Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-09-10
BASE BALL UNPIRES.
Why Their Lite Is Sometimes a Miserable One
Their Work and Pay.

WHY 1EElr Lie Is SNIltliutS AlstFdnit tNp.
Their Work and Pay.
No man who has anything to do with
base ball has a more thankless task than
the umpire. In each association there
are four regular umpires. The salary is
about $1,000 for the season. The UNI
pires are selected by the secretary of the
organization, and are wholly under his
control. The association pays the UNI
pire's actual expenses while away from
home. These expenses average about So
day. This covers railroad fare, hotel
bills, and little expenses. 1t seems a
small allowance for a man who STAYS at
the best hotels, and travels by night in
sleeping cars; but umpires get reduced
rates at hotels and on railroads.
In the league the first thing an umpire
is required to do is to sign a contract
and make oath that he Will do his work
to the best of his ability. He is then in
structed in his duties by the secretary.
His uniform is generally q close-ftting
blue suit and he must wear it whenever
he appears on the field. The league
constitution makes an umpire member
of the league. During the progress of a
game he Is the sole representative of the
league, and is master of the field He is
-
as well as of the plays.
The umplres are assigned to duty by
the secretary on a schedule plan. There
has never been any plan whereby the
ability of an applicant for the place of
umpire could be tested. Umpires usually
are old ball players. Sometimes they are
broken-down players. There has been
more trouble with poor umpiring this
year than usual. The league has tried
Connolly, Eagan, York, Ellick, and half a
dozen others. The American Association
has tried Young, Mack, Carlin, York.
Clinton, Morton, TuniSon, Quinn, and as
many more. Umpires are removed for
many reasons, such as exercising poor
Judgment as to balls and strikes. or for
having favolites among the players and
showing them favors.
Probably the most successful umpire,
says the New York Sun, is Bob Ferguson.
His success is mainly because of his quick
eye, which enables him to give his de-
cisions quickly and accurately. He has
also the nerve to back up his decisions
and to take no notice of the diSsatisfac-
ton shown by players. The rules govern
ing umpires forbid decision to be chang
ed, whether right or wrong. In some
cases umpires are weak in enforcing their
decisions and are disposed to change them
If there is kicking" As soon as the
players and spectators see that the UNI
pre- can be made to weaken as to the de-
clsiOn, he gets himself into hot water,
and he may as well give Hp, for every
time he makes Il decision there will be a
yell for him to change it. One of the
mysteries about umpires is that they will
umpire game one day and give general
satisfaction, and on the next day they will
umpire game between the same clubs,
and before almost the same crowd so
badly that the crowd will be ready to mob
them. Lovers of base ball in our city
will go wild over an umpire, and in the
next city he will be glad to get away
whole. Connolly did good work in this
city, but was disliked in other towns. In
Boston and Detroit they think that Gaf
ney Is the best umpire of the lot. In this
city he did the worst umpiring seen for
many day. Eagan and Ellick were poor
Judges of balls and strikes, as well as un
able to see the close plays on bases.
On one of the games which Gaffney
umplred at the Polo grounds a few small
bets had been made in the brokers box"
and they We're declared off, because it was
plain that the New IOrks lost on the UNI
pires decisions. The brokers box" is
on the south side of the grand stand, and
seats about twenty. The occupants are
Wall street men, who lease the box for
the season.
Base ball people hereabouts say that
much of the trouble of the umpires in the
league is caused by the dissatisfaction
shown by the weaker clubs. Not only do
the players find fault with the decisions,
but the managers are given to Kicking