The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-01-29
ALWAYS ON The GO
Noted KanSan Travels More
Than $4,000 Miles a Year.
Baseball, Football and Basket
ball His Specialties.
THERE is NO OFF SEASON
He Is Kept Busy From Janu-
airy Until December.
First Made His Reputation at
X. q. and st. Marys.

Ernest C. Quigley. of st. Marys, Ma
tional league umpire, basketball ref
cree and football official, and one of
the most famous Kansans who ever
made a national reputation in the
world of sport, has the unique distinc-
ton of being the greatest travelled
sport official in the whole wide world.
If you don't believe that Quigley
holds this distinction, alone, without
rival, take a look at these cold facts
and figures and then produce, If you
can, someone to dispute them.
Quigley is probably the only man
in the United States who makes Off
ciating his sole business and profess
sion, working at it twelve months a
year, and his reputation as an engin-
eer of basketball, football and base
ball games certainly extends over a
greater amount of territory than any
other whistle blower or indicator
manipulation in the country. From the
Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and
from beyond the tallest peaks of the
Rockies to the nose of the longest
neck of land that dips into the At
lantic, the famous Kansas Celt is
known as a sport official and he
spends practically all of his time trav-
cling over this broad area for the pur-
pose of handling games"
28,S07 Miles a Year.
But if you are still unconvinced,
take a peep at the figures. During
the past year Quigley has travelled a
total of 2S,397 miles. going from
place to place to practice his profess
sion. This distance is more than the
total distance around the world by
several thousand miles. 1t is more
than nine times the distance from
New York to Liverpool, and almost
80 times the distance from Chicago
to New York.
There is no off season in the Off
ciating game as "Quig'' follows it,
and he is on the go every month in
the year. Beginning the first of Jan,
uary he is kept busy as a basketball
referee until March is well under
way. From then until October he
wears the mask of a baseball umpire
and from October until December he
devotes his attention to gridiron
games and usually during the latter
part of December when he is anxious
to do a little Christmas shopping for
the family he is pressed into service
to handle the few preseason basket
ball contests.
Busy All the Time.
His Umps" is considered one of the
best basketball authorities in the Mis-
souri, Valley and his services are al
ways greatly in demand all over the
valley. Last season he travelled 4049
miles in going to and returning from
basketball games, and this year he
Is DOOkeQ TO WOTR IN forty some OQQ
games before the season closes.
AS soon as basketball is over, Quig-
ley gets out his mask, chest protector
and indicator and goes to the baseball
diamond. For the past few years
he has been a regular National league
umpire-considered one of the best
the Tener staff ever boasted-and in
/ 1915 he travelled S,641 miles going
from one National league team to an
other to umpire. All of his trips
during the baseball season, except
those between New York and Brook
Ign and Philadelphia are made in
J sleepers, so it is readily seen that his
railroad fare amounts to a goodly sum
in the course of a season. In fact, it
amounts to more than the average
salaried man makes.
After the baseball season is over,
"Quig' returns TO his home in St
Marys and remains there long enough
/ to shake hands with his old friends
cover up the flowers to protect them
against the winter freezes and shovel
enough coal into the cellar to keep
his family warm until spring. Then
he gets out his football tools and be-
comes a football official.
Long Football Trips.
Last season he covered 5,7O7 miles
in the capacity of a football official,
working in games in Kansas, Missouri,