These days, Mary Schroeder is enjoying her view from the top.

Schroeder, the former Detroit Free Press photojournalist who retired last year after 40 years at the newspaper, has quite the vantage point.

The longtime Lafayette Park resident lives in a 16th floor apartment. She has a large window overlooking the Detroit River and spends too much time watching sunsets and snow falling. Earlier this week, Schroeder was living her retired life when she received a random email from a former co-worker: She was named a finalist for induction into the media wing of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

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Schroeder, who shot the Free Press’ iconic photograph of Kirk Gibson celebrating a home run in the clinching game of the 1984 World Series, is believed to be the first photographer to receive a nomination and would be the first woman inducted to the media wing. Online voting ends April 30 and fans can submit votes on the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame website.

“It would be the highest honor,” Schroeder said Friday, before rephrasing.

“I’ve had many honors that were totally unexpected.”

Last year, Schroeder was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame and was honored with the lifetime achievement award from the Society of Professional Journalists. She also won an Emmy award as part of the Free Press’ documentary on the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers.

Schroeder began at the Free Press in 1979. During her tenure as a photographer and photo editor, she was on the front lines of some of Detroit’s biggest events — and on the sidelines for the city’s most memorable sports moments.

Schroeder’s photo of Gibson celebrating a home run in the clinching game of the 1984 World Series is the most iconic photo in Detroit sports history: The shot of him going crazy with his hands in the air ran on the front page of the next day’s Free Press underneath the headline, “We Win!” and "Gr-r-reat!" — depending on the edition of the paper — and has been reproduced on thousands of posters, T-shirts and other artwork.

“As time goes by, (Gibson) and I are going to be cemented,” Schroeder said. “We are cemented forever in history together. Because when you talk about Gibson, he always is reminded of that picture. And then, for me, I’m introduced all the time with people saying, ‘Oh, you know, (the picture) from the ’84 World Series.’ It’s such a famous picture, but I’ve done a lot of other work.”

Schroeder distinguished herself quickly — the sports photography industry was dominated by men at the time — but faced many obstacles along the way. She is considered a pioneer in fighting for equal access for female reporters and photographers.

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In 1985, she was a plaintiff in a Free Press lawsuit against the Detroit Lions. The case was settled out of court, with the Lions agreeing to “at all times and all places provide the same access to players, coaches and facilities to all accredited media representatives without regard to sex.”

Decades removed, Schroeder remains conscious of the struggles. Though she hasn’t spent a ton of time thinking about the nomination, she has done research.

She knows how many members are in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. She sees how many are female and that there are no photographers. “Much less somebody like me,” she said. “When numbers work, I’m going to make them work for me.”

Schroeder is one of five media finalists, along with WXYZ-TV sports producer Reggie Hall, Oakland Press reporter Tom Kowalski, Fox Sports Detroit Red Wings television analyst Mickey Redmond and Lansing sportscaster Tim Staudt.

Even in receiving honors in retirement, Schroeder is distinguished.

“I come from a town of 30,000 people, 90 miles north of Milwaukee, where they build ships,” Schroeder said. “There were 600 kids in my graduating class. Six of us went away out of state to college and I was one of them.”

Now, she is being recognized in the same breath as the biggest names in Michigan sports history.

“It was just serendipity,” Schroeder said about her career. “ 'No' was never in my vocabulary for some reason, and things fell how they should.”

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Contact Anthony Fenech at afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.