Jim McKean James Gilbert McKean ( born May 26 , 1945 ) is a former umpire in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) who worked in the American League ( AL ) from 1973 to 1999 , and in both major leagues in 2000 and 2001 . He umpired in the World Series in 1979 , 1985 and 1995 . He also officiated in five American League Championship Series ( 1977 , 1983 , 1987 , 1991 , 1998 ) and three All - Star games ( 1980 , 1982 , 1993 ) , calling balls and strikes for the last game , as well as the 1981 , 1995 and 1999 American League Division Series . He wore uniform number 8 after the AL adopted uniform numbers in 1980 . After his retirement from active umpiring , McKean became an MLB umpire supervisor and then entered television as an umpiring consultant for ESPN . Early career . After a high school football career as a star quarterback , McKean received athletic scholarship offers to 35 U . S . schools . Instead , he played with the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League . Though McKean desired to make it as a quarterback , he was forced into the punter role when he was traded to Saskatchewan in 1967 ; the Roughriders were quarterbacked by CFL standout Ron Lancaster . That would be his last year in the CFL . McKean had attended NHL referee school and worked as a college hockey referee during the football offseasons . McKean attended baseball umpire school in 1970 , then worked in the minor leagues before joining the American League . His minor league service included work in the Florida State League , the Florida Instructional League , the Eastern League , the Puerto Rico Winter League and the International League . MLB umpiring career . On the field . McKean made it to the major leagues as an umpire in 1974 . By 1976 , AL umpire supervisor Dick Butler said , " I ' ll go out on a limb and say that , in my opinion , McKean is the best of our 24 umpires . He has the perfect temperament . He can listen , he can dish it out , he can be serious and he can be humorous . He ' s 6 - foot - 2 , 225 pounds , no fat and he has the kind of presence that commands respect . " He was the third base umpire for Len Barker ' s perfect game on May 15 , 1981 . In 1993 , he umpired in his tenth no - hitter , tying a record shared by Silk O ' Loughlin and Paul Pryor . On April 7 , 1997 , McKean was the crew chief for a Rangers - Brewers game at Milwaukee when play was halted three times by fans who threw baseballs onto the field ; McKean and Milwaukee manager Phil Garner both used microphones to admonish fans to behave . Later career . McKean served as an MLB umpire supervisor from 2002 until he was fired ( along with fellow supervisors Rich Garcia and Marty Springstead ) in January 2010 . MLB did not cite specific reasons for the firings , but Springstead said the actions were related to a series of missed calls by the umpires who worked the 2009 baseball postseason . Rob Manfred , executive vice president for MLB , said , " The change in supervisors is part of our ongoing effort to make our organization as strong as possible . " By 2011 , McKean was working as an umpiring consultant to ESPN . Personal . McKean ' s wife Ann , a breast cancer survivor , died three weeks after a diagnosis of liver cancer in 2007 . McKean ' s sons Jamie and Brett each won a College World Series while playing for the University of Tampa . Jamie went on to attend law school . McKean graduated from Monklands High School and Concordia University . He was a 2004 inductee into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame .