more conscious of what the world expected of young women. For Mary and her older sister, Pat, a lot of those expectations came from their mother. Here's Pat's daughter, Laura Shuett.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

She felt that both my mother and Mary had two choices. One would be to be a secretary, and one would be to be a teacher.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

When Mary graduated from college, she followed her mother's blueprint. She got a job teaching high school history, married her college boyfriend, and gave birth to a son. For a while, everything was going according to plan. But then, in 1974, Mary's sister got in a very bad car accident. At first, it looked like Pat was going to recover. But within days, she fell into a coma, and a few weeks after that, she slipped away. When Pat died, Mary fell into a deep despair. The only thing that helped, even for a little while, was baseball. By then, Milwaukee had a new team. The brewers weren't any good, but Shane didn't mind. She wrote about those days in a memoir that's never been published.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Something happened to me at the ballpark. For the first time since Pat's death, I felt a sense of peace. I went to another game, secretly afraid that it wouldn't work again, but it did. When I tried to analyze what was happening, I couldn't. It didn't make any sense. But then, neither did anything else.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

With her love of baseball rekindled, Shane thought about all the childhood dreams she'd cast aside. Growing up, she'd wanted to be a sports reporter, but it had never seemed like a practical option. And now, with no experience as a journalist and a small child at home, she didn't know where to start. What she needed was a little nudge. Permission to take the first step. That opening came from a surprising place. Let's have those bids coming. Keep them coming, folks. An auction on a local PBS station. Item on this table is 24 model airplanes. One of the items up for bidding was an all access road trip with the Brewers. The announcer described it as a great opportunity for a boy and his father. Shane's husband suggested the two of them put in a bid. They did. $1,200. And they won. Shane had written a few articles for a suburban Milwaukee newspaper, but this was her chance to be a real reporter, to Follow the team, interview the players, and put together a story. The trip didn't go as she'd hoped. Despite all the access she'd been promised, she struggled to get anyone to talk at the hotel pool. She asked the brewer's announcer, Merle Harmon, for advice. You'll never be one of the boys, Mary, he told her. You're too feminine. When she got back home, she typed up an article that included Harmon's dismissive comment. The piece got rejected by an editor at the Milwaukee Journal. He said she'd never truly understand the life of a baseball player on the road. But Shane did manage to get a version of the piece published in Women's Sports, a magazine launched by feminist icon Billie Jean King. Shane felt jubilant, and not long after, she decided to go for it. She was going to quit her teaching job and become a freelance sportswriter. For a woman in the 1970s, the idea of a career in sports journalism was considered outlandish. Helene Elliott learned that firsthand.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

When I told my guidance counselor in high school that I wanted to be a sports writer, she laughed at me, and she said, come on. Pick something you can reasonably expect to do.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Elliot didn't listen to that guidance counselor. In 1977, she got a job at the Chicago Sun Times.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I would pick up the phone and I'd say, hello, Sun Times Sports. And there'd be a pause, and the voice at the other end would say, let me speak to somebody who knows something. We were treated differently in the press box. I mean, I remember covering a football game at the University of Illinois. And at each writer's seat was a pile of press notes, you know, statistics, and my seat had nothing.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Mary Shane got her first job by walking into a Milwaukee radio station and asking to see the sports director. It was 1975. Her first assignment was a feature on the Marquette University cheerleaders. She got $4. Shane was happy to have the work, but she wasn't quite living her dream. She wanted to cover baseball. Shane's bosses at the radio station doubted she could do the job. The Milwaukee brewers didn't allow women in their locker room. That meant a woman reporter would have trouble getting quotes on deadline. But Shane convinced the station to give her a shot. She wrote about that tryout in her memoir.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

On opening day, 1976, I was on the field at County Stadium with my microphone. I've never taken any drugs, so I can't be sure, but I don't think anyone was ever higher than I was that day. I gloried in it for about Two minutes. Then the pressure hit. The quotes. The quotes. I had to get the quotes.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

After the game, Shane raced back and forth, grabbing players as they exited the home and visitors locker rooms. She got a ton of interviews, but missed out on the losing manager, the Yankees Billy Martin. Desperate not to fail, she drove to the team's hotel and tracked down Martin at the bar. He was annoyed. Usually I don't answer questions after I leave the ballpark, he told her. But he answered a few for her. Shane's bosses were impressed. She got the job. Now Mary Shane was doing what she wanted to do. She was at the ballpark every day with her microphone asking questions.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

There were times when I resented the fact that I had to work twice as hard as the male reporters while they were home relaxing after filing their stories. I was still racing around the deserted concourses of County Stadium. But I loved it. I couldn't imagine a better job. Though I was often still at the radio station fighting the balky machines at 2am and had to be up at 7 with my 2 year old son, I was rarely tired. I couldn't wait to get back to the ballpark.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Shane's determination had brought her a long way in a short amount of time. Given how far she'd come, getting a full time job in sports journalism felt like a dream fully realized. But her life was about to change in a totally unexpected way. It all started when she got noticed by the most famous announcer in all of baseball.

[Narrator/Host]

Holy cow.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

We'll be back in a minute. Even when the White Sox were at their absolute worst, they still had one thing going for them. Hey.

[Narrator/Host]

Everybody, take me out to the ball game.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Harry Cary would become a national icon in the 80s as an announcer for the Cubs. But Carey was with the White Sox first. And on the south side of Chicago, he was an enormous star. Bob's drunk again.

[Narrator/Host]

First of all, in Harry Carey's mind, he's going to market himself. Now this is Harry Carey wishing you all a very pleasant good evening, repeating the final score, Minnesota 13, the White Sox 6. Secondly, he's going to sell beer Strodes family brewers from more than 200 years. And thirdly, he's going to try to sell tickets, which he did. Well, it'll be a double header and it'll be helmet day. And youngsters, if you're accompanied by a paid adult, you'll receive free a Chicago White Sox batting helmet.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Kerry called Sox games on television and radio. But he didn't just connect with the fans at home at the ballpark, he'd wave his beer at the adoring crowd and dip a fishnet into the stands to collect messages to read on the air.

[Narrator/Host]

Bruce and Leanne Knitz from Stevensville, Michigan, celebrating their second wedding anniversary, their cousins. Here's a pitch popped up.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Kerry drew energy from being close to his adoring public. Sometimes he even broadcast games from the stands. He did just that on June 8, 1976, when the White Sox played the brewers at Milwaukee's County Stadium. Mary Shane was at the ballpark that day, doing her job as a radio reporter. Before the first pitch, she walked over and introduced herself to Kerry. He smiled, then asked, what's a girl like you doing in the press box? Before too long, he had another question. Would you like to come on the air with me? It's not clear what exactly Carrie was thinking, whether this was a real audition or if he just saw a woman in the press box and asked her to join him on a lark. But regardless of his intentions, it was an extraordinary moment. Only a handful of women had ever gotten the chance to broadcast a big league sporting event in the 1970s. There wasn't much history for Mary Shane to draw on, or any template for her to follow. But Shane didn't hesitate. She told Carrie she'd love to go on the air with him.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I was scared, of course, but I guess those months of approaching athletes had given me a confidence I hadn't really known was there. And Harry made it so easy that we could have been talking at a corner bar. I was overwhelmed with his mastery of an extraordinarily difficult job. I was overwhelmed with him, and I'd never had more fun in my life.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The next day, Carrie told Shane some good news. The radio station in Chicago had liked what they had heard from her. He invited her to sit in a second time. And then a few months later, Kerry asked Shane to make a third appearance. When that game was finished, he said there was a chance this could turn into something bigger, that the men who ran the White Sox were looking to add another broadcaster. And then he asked her, would you like to do this full time? No woman had ever gotten that kind of opportunity, and Mary Shane wasn't about to turn it down. She told him, I'd rather do this than anything on earth. Mary Shane had built a fledgling career in sports journalism without getting much encouragement. She'd fought through slights and degradation that her male colleagues never had to face. But now everything looked different. She was 31 years old, and she'd reached the pinnacle. A former teacher from Milwaukee was going to announce Baseball games on radio and television.

[Narrator/Host]

Patrick Shane is three years old. Patrick's daddy is a security broker. He works with the stocks. And Patrick Shane's mummy has a job.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Too, because I gotta do my radio work in Florida.

[Narrator/Host]

Remember, she works with the Sox.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

In 1977, Mary Shane, the rookie announcer, was a very big story. She got profiled in newspapers and magazines across the country and featured by CBS and NBC. Some outlets treated her as a curiosity, a working mother and a man's game. Others focused on how she looked. One piece, written by an ex major leaguer was headlined Beauty in the Booth. A decade earlier, a young woman named Betty K. Wood had been looked at in a similar way on the game show what's My Line? A group of celebrity panelists puzzled over what her profession might possibly be.

[Narrator/Host]

Ms. K. Wood, do your very obvious good looks have anything at all to do with your job?

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I don't think so, Ms. Francis.

[Narrator/Host]

Thank you, Ms. K. Would it be possible for a man to do what you do? Yes, as a matter of fact. Do you know that there are men.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Doing what you do? Yes, ma'.

[Narrator/Host]

Am.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Are there more men than women doing what you do?

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

May I have a quick one? There's a girl been hired by the fellow who owns the Kansas City baseball team. Are you the girl? Yes. Betty.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Betty K. Wood broadcast a handful of Games in 1964. After that, she never worked as a sportscaster again, going into the 1977 season. That was the big question about Mary Shane. Did the White Sox think of her as a legitimate broadcaster or did she get hired as a stunt, just like Betty K. Would? A lot had changed since 1964. Title IX gave millions of girls and women the chance to play sports. In high school and college, a woman ran the Boston Marathon and rode a horse in the Kentucky Derby. Jane Chastain became the first woman commentator on an NFL game. And Billie Jean King triumphed in tennis. Battle of the sexes.

[Narrator/Host]

Excitement engendered all over the country. Equality for women, equal rights.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The owner of the White Sox, Bill Veeck, was a civil rights champion in 1947, when Veck owned the Cleveland Indians. He'd signed the first black player in the American League just a few months after Jackie Robinson integrated the majors. But Vac was also a true capitalist, and he had the soul of a carnival barker. His most famous stunt came in 1951 when he hired a little person as a pinch hitter.

[Narrator/Host]

His strike zone was said to measure 1 1/2 inches. Veeck told Goodell that a man in the stands with a high Powered rifle.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

Would shoot him if he swung at a pitch.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Eddie Goodell didn't swing. He walked in. His only played appearance that day, Veck's St. Louis Browns drew their biggest home crowd in years. In the 1970s, Veck talked about the White Sox as a team for the common man, a perpetual loser that was way overdue for a bunch of big wins.

[Narrator/Host]

Once in a while, the have nots rise up and smite the mighty right in the puss. You don't really think I would have invested my last dollar if I thought.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

That this was gonna be a dog. The White Sox owner insisted that his new announcer wasn't a gimmick. He said that Mary Shane got the job because she was intelligent and articulate and did her homework. But he also described her as very attractive and as a potential boon to the team's marketing efforts. Veeck pointed out that more than a third of the fans at baseball games are women. He said, I think they certainly are entitled to some representation.

[Narrator/Host]

He'd do anything to sell tickets, and I loved him for it.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

That's Charlie Warner. He was the general manager of wmaqam, the radio station that broadcasts Chicago White Sox games.

[Narrator/Host]

Knowing Beck as the greatest promoter in baseball history, I mean, he wanted to promote women, yes, but he wanted to sell tickets.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Mary Shane heard all the speculation about why she'd been hired, and she had her own questions about the team's motivations. Shane's niece, Laura Shuett, says her aunt did everything she could to be seen as a real announcer.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

They wanted her to pose holding a bat, wearing a baseball cap in a cutesy manner. And she was like, but that's not what I'm doing. I'm a sportscaster. I'm not the mascot. So, no, I'm not gonna do that. She thought, I was hired for a job, and I'm gonna do my best. And if somebody thinks it's a gimmick, I guess that's up to them. But that's not how she viewed it for even a second.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Shane told one writer that she'd already composed the first line of her opening day broadcast. Hi, this is petite blonde Mary Shane. She wasn't serious. As she put it, there's too much at stake to fool around. Shane talked about the pressure she felt to prove that she and other women could handle this job. Outside of those guest spots with Harry Cary, she didn't have much experience as a game broadcaster. And so, as the 1977 season approached, she tried to learn the rhythms of announcing by calling girls high school Basketball games. For Shane, the White Sox spring training camp in Sarasota, Florida was her only real chance to learn on the job. She'd sit in the stands during exhibition games doing play by play into a tape recorder, then listen back to understand the mistakes she made. But in 1977, Shane didn't have the luxury of privacy. A big crew from CBS followed her around on her first day in Sarasota, flashing a light meter in her face and saying, pretend we're not here. Those cameras captured a snippet of Shane's first broadcast, a practice game that became very public.

[Narrator/Host]

We've got the bottom half of the.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Third inning now, and Chet Lemon is facing Doc Medic.

[Narrator/Host]

He hits a line drive to right field and it's going to go to.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

The fence and he'll be around first.

[Narrator/Host]

Base, loses his helmet, trips there a bit. He'll go into second easily and he's going to keep going. A good throw will not catch him.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

As he slides in head first.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

As she called that first game, Shane felt her throat constrict and her hands start to shake. She had no, no idea how she was doing. And Harry Carey didn't give her any clues. When it was over, she felt overcome with fear. All she could do was get up, walk out of the booth and say, see you tomorrow. Let's take a quick break. When Mary Shane went back north after spring training, she couldn't have imagined she'd be calling games for a first place team. The way Bob's drunk remembers it, the expectations at Comiskey park were extraordinarily low.

[Narrator/Host]

77, I think they lost the first game and the pitching was atrocious and the defense was laughable. I mean, you had Ellen Bannister at shortstop. He'd catch a two bouncer, you'd breathe a sigh of relief until he went to throw it and he'd throw it into the stands.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

On the plus side, the White Sox did have a bunch of new players. And as the season got going, Strunk couldn't believe what he was seeing.

[Narrator/Host]

All of a sudden they've got all this power. They've got Richie Zisk, they've got Oscar Gamble, they've got Eric Soderholm, and they're all hitting home runs.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The 77 Sox became known as the south side hitmen, and the fans absolutely loved them.

[Narrator/Host]

There's a baseball madness in Chicago. You begin to understand it at Comiskey park, where enthusiasm is so great that even the appearance of the Chicago White Sox demands a standing ovation.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

So that's Where Mary Shane found herself in 1977 in one of the most high profile gigs in sports in one of the most baseball mad towns in America.

[Narrator/Host]

Hi again everybody. Mary Shane at the ballpark. We're going into the bottom of the third Inn amongst all the cheering and the White Sox are trailing one to nothing.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The five foot three Shane had to perch herself on a briefcase atop her chair to see over the edge of the broadcast booth. She sat within arm's length of a big stack of paper notes and statistics on the home team and the visitors.

[Narrator/Host]

That's hitting.299 coming into the game, which isn't bad, but it doesn't begin to compare with the way he was hitting last season.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Shane had a lot to keep track of and a lot to do. She worked on both radio and TV during the same game, dashing from one booth to the other. She also alternated between play by play and color commentary. One inning, she'd take the lead in describing the action.

[Narrator/Host]

One ball, two strikes, nobody on and one out for Steve Stone.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Here's the one.

[Narrator/Host]

Two pitch. Hits a long fly ball towards left field. Ralph Car going back. He's at the warning track and he gets it. Two out.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

An inning later she'd chime in to support Harry Cary as he took over.

[Narrator/Host]

Boy, Mary, this guy's making our hitters look bad. So far. I remember him from a long time ago. He was with Milwaukee. As you know, it's the Atlas. Guy's been around. I've never seen him look this good.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

It On July 31st with the White Sox in first place, the crowd was in high spirits and the broadcasters sounded blissful.

[Narrator/Host]

There's a T shirt and it reads the Cubs stink. Hello again everybody. Harry Terry with Mary Shane. We're going into the top of the fort. How you been, Mary? Just fine, Harry. You look as though you've been well driving as usual. Great, Siri. Oh yeah.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The truth was Mary Shane was having a hard time. Harry Carey had asked Shane if she wanted to be a full time broadcaster. But when the official job offer came, it was a part time deal. The White Sox played 162 games in 1977, but Shane broadcast only 35 of them. She'd sometimes go weeks without appearing on the air.

[Narrator/Host]

While I have a chance, I want to thank all those nice fans who've been writing me letters recently asking why I'm not on more but actually are sending those letters to the wrong person because I can't do anything about it. So if you feel that way, send them to the people in charge. But thank you in any case, for your thought. I do appreciate it.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Without calling games regularly, Shane found it impossible to get into any kind of groove.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Harry Carey didn't all of a sudden get born, and he was Harry Carey.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

That's Susan Waldman. She's an announcer for the New York Yankees.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

You learn how to do that. You learn how to pace yourself. You learn how to watch the game. Broadcasting is an art. It's like learning to act. It's like learning to sing. You have to practice. You cannot wander into the booth and sit there and all of a sudden open your mouth.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

When Shane did open her mouth, she got flack, no matter what she said. Her niece, Laura Shuett, she was criticized.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

For her voice, and so she went to a voice coach and tried to actually lower or change her voice.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Shane's boss at the radio station, Charlie Warner, said that she took those voice lessons because she was worried about sounding shrill.

[Narrator/Host]

You know how male baseball fans are. I got more calls than letters, but the calls were, you know, from older guys. Get that woman off. She's terrible. She didn't know baseball. To me, I'm young. I didn't care if she was a woman. She was just trying to call a baseball game.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Bob Strunk thinks Chicago sports fans have bad taste in broadcasters. He says they only want to listen to homers, announcers who cheer on the home team to an embarrassing degree. And that was something Mary Shane refused to do.

[Narrator/Host]

She wouldn't go to extremes in telling little white lies to fans. You know, the only reason we lost was because of the umpires. She didn't do any of that stuff.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Helene Elliott of the Chicago Sun Times thought Shane was incredibly courageous. Elliott also knew from experience how hard it was to be a pioneer, but she didn't think that every critique of Shane's announcing work was motivated by sexism. In 1977, Eliot wrote that Shane was solid and capable, but no more than that. The headline of her Sun Times column, mary Shane, where's the oomph?

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

She really didn't have time to grow into the job. If she had had more time to develop her style and her personality and more experience in the chair, she might have become more interesting and exciting and absorbing. But at that point, she really wasn't.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

All this outside criticism was tough for Shane to deal with. The treatment she got in the broadcast booth was even more difficult to handle. As the year went on, Shane came to believe that one of her colleagues was sabotaging her. Not Harry Carey, but a lesser known Member of the White Sox broadcast team, Lauren Brown.

[Narrator/Host]

Lauren Brown and Mary Shane back at Comiskey park as we go to the second inning. No score in the ball game.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Whether it be demeaning or cheap shots, any chance he got to put her down, he would.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Brown's behavior was pretty obvious. One Chicago columnist wrote that he left Shane high and dry in the booth. Lauren Brown died in 2010. He started with the White Sox one year before Shane did. It's possible that he saw her as an interloper, that he felt threatened by her. Mary Shane's son Patrick was just 4 years old in 1977. But when he got older, his mother told him about her workplace nemesis.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

She would tell me stories about. She would make a comment, and then Lauren Brown would say something like, well, what Mary meant to say there was as if she was incapable of articulating her own thoughts.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

As Shane struggled at work, her life at home wasn't much of a safe harbor. Her relationship with her husband had started to fall apart before the 1977 season. By the end of that year, they'd split up. Shane's niece, Laura, was one of her closest confidants during that difficult time.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

You have to cross the T's and dot the I's and be perfect. And even when you're perfect, that's not good enough. When you put someone who is so much of a perfectionist and wants to do her best and basically feels like there's no other way to be, it really was torture. She was asked to do the impossible, and it was hard on her.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The only Mary Shane broadcast we've been able to track down is the one from July 31, 1977. That was the game when the White Sox stormed back to beat the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the 10th inning. It was one of the most thrilling moments of the 77 season and of Mary Shane's announcing career.

[Narrator/Host]

The totals for the Royals, four runs on 90th, one. One error for the white shots. Five runs on six fifths and no airs. And you can hear the fans sing, we're number one. Let's listen to him.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The broadcast ended a few moments later. Lauren Brown was on the microphone talking over Mary Shane's last words.

[Narrator/Host]

Oh, we gotta give you the totals and everything. Do we have a commercial so we can take a breath?

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

Oh.

[Narrator/Host]

You gave. The tunnels are out of three. Sox went at five to four. Unbelievable. I still don't believe it.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

The White Sox dream season didn't last. They fell out of first place in August and finished 12 games out of the playoffs, Mary Shane's time as a broadcaster would be short lived, too. White Sox owner Bill Veck seemed to lose interest in Shane as the season went on. Before the year was done, VEC pulled her from the team's television broadcasts. Shane's radio time would get cut, too. After Charlie Warner left the station to take a job in New York, Mary.

[Narrator/Host]

Shane was not a hit. Being a play by play sports announcer is really, really hard, and Mary Shane simply didn't have it.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

So do you regret throwing her into this situation? No, I don't regret it.

[Narrator/Host]

I'd do it again.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

A 1977 study by a Yale sociology professor showed that women in white collar jobs were viewed less as individuals than representatives of their gender. That women were always noticed on the job but rarely rewarded for their achievements. That male colleagues and customers forgot women's credentials but remembered how they dressed. The men who ran the White Sox gave Mary Shane an opportunity, but they didn't change baseball's culture or recognized their own biases. They dropped an inexperienced woman broadcaster into a man's world, then blamed her when she wasn't an instant success. When Shane didn't get offered a new contract after the 1977 season, Harry Carrey told a reporter that he felt sorry that she wouldn't be back. He explained that Shane was knowledgeable, but people objected to her voice. Carrie described that voice as annoying and whining. Mary Shane told the press that she did the best she could and that she had no regrets. Did she feel like she'd gotten a real shot?

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I don't think so.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Laura Shuett.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

She would never say that because she was not a whiner at all and she was not a victim. But I think in her heart for sure, she felt like she hadn't gotten a shot.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

We'll be back in a minute. Patrick Shane remembers his mother's two voices, her real one and the one she used on the air so she'd sound less shrill to male baseball fans.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

As a kid, I was like, I don't like that voice. It sounds fake. You know, we made a game of it. I'd be like, talk like Mary now. Talk like that other lady. It wasn't who she was.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

When her time with the White Sox ended, Shane auditioned for an on air role with CBS in New York. But she didn't get the job. She'd upended her life to pursue a crazy dream, and now it seemed like that dream was over. Shane got back on her old path, teaching high school in suburban Milwaukee. She found Some comfort in that life. It felt more normal and more secure. But Shane could never be truly happy playing it safe. She wanted to do what she loved. She wanted to get back into sports writing.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

I don't know if it's sadistic or what it is, but all she wanted to do was be in this place where no one wanted her. So, you know, I was like, 8 years old or whatever. She always pretended that I was part of the decision. And she'd say, patrick, is it cool with you if we move to Iowa and I cover Illinois, Iowa, high school sports, you know, And I would say, of course, you know, with tears in my eyes, yes, mom, we can do.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

You know, I thought it was really kind of dumb. I was like, jesus Christ, you're gonna move to frigging the quad cities in Iowa and cover the what? The who? What?

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Shane took a job as a reporter at the moline dispatch. Her mother moved with her to help take care of patrick. As a single mom with a demanding job, Shane needed all the support she could get.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

Everything was just really minor league. You know, it was freeze. Freezing cold. Sometimes there was only room for her on top of the press box, so she'd have to sit outside. I don't think there were many women in that area that expressed any interest in sports. So she was kind of, like, flown in from the outside. This, like, alien species they'd never seen.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

After two and a half years in the quad cities, Mary Shane and her family relocated again. It was that move to cover the Boston celtics for the Worcester telegram that brought Shane back to the big leagues. Not long after, she got assigned to the pro basketball beat, the Celtics won the 1984 NBA title. What are some of your memories around her? Actually engaged in the practice of doing her work.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

A lot of times I would tag along with her, and then I would sit outside the press room while she finished her story. And then I'd be allowed to go in and get, like, one slice of pizza. I understood very early on that when she was working, that's what she was doing. And I was to respect that time.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

In the NBA in the mid-1980s, Mary Shane was once again a pioneer. There was only one other woman usually.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Besides me, and that was Mary Shane. And Mary Shane was there first.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

That's Jackie mcmullen back then. She wrote about the celtics for the Boston globe.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I don't ever remember talking to her about how tough it is to be a woman in the business. I don't think any of us talked about that, because you didn't Have a choice.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

You were a woman.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

You were in the business. Do your job. And that's how Mary approached it. And that's very quickly how I learned to approach it.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

At first, the celtics barred Shane from going inside their locker room, just as the Milwaukee brewers had done in the 1970s. While her male colleagues had free rein, Shane had to ask the players to join her in a tiny closet loaded with duffel bags and basketballs. But shane didn't let that unfairness deter her. She just kept coming to work. And thanks to her, the celtics eventually changed their locker room policy. Mary Shane was finally getting treated as an equal. Jackie mcmullen benefited from the access that Shane fought for. She also took lessons from how Shane did her work. I mean, what I learned from Mary.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Was professionalism and doing your job without any hidden agenda and always showing up whether you wrote something good or bad or indifferent, and just treating people with the respect that you hoped that they would treat you with.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

In 1985, Larry Bird busted his hand, reportedly in a bar fight. That injury to the celtics biggest star probably tanked their title chances. It was the biggest story of the season, and bird refused to talk about it until he opened up to marry Shane. Bird told her that he didn't want to be the guy everyone expects to be perfect. He also talked about disappointing his mother and feeling isolated in Boston. He let Shane and her readers know who he really was. Covering the celtics was everything Mary Shane had hoped sports journalism would be. She was a trusted colleague, not a gimmick. Her voice carried weight, and she didn't need to worry about how it sounded.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

I think it was a field leveler for her. Sure, it said mary shane, but when they're reading it, they don't hear a woman reading it to them. And it allowed people that would probably have objected to that to just say, you know what? Hey, she can write.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

You know, we'd be in usually pretty small spaces, all on deadline, writing.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

And sometimes some of the guys were.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Let'S just say, more blustery than others. And I do remember once Mary turning around saying, if you're not working, please be quiet and leave. And I was like, you go, Mary.

[Narrator/Host]

I was too young to even attempt.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

To say anything like that.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Shane was devoted to her job and her family and pretty much nothing else.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

She made a huge effort to take me to sporting events when she wasn't covering them. And I felt honored that she would go to sporting events in her free time so that I might have a cool experience with her. And the reality is that she probably enjoyed it as much, if not more than I did.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

One thing Mary Shane did not excel at was taking care of herself in order.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

It was Diet Coke, Merit, Ultralight, and then whatever was the fastest way to inhale food that would keep her alive.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I think she just pushed herself and pushed herself and just never would rest like she should.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

During her time at the Worcester Telegram, Shane started having problems with her heart. She'd faint sometimes and she lost a lot of weight. Laura Shuett again.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

And I remember we went clothes shopping, nothing would fit her so we had to go to the kids clothing area. And then she was like, oh, I can't. And then she just wanted to go home.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

On the morning of November 3, 1987, Shane was getting ready to interview the tennis star Chris Evert. When she didn't come downstairs, her mother went to check on her. She found Mary dead in the bathtub. The cause of death was a brain aneurysm. Mary Shane was 42 years old and.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

Everything that I knew, you know, just had immediately vanished because she was kind of my lodestone in life and when that goes away, you know, the level of uncertainty for a 14 year old kid was pretty overwhelming.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

She was somebody who inspired me and showed how strong someone could be with impossible expectations. And I feel like I could never measure up to her, but I sure, I sure did try.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

It's been almost 34 years since Mary Shane died and 44 years since her one season with the Chicago White Sox.

[Patrick Shane / Other Family Members]

It was an incredible opportunity for her to sink or swim and maybe she didn't swim but I think what's important is that after that happened she regrouped and came back to her love of sports and found success elsewhere. The fact that she went after what she wanted is amazing. You know, I didn't really go after necessarily what I wanted in my life so it's, I think her accomplishments are more profound but I mean she made me proud, she included me in things. You know, it's just hard, right? You have this idyllic childlike view of your mother, which is perfection. And it just, it's been hard to reconcile that with everyone else in the world that I've ever met.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

On July 20, 2021, a team of five women broadcasters called the Baltimore Orioles game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the first all woman on air crew in major league history.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

Shawn Anderson comes outside and lau works a 31 count. And you see with the pitch sequence I mentioned we're really just going to see slayers and for seamers from him and that's been the case.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

But all these years, since Mary Shane made her debut, women announcers are still a rarity. Susan Waldman, who's in her 17th season calling Yankees games, remains the only woman who's in a major league broadcast booth full time.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

I've said many times that I think I'm not accepted in this business. I am tolerated. And now I've been there so long that they can't get rid of me. They wouldn't blink an eye if every woman disappeared. And it's not. I don't even know if it's sexism. Maybe they're just more comfortable with a male voice.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Mary Shane sent her memoir to a publisher and an agent in 1981. They both rejected it, saying they didn't think it would sell. Her son Patrick sent me a copy recently. It's incomplete. It ends on page 113 in the middle of a sentence, but Shane's voice still comes through very clearly. I keep returning to the same short passage about the solace baseball gave her when her sister died. They booted balls, they threw wildly, they stumbled on the base paths, she wrote of the Milwaukee Brewers.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

But it didn't matter. I don't even remember who they played. I just remember the feeling of being at the ballpark, the hot dogs and the green grass and the throw around the infield after a strikeout. And I remember that I kept hoping for extra innings. I didn't want the game to end.

[Narrator/Host]

I tell you, you gotta be here to believe this. I wish everybody listening could be here to enjoy this. It's fantastic. I love it.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Slate plus members get to hear this show and every Slate podcast without any ads, and they'll never hit a paywall on slate.com if you join Slate plus, you'll also be supporting the work we do here, and we'll have some more members. Only episodes for one year coming out later this season. It's only $1 for the first month, so please sign up at slate.com oneyearplus next time on One Year 1977. A family believes that a cancer drug called Laetril is their best chance to save their son's life. But the medical establishment calls Leotrille dangerous quackery. I never encountered anyone who would not.

[Narrator/Host]

Treat their child as aggressively or as necessary if there was any remote chance of cure. Never crossed my mind that such people existed on the face of the earth.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

One Year is produced by me and Evan Chung, with editorial direction by Lo and Liu and Gabriel Roth. Madeline Ducharme is One Year's assistant producer. You can send us feedback and ideas and memories from [e-mail] we'd love to hear from you. Our mix engineer is Merritt Jacob. The artwork for One Year is by Jim Cook, Dana Stevens was the voice of Mary Shane, and special thanks to Nancy Foust, Leslie Visser, Jason Benetti, Amy Driscoll, Chris Kamka, Dave Marin, Jenny Kavanar, John Guerin, Jeff Twiss, Mark Liptak, Josh Mabe, Maria Veeck, Ivan Albertson, Scott Diener, Jared Holt, June Thomas, Sung Park, Katie Rayford, Asha Soluja, Amber Smith, Seth Brown, Rachel Strom and Chow Tu. Thanks for listening. We'll be back with more from 1977 next week.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

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[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

This cold, curl up with a snack.

[Mary Shane / Laura Shuett / Various Interviewees]

That'S cozy and delicious, like my Mochi ice Cream. My Mochi is scoops of premium ice.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

Cream wrapped in soft dough with delicious.

[Narrator/Host]

Flavors like strawberry and mango. It's creamy on the inside and chewy on the outside, and only 70 calories a piece. Grab a warm blanket and snuggle up.

[Josh Levine (Producer/Narrator)]

With a purple box of my Mochi ice cream today.

[Narrator/Host]

It's the perfect wintertime treat.