Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-19
UMPIRE'S JOB A GOOD one
Silk 0LOughlin Says IT'S as Easy as
Handling Dynamite.
GREAT IMPROVEMENTS NOTED
Ban johnson Has started Reforms
which Make the Umptre's Elk
silence Much More safe
Than Of Yore.

NEW YORK, Sept. B.-what? Is base
ball losing it's most ancient and honored
tradition?
After all these years It lie possible that
the umpire is going to win the right to
hold his head up and say; Behold, a
desirable citizen7"
Aooordingto SILK o'Loughlin, the time is
not far off when an umpire's job won't
be any more hazardous than playing with
dynamite. Mr.. O'Loughlin has delivered
himself Of the opinion that within two or
three years the life of the arbitrator will
be all TO the merry. He bases his fore
cast on noting the improvements OF the
last few years.
When 1 broke into the game as an
umpire" said SILK the other day, the
life Of an umpire was the concentrated
essence Of what General Sherman said
was war. About the eighth inning of every
game the happy little umpire would begin
figuring out which means Of escape would
be most likely to land him in shelter. And
that first escape wasn't all. About every
other game would be protested and, like
as not, the whole scene would have to be
enacted again.
Not much like that now. 1 have long
since ceased 70 expect to be the party
after the game. 1 don't say that the whole
change for which the umpires hope has
ben brought about. Oh, no. There is still
a lot Of prejudice for the umpires to over
come. Not yet is their life all sunshine
and roses, but the transition is well under
way and II is reasonable to suppose that
in the not too distant future the position
of an umpire will be regarded as one Of
honor and dignity"
others share This View.
The other umpires OF major and minor
leagues share the views Of OLoughlin,
and they attribute the plea~ant change in
their business to two causes:
First. the strong backing given them by
the league presidents; second, the wis'ng
up Of the public to the fine points Of the
game, so that the patrons become able to
judge for themselves in a dispute between
player and official as 10 whether the latter
was a robbor, etc.
Before President Ban Johnson Of the
American league started the reform In the
umpire's behalf, It took a lot of nerve and
moral courage to handle an Indicator In
any league. PLAY srs were IN the habit Il
riding roughshod over umplrcs and the
spineless league executives allowed them
to get away with tlIt sort OF Thing. The
players tan trtlss pretty much as they
pleased, and the umpire was the goat all
the time.
The fans always sided Nth The players,
right or wrong, and there was merry war
all the while. The umpire was the COM
mon enemy Of peace; sort Of Il necessary
evil, but needed to be very rugged to last
till the first paydly. Many OF them didn't
care to remain after tnat.
The umpire's standing about ten years
ago, let's say, has often been we'll Illus
trated by hat story told on Joe CpItllion
when he was an umpira-and, by the way,
one of the greatest that ever lived. Joe
asked Comiskey ( IT a couple Of passes ore
day. saying lie wanted them for some
friends.
That Venerable Old story.
Friends roarcd the "old Roman"
well, II you or any other umpire has the
nerve to tell me you've u friends, you
can have all the passes I've got"
But President Johnson sat his ump!res
up on a high standard, and backed ttem
up so fearlessly that the plane has been
getting higher all he while.
"Clean ball" was the American leagues
trademark when 1t expanded and fought
for existence with tine National league.
But the National, ms soon as Pulliam got
squared away as chief executive, adopted
the same slogan. and since then all other
league presidents have discovered that in
reality the easiest way to run their leagues
is to lay down hard and fast rules govern
ing the conduct of players. and give their
umpires full power to enforce them to the
letter.
Purifying tho sport brought tremendous
popularity to the game from people who
naturally hadn't seen fit to patronize the
leagues in the days when Pat Tebeau and
others of his kind made playing base ball
secondary to melting riots. in which UNI
pires were always the center of attraction.
o'Loughlin pulled off a good one at An
napolis one day that shows pretty well the
hardships OF al umpire's life in the old
days. President Johnson sent him TO the
seat of the naval academy to umpire a
game between the Middies and West Point
ers. High military and naval officers
were I'm attendance at the game, and they
were all crazy over O~'Loughlin's handling
OF a ball game. The military were calling
silk" General and Admiral" After