Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-27
BY BILLY EVANS.

The life of the umpire isn't half a.
hard as 1t is often painted. The salary
is fancy one, and there Is no getting
away from the fact that 1t is hard &c
beat them hours" as Tim Hurst ex-
presses it. Riotous scenes on the dia-
mond are rare these days. The general
conduct of the men on the field is con-
stantly improving, and thereby lessenine
the burdens of the umpire.
| The umpire is clothed with unlimited
authority, as he should be. in order to
successfully perform his duties. The ar
! bitrary use of this necessarily unlimited
authority. however, invariably gets the
umpire into trouble, and creates scenes
that do not help the game.
| Jack Sheridan, the dean of umpires,
broke me in as big Lacquer. One of the
best bits Of advice given me by that great
umpire was: DO not go on the ball field
with a chip on your shoulder. You will
encounter enough trouble without inviting
f! It,"
/ 1t was really a volume of advice given
in few words. They proved words of
| wisdom to me. and have often helped me
out of impending trouble.
Unlimited power causes many smpires
/ to step on the ball field wearing an au-
thoritative look They seek to impress
! ON the player the fact that he is in their
power, and unless he does their bidding
will be forced to suffer the penalty.
Ball players are just human. There are
the same kind of men on the ball field
as are found in any other walk of life.
Try to impress any man with the fact
that he is In your power and you issue a
challenge. If he is aggressive-possesses
the proper spirit-he will accept An &C
ceptance means an argument. An argu-
fv,xro vrfo lu m
umpire usually suffers as much as IL not
more than the player.
An umpire must be considerable when he
is presiding over a ball game. In the heat
of the cOntest<a player often says some
thing he would refrain from saying, or
does something he would not do. under
less exciting circumstances. A smile or a
word of caution, or failure to hear lot
of things that are said, works wonders,
and seldom fails to get better results
than a bOmbastic display of authority.
A steadfast rule to which l adhere in
my work Is that of treating every player
like a gentleman. And they return the
treatment, IL they are real men. That
theory holds good on the ball field just as
well as anywhere else. The umpire who
keeps that rule in mind will escape much
trouble that would otherwise come his
way.
Some umpires rule like a car. On the
ball field they are omnipotent None dare
question their judgment. They would
have 1t appear that they are infallible.
Umpires are prone to err, however. The
man who penned these few verses knew
what he was talking about:
But home the umpire went that night,
Secure in his own sense Of right,
And sat him down to dine.
1.-THE steak is tough. my DEAR" said he.
It's not" then promptly answered she
I'm sure that it Is fine
he ran1iad nl.1to hot
IT tell YOU said his wife. Its not
And then they bickered DER the meal
The man from whom there's no appeal
And just little woman.
But in the end the umpire ate
The steak. admitting it was great,
Thus proving that he's human.
Cmpires sometimes reverse their views,
And there are arguments they lose.
Which only goes to show that it doesf' t
pay to try to be too authoritative. even
In the dining room. A fellow must be con-
siderate when he is umpiring a ball game,
IL he would succeed and make life worth
living. In the heat of the play. player
is liable to do and say things which he
would not do otherwise. He Is simply
carried away with the excitement of the
situation. The public seems to have given
that right to the ball player. He is not
criticised II he oversteps the limitations
The umpire. however. in the eyes of fam
dom must never lose his temper. When
the contest wakes most exciting is .le
very moment he is supposed to be coolest
In such exciting situations smile or a
word Of caution often works wonders. and
usually is more effective than bombas-
tic display of authority. Just to illustrate
the position the umpire is constantly
placed.
A number of years ago ! was UNI
piring q game and. as luck would have
1t, all the close decisions were going
against tie home team. Naturally, that
made things very pleasant for me. A
couple OF close decisions at the plate In
the ninth was the climax of very stren-
uous afternoon. As the last man was out,
the crowd seemed to swarm about me. II
had hustled instead Of taking my time,
might have averted much of the trou-
BILE. Every fellow who has ever umpired,
and only such fellows, know how one
feels under such conditions. In a few
moments I was being bit roughly ham
died. stood for 1t all, until / saw
husky chap start a punch in the direction
Of nv law. ! was expecting just such
a thi e, and made a point to beat my
friend to It, In a minute there were any
number of impromptu bouts, as it seemed
/ had as many friends as enemies in the
crowd.
The next day / was severely criticised
by some OF the prominent fans for losing
my head. rs they termed 1t. and starting
| the trouble. These same fans didn't con-