Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 199, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1917 — UMPIRE’S HARD LIFE [ARTICLE]

UMPIRE’S HARD LIFE

He Is Arm of Authority Which; , Dignifies Sport xJL Arbiter Can Make Game Spectacle Fltl For Eyes of Women or by Hit Weakness Permit It to Degenerate Into a Riot In a recent article dealing with the; lives and troubles of professional baseball umpires, H. Perry Lewis of Phil-' adelphla. In this generous world, which, despite pessimists and kultur, we believe Is getting better every day, a man is prone to discount the mistakes of his fellows. Our prisons are no longer punitive establishments, but are founded on the principle of reformation. Our employees (if we are fortunate enough to have them) are forgiven when they err; our employers overlook our mistake (sometimes). The business or professional man who slips up Is an object of sympathy; the calf Is still killed for the prodigal son; the errors of the ball players are forgotten. Verily, mankind Is patient and forgiving to all but the baseball umpire. Here Is the man around whom the whole game revolves. He is the arm of authority which dignifies the sport; his Is the voice which decides the fate of ball clubs In which are invested millions of capital. He can make the game a spectacle fit for the eyes of our mothers, sisters, wives and sweethearts, or by his weakness allow it to degenerate into a riot besmirching the fair name of sport. Surely much rests on the shoulders of the umpire—the much vilified, constantly abused umpire. , You who see the umpire out there on the ball field with apparently nothing to do but stand bfehlnd the catcher clad in a nice cool mask and protector and calls the balls and strikes, or 1 assume a Napoleonic attitude on the bases and occasionally make a decision, pause for a moment and consider the duties and the life of an umpire. For about seven months of the year he leads a nomadic life, journeying from city to city, and never knowing four days ahead what his next move will be. One thing he does know, and that is that unless he “calls them right” 90 per cent of the time his next move will be out of the league, with absolutely no chance of working his way back. His position is unlike that of the ball player. The latter spends half of the playing season on the road and. half In the town in which he is playing. Therefore he has a chance to make his home where he is employed and of being in It half of the time." Not so the umpire. For seven months the only opportunity he has of seeing his family Is by having them meet him somewhere on the road, usually at considerable expense.