“Lady in the Locker Room”

Stars of the ’80s, era of big hair and shoulder pads: Storm Davis, Bob Welch, me, Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley.

I thought I was finished with newspapers when I wrote this memoir in 1993. Some might call it an expose; I consider it a scrapbook of the life and challenges of women covering sports in the days when it was a rarity and not a requirement to see a woman patrolling the sidelines for the network NFL telecast. Now Hollywood is developing the story for a motion picture. It is now a so-called “period piece.”

The reactions that came from my fellow journalists have been mostly positive, though a few holier-than-thou scribes thought I had way more fun than was appropriate or professional. Cheers. The reactions from the people I covered, well, honestly, I am not sure how many of them actually read the book. Peace.

You can still find copies of the out-of-print original hardback on Amazon.com and with online booksellers, but now you can read a brand new updated edition via Amazon or (for all eBook formats) Smashwords.

The reviews

“The very human, honest, charming story of what it’s like to be a sportswriter working the baseball beat-Fornoff writes with a terrific sense of humor.”

— The Forum of Baseball Literary Opinion

“Congratulations! You hit this one over the center field fence. Cheers.”
— Lesley Visser

“Witty, insightful, articulate. If you have a daughter, let her read it. If you have a son, make him read it.”
— Tacoma News Tribune

“An entertaining yet sobering description of the life and challenges of a female sportswriter, with insights into the Oakland Athletics and other professional teams. Recommended for most collections.”
— Library Journal

“A fun book, entertaining and well-written.”
— South Bend Tribune

“Lively, well-written and informative.”
— Oakland Tribune

“I received the best education on what a female sportswriter goes through by reading your book. I was scared by page 40, crying by page 50, ready to quit altogether by page 100, saw a glimmer of hope by page 160, and by the time I finished reading I was burned out before I even started my career. I’m still scared, but now determined to make it in this field, not because I’m female, but because this is what I want to do, can do, and will do.”
— A letter from a freshman college journalism student.