Chicago: Put your shoes on, there’s glass everywhere

Hometown hero: Morris, a pioneer in sportscasting, died Monday, surrounded by her family, at age 85 after battling appendiceal cancer. Morris began her career in sports with a column entitled “Football Is a Woman’s Game” in The Chicago American newspaper under the byline of Mrs. Johnny Morris, identifying as the wife of her then-husband, a Bears pro-bowler.

• Johnny and Jeannie worked side-by-side in football broadcasting for many years, and in 1975, Jeannie became the first woman to report from a Super Bowl, interviewing Steelers owner Art Rooney for NBC.

A lasting legacy: Morris, tiny but mighty at 5-foot-2, had to fight for all of her opportunities. For instance, while reporting on the White Sox at an away game, Boston baseball icon and then-Rangers manager Ted Williams told her to leave his dugout because “shrimp women” were not allowed. She responded by telling him it wasn’t his dugout.

• From filming outside in a blizzard when women were banned from the press box to fighting for her place in the locker room, Morris blazed a path for so many women to follow, and we’re forever grateful for her voice in Chicago and in sports media.