Rank The (Non Player) Hall Of Famers

[SavoyBG]

Okay, I'm gonna run this starting just as soon as Double X's "Rank The Hall Of Fame Players" project is done next week. In the meantime you can do some research on the candidates if you want.

Each week you will rank the 10 most deserving candidates that still remain, and we will induct the 5 highest point totals (plus ties). There are 61 candiadates in all, so at most this will be a 12 week project.

The point system will be slightly different than what Double X used.

RANK-POINTS
1 - 12 points
2 - 10 points
3 - 9 points
4 - 8 points
5 - 7 points
6 - 6 points
7 - 5 points
8 - 4 points
9 - 3 points
10 - 2 points

TIE BREAKERS
1 - Total Ballots
2 - Best Ranking(s) on individual ballots
3 - Point Totals From Previous Round(s)


Here are the 61 candidates in order of when they were inducted into Cooperstown.


Morgan Bulkeley EXEC
Ban Johnson EXEC
Connie Mack MGR
John McGraw MGR
George Wright PIO
Alexander Cartwright PIO
Henry Chadwick PIO
Charles Comiskey EXEC/PIO
Candy Cummings PIO
Al Spalding EXEC/PIO
Kenesaw Landis EXEC
Wilbert Robinson MGR
Clark Griffith EXEC/PIO
Ed Barrow EXEC
Tom Connolly UMP
Bill Klem UMP
Harry Wright MGR
Joe McCarthy MGR
Bill McKechnie MGR
Miller Huggins MGR
Casey Stengel MGR
Branch Rickey EXEC
Ford Frick EXEC
George Weiss EXEC
Will Harridge EXEC
Billy Evans UMP
Jocko Conlan UMP
Bucky Harris MGR
Cal Hubbard UMP
Al Lopez MGR
Larry MacPhail EXEC
Warren Giles EXEC
Tom Yawkey EXEC
Rube Foster MGR
Happy Chandler EXEC
Walter Alston MGR
Al Barlick UMP
Bill Veeck EXEC
Bill McGowan UMP
Leo Durocher MGR
William Hulbert EXEC
Ned Hanlon MGR
Earl Weaver MGR
Tommy Lasorda MGR
Lee MacPhail EXEC
Nestor Chylak UMP
Frank Selee MGR
Sparky Anderson MGR
Effa Manley EXEC
Alex Pompez EXEC
Cum Posey EXEC
Sol White PIO
J. L. Wilkinson EXEC
Barney Dreyfuss EXEC/PIO
Bowie Kuhn EXEC
Walter O'Malley EXEC
Billy Southworth MGR
Dick Williams MGR
Doug Harvey UMP
Whitey Herzog MGR
Pat Gillick EXEC

Round one will probably commence on Thursday.

[jjpm74]

If you are going to try this, ranking alphabetically AND by category would be helpful. It would be interesting to try this, but I don't think you'll get enough ballots to keep this going.

[SavoyBG]

If you are going to try this, ranking alphabetically AND by category would be helpful. It would be interesting to try this, but I don't think you'll get enough ballots to keep this going.

We'll see.

ALPHABETICAL
Walter Alston MGR
Sparky Anderson MGR
Al Barlick UMP
Ed Barrow EXEC
Morgan Bulkeley EXEC
Alexander Cartwright PIO
Henry Chadwick PIO
Happy Chandler EXEC
Nestor Chylak UMP
Charles Comiskey EXEC/PIO
Jocko Conlan UMP
Tom Connolly UMP
Candy Cummings PIO
Barney Dreyfuss EXEC/PIO
Leo Durocher MGR
Billy Evans UMP
Rube Foster MGR
Ford Frick EXEC
Warren Giles EXEC
Pat Gillick EXEC
Clark Griffith EXEC/PIO
Ned Hanlon MGR
Will Harridge EXEC
Doug Harvey UMP
Bucky Harris MGR
Whitey Herzog MGR
William Hulbert EXEC
Cal Hubbard UMP
Miller Huggins MGR
Ban Johnson EXEC
Bill Klem UMP
Bowie Kuhn EXEC
Kenesaw Landis EXEC
Tommy Lasorda MGR
Al Lopez MGR
Connie Mack MGR
Larry MacPhail EXEC
Lee MacPhail EXEC
Effa Manley EXEC
Joe McCarthy MGR
Bill McGowan UMP
John McGraw MGR
Bill McKechnie MGR
Walter O'Malley EXEC
Alex Pompez EXEC
Cum Posey EXEC
Branch Rickey EXEC
Wilbert Robinson MGR
Frank Selee MGR
Billy Southworth MGR
Al Spalding EXEC/PIO
Casey Stengel MGR
Bill Veeck EXEC
Earl Weaver MGR
George Weiss EXEC
Sol White PIO
J. L. Wilkinson EXEC
Dick Williams MGR
George Wright PIO
Harry Wright PIO
Tom Yawkey EXEC


BY CATEGORY

EXECUTIVES (22)
Ed Barrow EXEC
Morgan Bulkeley EXEC
Happy Chandler EXEC
Ford Frick EXEC
Warren Giles EXEC
Pat Gillick EXEC
Will Harridge EXEC
William Hulbert EXEC
Ban Johnson EXEC
Bowie Kuhn EXEC
Kenesaw Landis EXEC
Larry MacPhail EXEC
Lee MacPhail EXEC
Effa Manley EXEC
Walter O'Malley EXEC
Alex Pompez EXEC
Cum Posey EXEC
Branch Rickey EXEC
Bill Veeck EXEC
George Weiss EXEC
J. L. Wilkinson EXEC
Tom Yawkey EXEC

EXECUTIVE-PIONEERS (4)
Charles Comiskey EXEC/PIO
Barney Dreyfuss EXEC/PIO
Clark Griffith EXEC/PIO
Al Spalding EXEC/PIO

MANAGERS (20)
Walter Alston MGR
Sparky Anderson MGR
Leo Durocher MGR
Rube Foster MGR
Ned Hanlon MGR
Bucky Harris MGR
Whitey Herzog MGR
Miller Huggins MGR
Tommy Lasorda MGR
Al Lopez MGR
Connie Mack MGR
Joe McCarthy MGR
John McGraw MGR
Bill McKechnie MGR
Wilbert Robinson MGR
Frank Selee MGR
Billy Southworth MGR
Casey Stengel MGR
Earl Weaver MGR
Dick Williams MGR

PIONEERS (6)
Alexander Cartwright PIO
Henry Chadwick PIO
Candy Cummings PIO
Sol White PIO
George Wright PIO
Harry Wright PIO

UMPIRES (9)
Al Barlick UMP
Nestor Chylak UMP
Jocko Conlan UMP
Tom Connolly UMP
Billy Evans UMP
Doug Harvey UMP
Cal Hubbard UMP
Bill Klem UMP
Bill McGowan UMP

[jjpm74]

Those new lists will definitely help. Thanks!

EDIT: I think Candy Cummings is in as a pioneer.

[SavoyBG]

Those new lists will definitely help. Thanks!

EDIT: I think Candy Cummings is in as a pioneer.

Yes, I noticed that mistake and changed it, I copied these from a Wikipedia list that had him and also Warren Giles categorized wrong. They had Giles as an EXEC-PIO. I changed it to just EXEC.

[SavoyBG]

Just saw this while researching Sol White.

White died at age 87 in Central Islip, New York. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Frederick Douglass Cemetery in the Oakwood neighborhood of Staten Island, NY.

Something needs to be done. I'm sure the Mets or Yankees or somebody would donate a gravestone for him if they were made aware of it.

[jjpm74]

Just saw this while researching Sol White.

White died at age 87 in Central Islip, New York. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Frederick Douglass Cemetery in the Oakwood neighborhood of Staten Island, NY.

Something needs to be done. I'm sure the Mets or Yankees or somebody would donate a gravestone for him if they were made aware of it.

Do you have a direct link? Either way, this community could probably get something together to change this.

[SavoyBG]

Many of these candidates were also players, and a few of them were excellent to great players. When you put your lists together you can take that into account if you want to. The idea is to rank each person on hall of fame worthiness, so you can set your own criteria for what makes someone hall of fame worthy. Just like in the player project, where you may have given a player a little extra credit if he did other things (managing, inventing strategies, etc..) that were significant, you can decide that someone on this list (Griffith, McGraw, Spalding, Huggins) deserves some extra credit for his playing career.

[SavoyBG]

Do you have a direct link? Either way, this community could probably get something together to change this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_White

[jjpm74]

Sol White at find a grave:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...&GRid=20969402

It's good to see that his grave is no longer unmarked.

[SavoyBG]

Sol White at find a grave:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...&GRid=20969402

It's good to see that his grave is no longer unmarked.

Thanks, that's what I get for trusting Wikipedia.

[SavoyBG]

Sol White at find a grave:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...&GRid=20969402

It's good to see that his grave is no longer unmarked.

I attended the enveiling of Larry Corcoran's gravestone in Newark a few years ago. The cops and firemen raised the money for it. Rick Cerone was there, and also Mike Sheppard, the former baseball coach at Seton Hall. Everybody was breaking Sheppard's chops asking him what Corcoran threw, and whether or not he had recruited Corcoran when he was in high school.

[SavoyBG]

Here's my first thoughts on ranking the umpires who are eligible:

UMPIRES (9)
Bill Klem UMP
Doug Harvey UMP
Tom Connolly UMP
Al Barlick UMP
Bill McGowan UMP
Billy Evans UMP
Jocko Conlan UMP
Nestor Chylak UMP
Cal Hubbard UMP

And for those of you who may not know much, if anything, about these men, some info on each coming.

[SavoyBG]

BILL KLEM

William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm (February 22, 1874 – September 16, 1951), known as the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941. He had the longest career of any major league umpire (37 years) before Bruce Froemming tied that mark in 2007, and was also the oldest umpire in history at age 67 until Froemming surpassed that mark as well. Klem was widely respected for bringing dignity and professionalism to umpiring, as well as for his high skill and good judgment. Klem was also an innovative umpire; he was the first major league umpire to use arm signals while working behind home plate, and was one of the first to wear a modern, somewhat pliable chest protector inside his shirt, a move which he successfully campaigned to have adopted throughout the NL. He was the first to straddle foul lines and stand to the catcher's side for better perspective. Finally, he was the last umpire to work the plate exclusively (traditionally the crew chief always worked the plate; today umpire crews rotate base/plate assignments).

Born in Rochester, New York, he worked a record 18 World Series: 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934 and 1940. No other umpire has worked in more than ten Series. Of the 16 major league teams in existence during his career, all but one—the St. Louis Browns, who would not win a pennant until 1944—appeared in a World Series that he officiated; the only other teams which did not win a championship with Klem on the field were the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, neither of which won a title during Klem's lifetime, and the Detroit Tigers. He was also one of the umpires for the first All-Star Game in 1933, and worked behind the plate for the second half of the game; he later umpired in the 1938 All-Star Game as well.

He called balls and strikes in five no-hitters, an NL record later tied by Harry Wendelstedt. He was also the home plate umpire on September 16, 1924, when Jim Bottomley of the St. Louis Cardinals had a record 12 runs batted in. Klem had a number of nicknames amongst the players: his favorite was "The Old Arbitrator", but his jowly appearance also led to some players calling him "Catfish". Klem despised the latter name, and was notorious for ejecting players whom he caught using it. One particular incident involved a player whom Klem ejected after he caught the player drawing a picture of a catfish with his foot in the infield dirt.

He also dismissed catcher Al Lopez from a game after Lopez pasted, onto home plate, a photo he clipped from a newspaper, which showed Klem clearly in error calling a play involving Lopez. The catcher had covered the photo with dirt and waited for Klem to brush off home plate.

[SavoyBG]

DOUG HARVEY

Harold Douglas Harvey (born March 13, 1930, in South Gate, California) is a former umpire in Major League Baseball, who worked in the National League from 1962 through 1992. Noted for his authoritative command of baseball rules, he earned the tongue in cheek nickname "God" from players, and was among the last major league umpires who never attended an umpiring school. His career total of 4,673 games ranked third in major league history at his retirement, and he is only the ninth umpire to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. In 1999 the Society for American Baseball Research ranked Harvey as the second-greatest umpire in history, behind only Bill Klem. In 2007, Referee magazine selected him as one of the 52 most influential figures in the history of sports officiating. Harvey wore uniform number 8 for most of his career.

Harvey umpired in five World Series (1968, 1974, 1981, 1984 and 1988), serving as crew chief in 1984 and 1988, and in seven All-Star Games (1963, 1964, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, and 1992), calling balls and strikes for the 1982 and 1992 games. He also set a record by officiating in the National League Championship Series nine times – 1970 (Games 2-3), 1972, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1984 (Game 5), 1986, 1989 and 1991 – serving as crew chief for the last three; his record was later tied by Paul Runge, and broken by Bruce Froemming in 2000. Harvey was the home plate umpire for the single-game playoff to decide the NL's Western Division champion in 1980, between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Harvey began officiating local basketball games at the high school level at age 16, later umpiring softball and baseball. He attended San Diego State College in 1955-56, where he played baseball and football. He then returned to umpiring in the minor leagues while also officiating college basketball and football games. He remained a resident of San Diego throughout his umpiring career. He umpired in the California League from 1958 to 1960, and in the Pacific Coast League in 1961. He married Joy Ann Glascock on September 24, 1960, and the couple had two sons, Scott and Todd. Upon reaching the majors on April 10,1962, his greatest influences were umpires Al Barlick, Jocko Conlan and Shag Crawford, each of whom gave him invaluable advice in developing his skills – Barlick for his renowned mastery of the rules, Conlan for helping him appreciate the fun of umpiring, and Crawford for his tremendous work ethic.

Harvey was easily recognizable due to his thick white hair, which had already gone completely gray when he was in his 30s, leading to the early nickname of "Silver," and in 1971 he grew a handlebar mustache, at a time when no major league field personnel had worn facial hair since the 1940s; he kept it trimmed to the edges of his mouth, and he wore it for one season. In the latter part of his career, Harvey became known for appearing in the "You Make the Call" segments on the televised Game of the Week.

In 1974, the Players Association conducted polls of players in both leagues to identify and rank the best umpires (the New York Mets did not participate); Harvey was named the top NL umpire, being the only official in the league rated as "excellent." In 1987, a Sports Illustrated poll of NL catchers ranked him as the third best umpire in the league for calling balls and strikes, with one voter saying he "still cares about doing the best possible job." In 1990, Sport magazine named him the best umpire in the game, citing his unbending application of the rules and noting his campaign to enforce the balk rule two seasons earlier, when he said, "Give me 10 high school pitchers, let me spend a week with them, and I'll show you 10 pitchers who won't balk. It's not that difficult. So they better learn it."

Harvey's goal of umpiring until age 65 ended on October 4,1992, at age 62, when knee problems necessitated his retirement. He nonetheless became the first NL umpire since Bill Klem to work for more than 30 years, finishing with 31 years in the major leagues; his 4,673 games then ranked third in major league history behind Klem (5,374) and Tommy Connolly (4,769).

Notable games
Among the notable games in which Harvey worked was the final game of the 1972 season in which Roberto Clemente collected his 3,000th (and last) base hit off of the New York Mets' Jon Matlack. He was the home plate umpire on September 10, 1963, when brothers Jesus, Matty and Felipe Alou batted consecutively for the San Francisco Giants, and also on June 3, 1987, when the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs hit a combined three grand slams at Wrigley Field.

Harvey felt that his introduction of a new sense of timing to umpiring was his greatest contribution to baseball. He noted that when he arrived in the major leagues, the emphasis was on making calls quickly and decisively, and said, "Everything was called too quickly. I've got a photograph of Jocko Conlan working first base. Jocko's arm was extended in the out call. But the runner was still short of the bag, and the ball was still in flight. In those days it was common to anticipate the call." Harvey, however, changed attitudes by insisting that it was better to delay the call and make sure it was correct.

[SavoyBG]

TOM CONNOLY

Thomas Henry Connolly (December 31, 1870 - April 28, 1961) was an English-American umpire in Major League Baseball. He officiated in the National League from 1898 to 1900, followed by 31 years of service in the American League from 1901 to 1931. In over half a century as an AL umpire and supervisor, he established the high standards for which the circuit's arbiters became known, and solidified the reputation for integrity of umpires in the major leagues.

Connolly was born in Manchester, England, and played cricket as a boy. It was not until his family emigrated to the United States in 1885, settling in Natick, Massachusetts, that he saw the game of baseball played for the first time, but he was quickly fascinated and resolved himself to learning as much about the game as he could. He immersed himself in the rule book, and within a few years was umpiring for local games. While working in YMCA games, he was discovered by major league umpire Tim Hurst, who gained a position for him in the New England League, where he umpired from 1894 to 1897. In 1898 the NL brought him up to the majors, but he was offended by the league president's reluctance to back up umpires' decisions on the field, and resigned in the middle of the 1900 season, later signing with the fledgling AL in 1901. That league's president, Ban Johnson, was eager to create a reputation for the AL as a solid challenger to the NL, and he gave umpires a greater measure of support than they had previously received, demonstrating that attacks upon umpires would not be tolerated and that their judgment was final. Connolly had the privilege of umpiring, by himself, the first American League game ever played on April 24, 1901.

Although he had begun his career by showing that he was willing to remove players from the field – he ejected 10 in his first season – he came to earn great respect from the players, and once went 10 full years without needing to throw one out of a game. He also showed an ability to stand firm against the toughest players in defense of the rules; on September 11, 1912, he called Ty Cobb out for stepping across home plate while batting, after Cobb had hit an RBI triple on the third pitch of an intentional walk. During the ensuing argument, Connolly was struck in the mouth by a bottle thrown by a spectator. His reputation earned him prominent game assignments, including the first AL games ever played at Comiskey Park, Shibe Park, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium. Connolly was also the sole AL umpire chosen to work in the first World Series in 1903.

In 1931, new AL president Will Harridge was concerned about widespread complaints that the quality of umpiring in the league had deteriorated, and Connolly retired from active field work to become the league's first supervisor of umpires. Travelling throughout the league to work with other umpires and ensure that everyone's work was meeting the same high standards, he remained in that post until 1954, and came to be known as the nation's foremost expert on baseball rules.

In his career, Connolly worked in an AL-record 8 World Series: 1903, 1908 (even-numbered games), 1910, 1911, 1913, 1916, 1920 and 1924. He was also the home plate umpire for Addie Joss' perfect game on October 2, 1908, one of four no-hitters in which he called balls and strikes. On May 4, 1928, he was the first base umpire for a remarkable game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Athletics, in which 12 players who would eventually be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame appeared. Leo Durocher, who would be elected as a manager, also played; both managers, Miller Huggins and Connie Mack, were eventually elected, as were Connolly and fellow umpire Bill McGowan.

Connolly was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, one of the first two umpires (the NL's Bill Klem was the other) named to that honor. Connolly and Klem are the only two umpires in history to have worked in five decades; Connolly's record of 31 years umpiring American League games was broken by Larry Barnett in 1999.

[SavoyBG]

AL BARLICK

Albert Joseph Barlick (April 2, 1915 – December 27, 1995) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League for 28 seasons (1940–43, 1946–55, 1958–71). He umpired 7 World Series and 7 All-Star Games. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

In 1935, Barlick was hired as an umpire to the Springfield Municipal Baseball League. In August 1936, the Class-D Northeast Arkansas League was in need of a replacement umpire, and hired Barlick for the last 4 weeks of the season. In 1937, Barlick was hired by the Class-B Piedmont League, moved to the Eastern League in 1939, and was promoted to the International League later that season.

In September 1940, National League umpire Bill Klem was unable to work, so Barlick was hired as a replacement. He made his debut in a doubleheader at Shibe Park on September 8. Barlick was offered a contract for the 1941 season, and was 26 years old at the start of the season, making him one of the youngest Major League umpires in history. Barlick made his first ejection on July 27 of that year, when Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Herman Franks objected to Barlick's strike zone.

Barlick was selected as an umpire for the 1942 All-Star Game at the Polo Grounds, the first of 7 All-Star games he would officiate in his career.

Barlick joined the Coast Guard in November 1943, during World War II. He was discharged in 1945, having earned the rank of Seaman, First Class. Barlick returned to umpiring in 1946, when he umpired his first World Series.

In 1947, Barlick was the first base umpire during Jackie Robinson's Major League debut. In 1949, Barlick was again chosen as an umpire for the 1949 All-Star Game. He began the game at home plate, although when it became time for the umpires to rotate, as was customary during All-Star games, Barlick left the game, leaving the right field line uncovered; no reason was given for his departure. Barlick would eventually umpire 7 All-Star Games (1942, 1949, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1966, 1970), as well as 7 World Series (1946, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1967).

In 1961, the Sporting News polled managers and coaches to determine the best umpires in the Major Leagues. Barlick was voted as the most respected umpire in the National League, as well as the best caller of balls and strikes, best on the bases, best knowledge of rules, best at being in the right position and most serious-minded. When asked about the poll, Barlick stated that it was a disgrace, due to the lack of qualifications of the writers and some of the categories in the poll, which included "most sarcastic," "hardest to talk to," "biggest grandstander," and "worst pop-off." Barlick later stated, “The very idea of the ratings is unfair in that they place labels on hard-working officials who always try to do a good job...What constitutes respect? Does refusal to take abuse from a manager or player signify respect and is that respect forfeited when the player or manager is thrown out of the game?"

In 1963, the league instructed umpires to crack down on balks by pitchers. A few weeks after ejecting pitcher Bob Shaw due to an argument about balks, Barlick called Fred Fleig, the secretary of the National League, and said, “I'm fed up with the whole thing and I am going to quit and go home.” On June 17, 1963, league president Warren Giles announced that there had been a "misunderstanding," and that Barlick would relax at his home for a few days, and then rejoin his umpire crew.

After the 1963 season, Barlick took a job as a public relation representative at Springfield's Water, Light and Power Department. However, he returned as an umpire for the 1964 season. Barlick's crew worked the first game at the Houston Astrodome in 1965. In 1966, Barlick missed 9 games after his mother, Louise, died in Springfield. He missed the last two weeks of the 1966 season due to high blood pressure. After the 1968 season, Barlick accompanied the St. Louis Cardinals on a five-week tour of Japan. In 1969, Barlick was the crew chief for the first-ever National League Championship Series. In 1970, he umpired the final game at Forbes Field, as well as the first game at Riverfront Stadium.

In 1971, Barlick was awarded the Umpire of the Year Award at the Al Somers Umpire School, which was based on a poll of other Major League umpires. He stated that the award was "very special," and that it was "a true, honorable, sincere award because it is given to an umpire by umpires." 1971 was Barlick's final year of umpiring, and he skipped the final series of the season at the advice of his fellow umpires.

After retiring from umpiring, Barlick was hired by the league to supervise and scout umpires, a job he held for 22 years. Barlick scouted many umpires who wound up having long careers, and was, according to Bruce Froemming, “very proud of the staff he built.” In 1989, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, stating in his speech, "My dreams are fulfilled far beyond my expectations." He was also inducted into the Springfield, Illinois Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

[SavoyBG]

BILL McGOWAN

William Aloysius McGowan (January 18, 1896 – December 9, 1954) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1925 to 1954. McGowan founded the second umpire school in the United States. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.

McGowan was born and grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1913, he began umpiring in the Tri-State League at the age of 17. He moved on to the Virginia League in 1915, the International League and New York State League in 1916, and the Blue Ridge League in 1917. McGowan served in the United States Armed Forces during World War I in 1918, and then returned to the International League for 1919. Following the 1922 season, McGowan left the International League and joined the umpiring staff of the Southern Association, staying there until 1924.

On April 14, 1925, McGowan umpired his first American League game. He umpired third base in that game. He would umpire for 30 seasons, umpiring in eight World Series (1928, 1931, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1947, and 1950). He also worked four All-Star Games (1933, 1937, 1942, and 1950). He umpired in 2,541 consecutive games, missing a game on September 3, 1940 due to neuritis.

McGowan spent time writing baseball-related newspaper articles in the offseasons, working for the New Orleans Item in the 1920s. McGowan operated an umpire school in Florida for 16 years. After McGowan's death, the school was taken over by Al Somers.

[SavoyBG]

BILLY EVANS

William George Evans (February 10, 1884 – January 23, 1956), nicknamed "The Boy Umpire," was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1906 to 1927. He became, at age 22, the youngest umpire in major league history, and later became the youngest to officiate in the World Series at age 25.

Upon his retirement at age 43, his 3,319 career games ranked fifth in major league history; his 1,757 games as a home plate umpire ranked third in AL history, and remain the eighth most by a major league umpire. He later became a key front office executive for three teams and president of the minor league Southern Association.

In addition to his inside role in the sport, Evans authored countless articles, as well as two books, Umpiring from the Inside (1947) and Knotty Problems in Baseball (1950). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, the third umpire ever selected.

Evans was born in Chicago, Illinois. When he was still a child, he relocated with his family to Youngstown, Ohio, where his Welsh-born father became superintendent at a Carnegie steel plant. In Youngstown, the Evans family joined Westminster Presbyterian Church, where Billy Evans attended Sunday school. As a youth, Evans was active in YMCA programs and participated in a neighborhood baseball club called the Youngstown Spiders, a team named in honor of the regionally popular Cleveland Spiders. He gained notability as an athlete at Youngstown's Rayen School, excelling at baseball, football, and track. In 1902, Evans enrolled at Cornell University, where he played on a freshman team managed by veteran major league shortstop Hughie Jennings. After two years, his law studies and collegiate sports career came to an end, with the sudden death of his father. Evans returned to Ohio and accepted a job as a sports reporter at the Youngstown Daily Vindicator. The paper's city editor, Sam Wright, hired Evans on the basis of writing experience he secured as a staff member of his high school yearbook and college newspaper. At the same time, Wright understood that Evans' varied experiences as an athlete provided him with an in-depth knowledge of sports.

In the early 1900s, while covering a baseball game between the Youngstown Ohio Works club and a team from Homestead, Pennsylvania, Evans was approached by the manager of the local club, ex-major leaguer Marty Hogan, and asked to fill an umpire vacancy. According to Evans's obituary, the aspiring reporter, who was on a date with a young woman, "wasn't interested until Hogan mentioned he would be paid $15 a week for officiating the game", a figure equivalent to a week's salary at his sportswriting job.

Evans' ability caught the attention of Charlie Morton, president of the Ohio-Pennsylvania League, and he was offered a full-time position as a league umpire. Evans accepted the job, on the condition that he could retain his position as a sportswriter. In 1906, he received a spectacular career boost from fellow Youngstowner Jimmy McAleer, an ex-major leaguer who was so impressed with the young man's ability that he recommended Evans to American League president Ban Johnson. This gesture enabled Evans to move from a Class C Division minor league club to the major leagues.

Major league umpiring careerAt 22 years of age, Evans was the youngest umpire in major league history; furthermore, he was among those very rare umpires who broke into the major leagues with little previous professional experience. He was regarded as the only umpire of his era who never had played professional baseball himself. After making his debut at Highlanders' Park in New York City, he went on to umpire for six World Series: 1909, 1912, 1915, 1917, 1919 and 1923. Working in an era during which most major league games used no more than two umpires (and sometimes only one), Evans single-handedly umpired seven double-headers in eight days during the 1907 season. He was the base umpire for Charlie Robertson's perfect game on April 30, 1922.

Unlike many umpires, Evans never made claims to infallibility. "I missed a lot of decisions", he once said. "At the time of making such a decision there was no doubt in my mind as to its correctness. However, a second or two later I felt that I erred and wished I could change my original ruling". Evans' humility and impartiality did not always protect him from abusive fans. As sports writers Daniel Okrent and Steve Wulf observed, "roughness on the field seemed to elicit the same in the stands". On September 15, 1907, in the midst of a doubleheader between the St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers, Evans suffered a skull fracture when a bottle hurled by an angry spectator knocked him unconscious. The New York Times described the incident as "one of the most disgraceful scenes ever witnessed on a ball field".

Evans became known as an innovator during more than two decades with the American League. One obituary observed that he "introduced something new to officiating by running down to a base where a play was made so that he would be on top of it". This approach became a standard practice among major league officials. He was also aware of the increasing demands placed on umpires and strongly advocated formal training for baseball officials. Furthermore, in a game that retained much of the rough-and-tumble atmosphere of earlier decades, Evans "substituted diplomacy for belligerency and proved an arbiter could control a game without threats of physical violence".

At the same time, he was unwilling to "back down" when physically threatened. In September 1921, Evans was involved in a bloody fistfight with Ty Cobb, who contested one of Evans' calls. Baseball historian David Anderson noted that the trouble began when Cobb threatened to "whip" Evans "right at home plate", a move that would have led to Cobb's immediate suspension. Evans supposedly invited Cobb to the umpire's dressing room for "post-game festivities", and before long, the two men were brawling beneath the stands as players from both teams looked on. According to some accounts, many of Cobb's Detroit Tigers teammates "rooted" for Evans. After the fight, Cobb was suspended for one game, while Evans attended the next several games wearing bandages. Both men had agreed before the fight that they would not report it to league officials, but word of the incident eventually reached the league president, Ban Johnson. According to sports writers Okrent and Wulf, Johnson responded to news of the incident "with uncharacteristic humor", saying "only that he was sorry that he missed it".

For the duration of his career as an umpire, Evans also remained active as a sportswriter. From 1918 to 1928, he served as sports editor of Newspaper Enterprise Association and produced a syndicated sports column titled, "Billy Evans Says". His staff featured well-known sportswriters Jimmy Powers and Joe Williams.

Executive careerEvans retired from umpiring following the 1927 season to become the general manager of the Cleveland Indians, earning a substantial annual salary of $30,000. Baseball historian Bill James observed that Evans was the first front-office executive of a major league team to be officially called a "general manager". In this capacity, Evans was credited with taking the Indians from a second division to a first division team. He served as general manager for the next eight years, until budget cuts forced him out in 1935. Rumors circulated that Evans's decision to leave the Indians was also motivated by a disagreement with the Indians' manager, Walter Johnson, over the suspension of third baseman Willie Kamm and the release of catcher Glenn Myatt. Johnson allegedly accused Evans of "disloyalty", while Evans reportedly replied that he refused to be a "yes man". Evans soon found work as chief scout and head of the Boston Red Sox farm system, but left on October 8, 1940 after the team sold Pee Wee Reese to the Brooklyn Dodgers over his objections.

Shifting sports, Evans returned to Cleveland to become general manager of the Cleveland Rams for the 1941 season. Although the team struggled on the field, it was a financial success, but after failing to come to terms on a new contract, Evans left and spent the next year writing before accepting the position of league president of the Southern Association on December 3, 1942.

During his four years leading the league, the Association thrived despite many other leagues shutting down due to World War II. In his first year, attendance increased by nearly 300,000, and while it dipped slightly in 1944, the threshold of one million people attending league games was again reached the following year.

On December 16, 1946, Evans accepted a contract offer from the Detroit Tigers to become their general manager.[3] One of his first moves was dramatic – selling aging superstar Hank Greenberg to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the next four years, the team had two runnerup finishes to the New York Yankees, but after dropping in the standings during the 1951 season, Evans announced his resignation on July 28 in favor of Tiger legend Charlie Gehringer.

[SavoyBG]

JOCKO CONLAN

John Bertrand "Jocko" Conlan (December 6, 1899 – April 16, 1989) was an American Hall of Fame umpire who worked in the National League from 1941 to 1965. He previously had a brief career as an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Conlan began his major league career in 1934 as a center fielder for the Chicago White Sox. In 1935, however, Conlan was presented with an unusual opportunity. During a game against the St. Louis Browns, umpire Red Ormsby fell ill due to the heat. In those days, only two umpires covered typical regular-season games, and a player with a reputation for honesty might be pressed into service if one umpire became incapacitated. Conlan was asked to fill in, and took to it well. The following year Conlan made the transition from player to umpire complete, beginning in the minor leagues.

Conlan umpired in the National League from 1941 to 1965, officiating in five World Series (1945, 1950, 1954, 1957 and 1961) and six All-Star Games (1943, 1947, 1950, 1953, 1958 and the first 1962 contest). He also umpired in the playoff series to decide the NL's regular-season champions in 1951, 1959 and 1962 (some sources erroneously credit him with umpiring in the 1946 NL playoff as well). He was the home plate umpire when Gil Hodges hit four home runs on August 31, 1950; he also umpired in the April 30, 1961 game in which Willie Mays hit four home runs. He retired after the 1964 season, but returned to work as a substitute umpire for 17 games in 1965.

Conlan was known for several trademarks: Instead of a regular dress tie like most umpires of the day wore, Conlan wore a natty bow tie for his career. Conlan was also known for making "out" calls with his left hand, instead of his right. Finally, Conlan was the last National League umpire allowed to wear the outside chest protector, instead of the inside protector that all other NL umpires were using by then.

Jocko Conlan and manager Leo Durocher were both considered colorful characters, and sometimes they would clash. Durocher liked to tell of a time that he was arguing with Conlan. He attempted to kick dirt on Conlan's shoes, but slipped and actually kicked Conlan in the shins. Striking an umpire calls for automatic ejection, but first Conlan "kicked him right back," a sequence that an alert photographer also captured and which was circulated for some time. The punchline to that story, as Durocher told it, was that Conlan, being the plate umpire on that occasion, "was wearing shin guards and plate shoes," so Durocher came off the worse for it.

Conlan's name was mentioned several times in a fictitious baseball game celebrated in the 1962 song "The Los Angeles Dodgers," recorded by Danny Kaye. The song only referred to Conlan by his last name, with the presumption that the listener would know he was referring to the famous umpire. That song is contained on the CD Baseball's Greatest Hits.

Conlan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Committee on Baseball Veterans in 1974; he was the fourth umpire chosen, and the first NL umpire since Bill Klem in 1953. He is the only one of the eight umpires elected to the Hall of Fame to have played in the major leagues. He died at age 89 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. Conlan is prominent in many of these stories.

[SavoyBG]

NESTOR CHYLAK

Nestor George Chylak, Jr. (/ˈtʃaɪlæk/; May 11, 1922 – February 17, 1982) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1954 to 1978. He umpired in three ALCS (1969, 1972, 1973), serving as crew chief in 1969 and 1973. He also called five World Series (1957, 1960, 1966, 1971, 1977), serving as the crew chief in 1971 (in which he called balls and strikes in the decisive Game 7) and 1977. He also worked in six All-Star Games: 1957, 1960 (both games), 1964, 1973 and 1978, calling balls and strikes in the second 1960 game and in 1973.

He was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania of Ukrainian descent, and attended the University of Scranton, where he studied engineering. During World War II, he served in the Army in Europe; in the Battle of the Bulge he was wounded by shrapnel from an exploding shell and was hospitalized for eight weeks with an injury that nearly cost him his sight. He earned both the Silver Star and Purple Heart during his service. After the war, he began umpiring amateur baseball in 1946, and returned briefly to college. He first worked in the minor leagues in 1947, reaching the American League seven years later.

Among his noteworthy games were Sandy Koufax's final game in the 1966 Series; the first (American League Championship Series, "Ten Cent Beer Night" in Cleveland in 1974, in which he declared a forfeit due to constant fighting after he was hit over the head with a chair; and the first major league game played in Toronto in 1977, during a snowstorm at Exhibition Stadium, for which he was the home plate umpire.

After retiring from the field in 1978, he became an assistant league supervisor of umpires. Chylak was in the umpire's dressing room at Comiskey Park on Disco Demolition Night, a July 12, 1979, doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. Between games of the doubleheader, when unruly fans began to riot and blow up disco records on the field, Chylak told White Sox owner Bill Veeck that under no circumstances would the second game of the doubleheader be played. Veeck protested furiously, but Chylak's decision was upheld by American League president Lee MacPhail. The next day, MacPhail ordered the second game of the twinbill be forfeited to Detroit.

[SavoyBG]

CAL HUBBARD

Robert Calvin Hubbard (October 31, 1900 – October 17, 1977) was a professional American football player and later an umpire in Major League Baseball, and is a member of three major sports halls of fame. He is currently the only person to be enshrined at both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Born in Keytesville, Missouri, Hubbard attended Centenary College in Louisiana, where he played football from 1922 to 1924 under noted coach Bo McMillin; he was inducted posthumously into the college's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. When McMillin moved on to suburban Pittsburgh school Geneva College in western Pennsylvania, Hubbard followed him and played there in 1926. Noted for having outstanding speed for a player of his size (6' 4", 250 lb or 1.93 m, 115 kg), he starred as a tackle and end, playing off the line in a style similar to that of a modern linebacker. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962.

Hubbard moved on to the National Football League in 1927, signing with the New York Giants for a salary of $150 per game. Playing alongside Steve Owen, he helped the Giants win the league championship in his rookie season, and was named all-league the following year. But Hubbard, who carried a lifelong dislike for big cities, didn't feel comfortable in New York, and a 1928 road game in Green Bay led him to request a trade to the Packers, indicating he would retire otherwise. The Giants obliged him, and the small-town atmosphere with his new team suited him perfectly. He thrived in Green Bay under coach Curly Lambeau, with the team winning the NFL title in each of his first three years there (1929–1931). He continued to be named to all-NFL squads before retiring following the 1933 season.

In 1934, Hubbard served as the line coach at Texas A&M, but he was persuaded to return to the field after only one year of college ball, going back to Green Bay for the 1935 season. In 1936, the Giants needed his help on the field, and again persuaded him to forgo retirement; he finished his career that season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the franchise that was to become the Steelers. He was among the initial class of inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963; in 1969, he was voted the greatest tackle of the NFL's first fifty years.

As Hubbard's football career wound down, he began to focus on a second career; he started umpiring in baseball's minor leagues in the summers before football seasons began, and by 1936 had reached the majors, where he worked in the American League from 1936 to 1951. Immediately recognized as one of the game's best officials, he was selected to work in the World Series in 1938 after only three years' experience; he would later officiate the Series in 1942, 1946 and 1949 as well. In addition, he umpired in the All-Star Game in 1939, 1944 and 1949, calling balls and strikes for half of the 1939 and 1944 games. As an umpire, Hubbard found that the accepted practice of umpires acting on instinct in moving about the field contributed to confusion regarding who should make which calls. Drawing on his football background, he carefully plotted out a system of positioning for umpires whereby each umpire had specific responsibilities for various types of plays; his ideas formed the foundation of the new methodology when the major leagues went from three-man umpiring crews to four-man crews in 1952, and they remain the basis for modern positioning in umpiring.

An off-season hunting accident following the 1951 season damaged the vision in his right eye, and it was necessary for him to retire; but he was soon named the AL's supervisor of umpires, a position he held from 1954 to 1969. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976 as only the fifth umpire to be honored.

[SavoyBG]

Here's how I am ranking the guys who are listed as managers. I am NOT ranking them based on how good they were as managers. I am ranking each guy based on my idea on each guy's "overall wrothiness" to be a hall of famer.

MANAGERS (20)
John McGraw MGR
Connie Mack MGR
Casey Stengel MGR
Ned Hanlon MGR
Joe McCarthy MGR
Earl Weaver MGR
Miller Huggins MGR
Frank Selee MGR
Leo Durocher MGR
Walter Alston MGR
Sparky Anderson MGR
Tommy Lasorda MGR
Billy Southworth MGR
Rube Foster MGR
Al Lopez MGR
Bucky Harris MGR
Wilbert Robinson MGR
Whitey Herzog MGR
Bill McKechnie MGR
Dick Williams MGR

Here's how I am currently ranking the PIONEERS:

PIONEERS (6)
Alexander Cartwright PIO
George Wright PIO
Harry Wright PIO
Henry Chadwick PIO
Sol White PIO
Candy Cummings PIO

EXECUTIVE-PIONEERS (4)
Al Spalding EXEC/PIO
Clark Griffith EXEC/PIO
Charles Comiskey EXEC/PIO
Barney Dreyfuss EXEC/PIO

[SavoyBG]

Haven't finished ranking the executives yet, but I think that Branch Rickey is easily number one.

[DoubleX]

In terms of categorizing the players, I wouldn't go by wikipedia or even baseball-reference.com, but go exactly by the classifications used on the Hall of Fame's website. wikipedia may just mirror that (baseball-reference.com doesn't), but you never know.