Marge Schott was a woman who made history. She was the first woman to ever buy a Major League Baseball franchise when she purchased controlling interest in the Cincinnati Reds on December 21, 1984. Throughout her 15-year long tenure, she was a public face of the franchise for reasons good and bad. She was great with kids, signed autographs and kept tickets low, but also didn’t put much money back into the team, preferring instead to keep contracts low and deriding players who didn’t earn their keep.

As known as she is for buying the Reds, she’s also known for her controversial comments. Throughout her tenure, she made several negative remarks about Jews, African-Americans and homosexuals. MLB banned her from her role from 1996 through 1998 due to comments she made sympathizing with Hitler, and she sold her share in the team afterwards in 1999, partly due to rumors about a pending third suspension and the fact that she would soon be forced out of ownership by her partners. And thus, the Schott era was complete.

Despite her actions as president and CEO of the club, Schott has been given a few honors. The University of Cincinnati’s baseball field is named Marge Schott Stadium. The Stadium, which seats 3,085, also features indoor batting cages and pitcher’s mound, has a fully equipped press box, training room, clubhouses and lounge and dressing rooms. It was opened in 2004 and was largely supported by a section of Schott’s will which sent $2 million to UC.

Schott passed away in 2004 in the same city spent her entire life in. She was a very polarizing figure in the city, first being an example of a woman who “made it” in a man’s world, particularly as being the first woman to purchase a franchise; but also for the staggering number of controversies she was involved in during her tenure. The sporting world may not have been ready for a female owner like Schott in the late 20th century, but nevertheless, Schott truly is a pioneer, if not a martyr.