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Eddie Hurley
Edwin Henry Hurley (September 20, 1908 – November 12, 1969) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League (AL) from 1947 to 1965.
Hurley was a prominent baseball umpire and basketball referee in the Western Massachusetts area during his early career at the amateur and semi-pro levels. He had a relatively quick ascension into the majors, serving for just four years as an umpire in the minor leagues before being promoted to the American League. Hurley began his professional umpiring career in 1942 in the Canadian-American League. He then worked in the Eastern League from 1942 to 1944 before joining the American Association, where he served from 1945 to 1946.
Hurley umpired 2,826 major league games in his nearly 20 years in the majors, with 743 games officiated behind home plate; 742 at 1st base; 614 at second base; 726 at third base; and once each in left and right fields. He umpired in four World Series (1949, 1953, 1959 and 1965) and three All-Star Games (1951, 1956 and 1962). Hurley's first game umpired was on April 14, 1947, and his last was October 14, 1965, the seventh game of the 1965 World Series.
Ed Hurley's career as an American League umpire was punctuated by a number of noteworthy events and incidents in baseball history. One of the most memorable was when Hurley was behind the plate in 1951, and St. Louis Browns' owner, Bill Veeck, sent Eddie Gaedel, a 65-pound player of very small stature (3' 7"), to the plate as a pinch hitter. His number was "1/8". According to a New York Times report, Hurley exclaimed "what the hell" as Gaedel approached. Since the Browns' manager, Zack Taylor, was able to produce a recently signed contract between Gaedel and the Browns, Hurley allowed him to bat. He walked on 4 pitches thrown by Tigers' pitcher, Bob Cain. According to Veeck, Gaedel's strike zone was just one and a half inches.
Hurley was also involved in a number of baseball bat infractions. He was umpire in Kansas City when Athletics player, Gino Cimoli, came to the plate with a bright-green bat. Hurley declared the bat illegal, a decision that was upheld on appeal by the A's to American League officials. Hurley also confiscated a bat from Mickey Mantle in the 1958 season that had been modified to include depressions resembling dimples on a golf ball on each of Mantles switch-hitting contact surfaces. That bat sold for $17,400 at auction in 2006, with a letter from Hurley detailing the circumstances of its confiscation. Hurley officiated during a game with one of the largest crowds in baseball history. On October 4, 1959, Hurley was the umpire behind the plate when 92,394 fans saw the Dodgers beat the White Sox, 5–4, in the third game of that World Series.
In 1963, a ball rolled out onto the field during a pitcher warm-up in a contentious White Sox game against the Baltimore Orioles. Hurley, who was umpiring next to third baseman Brooks Robinson, called a time-out. Unfortunately, neither the pitcher nor the batter heard the call. Ted Kluszewski swung on the pitch and hit a home run. Hurley nullified the home run. He commented in an April 1963 Sporting News report, "I told reporters after the game I felt like crawling into a hole and some of them misinterpreted that remark. They thought I was saying I was wrong to call it. What I meant was I felt badly about Klusziewski hitting the ball into the stands because it wasn't going to count once I had called time."
Hurley set the tone for his reputation as a stickler for the rules during his first American League game. Hurley called a runner out for running around the bases in reverse order. He stood up to veteran umpires Bill Summers (umpire) and Charlie Berry after making the obvious but unpopular call. Hurley's decision was later upheld by American League arbiters on appeal.
Hurley also appeared as an anonymous guest in a 1953 episode of What's My Line Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, just hours after officiating as an umpire in the fifth game of the 1953 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, a regular guest on the show, correctly guessed Hurley's line of work shortly after shaking hands at the beginning of the segment. Kilgallen, author of "The Voice of Broadway" column that was under syndication with more than 146 newspapers, appeared with Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf and host John Daly. That was only the fifth time in the history of the show when anyone guessed the occupation of a What's My Line guest during the free guess period. Hurley shared details of an incident during the World Series game that day where police had to be called to an apartment near the stadium. He noted that the apartment's occupant had been flashing a mirror in the eyes of certain Yankee players when they stepped up to bat.
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Eddie Hurley
Edwin Henry Hurley (September 20, 1908 – November 12, 1969) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League (AL) from 1947 to 1965.
Hurley was a prominent baseball umpire and basketball referee in the Western Massachusetts area during his early career at the amateur and semi-pro levels. He had a relatively quick ascension into the majors, serving for just four years as an umpire in the minor leagues before being promoted to the American League. Hurley began his professional umpiring career in 1942 in the Canadian-American League. He then worked in the Eastern League from 1942 to 1944 before joining the American Association, where he served from 1945 to 1946.
Hurley umpired 2,826 major league games in his nearly 20 years in the majors, with 743 games officiated behind home plate; 742 at 1st base; 614 at second base; 726 at third base; and once each in left and right fields. He umpired in four World Series (1949, 1953, 1959 and 1965) and three All-Star Games (1951, 1956 and 1962). Hurley's first game umpired was on April 14, 1947, and his last was October 14, 1965, the seventh game of the 1965 World Series.
Ed Hurley's career as an American League umpire was punctuated by a number of noteworthy events and incidents in baseball history. One of the most memorable was when Hurley was behind the plate in 1951, and St. Louis Browns' owner, Bill Veeck, sent Eddie Gaedel, a 65-pound player of very small stature (3' 7"), to the plate as a pinch hitter. His number was "1/8". According to a New York Times report, Hurley exclaimed "what the hell" as Gaedel approached. Since the Browns' manager, Zack Taylor, was able to produce a recently signed contract between Gaedel and the Browns, Hurley allowed him to bat. He walked on 4 pitches thrown by Tigers' pitcher, Bob Cain. According to Veeck, Gaedel's strike zone was just one and a half inches.
Hurley was also involved in a number of baseball bat infractions. He was umpire in Kansas City when Athletics player, Gino Cimoli, came to the plate with a bright-green bat. Hurley declared the bat illegal, a decision that was upheld on appeal by the A's to American League officials. Hurley also confiscated a bat from Mickey Mantle in the 1958 season that had been modified to include depressions resembling dimples on a golf ball on each of Mantles switch-hitting contact surfaces. That bat sold for $17,400 at auction in 2006, with a letter from Hurley detailing the circumstances of its confiscation. Hurley officiated during a game with one of the largest crowds in baseball history. On October 4, 1959, Hurley was the umpire behind the plate when 92,394 fans saw the Dodgers beat the White Sox, 5–4, in the third game of that World Series.
In 1963, a ball rolled out onto the field during a pitcher warm-up in a contentious White Sox game against the Baltimore Orioles. Hurley, who was umpiring next to third baseman Brooks Robinson, called a time-out. Unfortunately, neither the pitcher nor the batter heard the call. Ted Kluszewski swung on the pitch and hit a home run. Hurley nullified the home run. He commented in an April 1963 Sporting News report, "I told reporters after the game I felt like crawling into a hole and some of them misinterpreted that remark. They thought I was saying I was wrong to call it. What I meant was I felt badly about Klusziewski hitting the ball into the stands because it wasn't going to count once I had called time."
Hurley set the tone for his reputation as a stickler for the rules during his first American League game. Hurley called a runner out for running around the bases in reverse order. He stood up to veteran umpires Bill Summers (umpire) and Charlie Berry after making the obvious but unpopular call. Hurley's decision was later upheld by American League arbiters on appeal.
Hurley also appeared as an anonymous guest in a 1953 episode of What's My Line Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, just hours after officiating as an umpire in the fifth game of the 1953 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, a regular guest on the show, correctly guessed Hurley's line of work shortly after shaking hands at the beginning of the segment. Kilgallen, author of "The Voice of Broadway" column that was under syndication with more than 146 newspapers, appeared with Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf and host John Daly. That was only the fifth time in the history of the show when anyone guessed the occupation of a What's My Line guest during the free guess period. Hurley shared details of an incident during the World Series game that day where police had to be called to an apartment near the stadium. He noted that the apartment's occupant had been flashing a mirror in the eyes of certain Yankee players when they stepped up to bat.
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