Hey! Well, spring training is nearly complete here, we’re less than two short weeks away until the 2015 Major League Baseball campaign gets going. But as the players shed the rust that built up over the winter, let’s keep in mind that the umpires will be doing the same as well. Spring training is also a time for the umps to get into the swing of things once again, readying for the long season ahead of them. As we keep that in mind, let’s take some time to profile a handful of umpires who were above and beyond in the eyes of their peers, earning them enshrinement into the sacred grounds of the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York.

1. Bill Klem - Known as the “Father of Baseball Umpires,” Bill Klem revolutionized the umpire occupation. He established a lot of changes that are taken for granted today. Credit has been given to Klem for both being the first umpire to wear protective gear for the chest, as well as for being the first to use hand signals to differentiate between balls and strikes. Klem’s reasoning for doing so: “That guy in a twenty-five cent bleacher seat is as much entitled to know a call as the guy in the boxes. He can see my arm signal even if he can’t hear my voice.” Simple, yet rational. In addition, it was Klem who taught his umpiring brethren to stand marginally off to the side when behind the plate, and to utilize the “slot” between the pitcher and the catcher in order to better call balls and strikes. Despite passing away over 60 years ago in 1951, Klem still holds many of Major League Baseball’s umpiring records. He tops the list in most ejections (256), most games called behind the plate (3,544), and most games worked overall (5,369). Perhaps the records that speak to Klem’s stellar reputation the most are his record 18 World Series assignments, and his 103 Series games worked. He also was on the umpiring staff that oversaw the League’s first All-Star Game in 1933. Klem capped off his trailblazing career with a posthumous induction to Cooperstown in 1953, with himself and Tom Connolly being the first umpires ever to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

2. Billy Evans - When you think about umpires, you probably envision them as an older, authoritative figure who is supposed to keep the ballgame under control if the young players let it get out of hand. 99 times out of 100 you would be right, but that description doesn’t really fit what Billy Evans was about. He holds the distinction of being the youngest umpire of all time at age 22, when he debuted as an American League official in 1906. His first World Series assignment? Three years later in 1909, making him the youngest ump to work a World Series in baseball history at age 25. His nickname throughout his 22-season career was “The Boy Umpire,” on account of how young he was for his profession. Evans always did his best, and acknowledged along the way he probably made some mistakes, “I missed a lot of decisions. At the time of making such a decision there was no doubt in my mind as to its correctness. However, a second or two later I felt that I erred and wished I could change my original ruling.” Regrettably, people thought they could get over on Evans due to his young age. In 1907, a fan in the stands hurled a glass bottle at the Boy Umpire, fracturing his skull and knocking him unconscious. Later on in 1921, Evans came to blows with Ty Cobb following a game which featured a call that went against the Georgia Peach. Nonetheless, Evans had a very respected and good career as an umpire, and later went on to have a career as a baseball executive with the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers. Evans passed away due to stroke complications in 1971, and was inducted into the Hall in 1973 by the Veterans Committee.

3. Jocko Conlan - Jocko Conlan wasn’t always an umpire. He spent 13 years as a minor league ballplayer before finally earning his first call-up at age 34 with the 1934 Chicago White Sox. So how did Conlan’s career as an umpire begin exactly? Well it’s sort of a funny story. During a summer 1935 tilt between the White Sox and the St. Louis Browns, umpire Red Ormsby was stricken by the overwhelming heat that day and had to leave the game. Back then, the umpiring crew was made up of only two officials, so if one had to leave the game the other would usually call upon a reserve player who had a good reputation to help him out. That day, it was Conlan’s name that was called, and he really turned heads on both teams by calling a fair and impartial ballgame. The rest was history. Conlan then began his umpiring career in the minors, and worked his way up to the National League, where he officiated games from 1941-1965. Hall of Famer Leo Durocher, who clashed plenty of times with Conlan over the course of his managerial career, had kind words for him at the time of his retirement: “He ran the ballgame like it was supposed to be run. He wanted players to hurry in and out of the dugout. He did it his way.” Conlan worked 5 World Series, 6 All-Star Games, and 3 tiebreaker playoff series. He was the first base umpire in the final game of the 1951 tiebreaker series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, when Bobby Thomson hit his famous Shot Heard ’Round the World, propelling New York to the NL pennant. In 1974, Conlan became the fourth umpire to reach the Hall of Fame, and the second from the NL with Bill Klem being the first.

4. Cal Hubbard - We’ve seen plenty of famous umpires so far, but only one has a plaque in three major sports halls of fame. That man is Cal Hubbard. Hubbard played college football at Centenary College and Geneva College before embarking on a 10 year career in the National Football League, where he was a 4-time NFL Champion. He’s known for being the inventor of the linebacker position. Upon retiring in 1936, he immediately began umpiring in the Majors (he was a minor league umpire during the football offseason) and did so until 1951. His 20/10 vision made him an excellent judge of balls and strikes. He retired at the conclusion of that ’51 season, when his eye was injured by a ricocheting shotgun pellet during an offseason hunting trip. Nonetheless, Hubbard knew the rulebook of baseball inside and out, and devised a system of rules that were easy to understand for his fellow umpires. He’s also responsible for baseball adding another official to each umpiring crew. Hubbard’s entire career was one for the ages, and his nameplate resides in the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and since 1976, the Baseball Hall of Fame as the fifth umpire to be elected.

5. Hank O’Day - O’Day is the tenth and most recent umpire to enter the Hall of Fame. He did so in 2013, and sort of headlined the class. Remember, that was the year which the Baseball Writers’ Association of America did not elect any of the players on their ballot. So O’Day, along with former New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, and 19th century ballplayer Deacon White were the only inductees for that class. As unfortunate as that was, let’s not overlook O’Day’s career. He ranks second in games manned behind the plate, and is also tied for second in World Series with 10. He was behind the plate for the first modern-day World Series game in 1903 (modern-day refers to all World Series played in 1903 or later). O’Day was also a pitcher during the 19th century, and was a member of the 1889 National League Champion New York Giants. In the 1889 World Series, a best-of-11 affair that the Giants played against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (champions of the American Association), O’Day picked up 2 victories en route to the championship. He’d also go on to manage the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs for a season apiece, in 1912 and 1914 respectively. All in all, O’Day spent more than 40 years of his life in baseball in some capacity, none more renowned though than as an umpire. It was O’Day who made the out call on Fred Merkle in the infamous “Merkle’s Boner” game in 1908, a decision that has gone down as one of the most memorable and controversial moments in all of baseball’s history. O’Day is the only man to be inducted into the Hall of Fame having served baseball as an umpire, player, manager, and scout.

To read more umpiring tales in anticipation of the 2015 season, please visit our catalog.