Al Barlick
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Albert Joseph Barlick (April 2, 1915 – December 27, 1995) was an American
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
who worked in the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
for 28 seasons (1940–1943, 1946–1955, 1958–1971). Barlick missed two seasons (1944–45) due to service in the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
and two seasons (1956–57) due to heart problems. He umpired seven
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
and seven All-Star Games. Barlick was known for a strong voice and for booming strike calls. After he left active umpiring in 1971, Barlick became an umpire scout and supervisor. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .


Early life

Barlick was born in Springfield, Illinois. His father, an Austrian immigrant, worked for 50 years at a Peabody coal mine. Barlick dropped out of high school after two years to support his family. He joined the
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
, and spent six months in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and six months in
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. When Barlick's brother died, he returned to the coal mine to assist his father. Barlick said that he did not play much baseball as a youngster, but that he often watched the game. During a coal mine strike, a 19-year-old Barlick was offered $1 ($) to umpire his first game. He played outfield in semipro baseball, but he was described as "mediocre." In August 1936, the Class-D
Northeast Arkansas League The Northeast Arkansas League was the name used by a pair of American minor league baseball leagues. The first of these started operations in 1909 and continued through 1911. The second version began operations for the 1936 season. It continu ...
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 The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Teams The following teams were members of the Piedmont ...
, moved to the Eastern League in 1939, and was promoted to the International League later that season.


MLB career


Early career

Late in the 1940 season, NL umpire Bill Klem was unable to work due to an ankle injury, so Barlick was hired as a replacement. He made his debut in a doubleheader at
Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...
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 MLB umpires in history. Before the 1941 season, Klem had strongly endorsed Barlick, saying, "He's going to be the greatest umpire in baseball history. He has a love of his work, a pride in it and the physical qualifications. Young? Certainly. But there's something wrong with an umpire who serves a long time in the minors." Barlick made his first ejection on July 27 of that year, when Brooklyn Dodgers catcher
Herman Franks Herman Louis Franks (January 4, 1914 – March 30, 2009) was a catcher, coach, manager, general manager and scout in Major League Baseball. He was born in Price, Utah, to Italian-American immigrant parents and attended the University of Utah. Pl ...
objected to Barlick's strike zone. Barlick was selected as an umpire for the 1942 All-Star Game at the Polo Grounds. Barlick joined the
Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
in November 1943, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. He spent most of the next two years assigned to an 83-foot cutter based at the Coast Guard Academy in
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
. He was discharged in 1945, having earned the rank of
Seaman First Class Seaman is a military rank used in many navies around the world. It is considered a junior enlisted rank and, depending on the navy, it may be a single rank on its own or a name shared by several similarly junior ranks. In the Commonwealth, it ...
.


Return from the Coast Guard

Barlick returned to umpiring in 1946, when he umpired his first World Series. Klem repeated his endorsement of Barlick that year. "There's a fellow who's going to be one of the great all-time umpires. He's got everything and knows how to handle himself. Before I saw him, I predicted he'd be a great umpire just from what I heard about him." In 1947, Barlick was the first base umpire during Jackie Robinson's MLB 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. In August 1949, Barlick ruled a
forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from ''Wonder What's Next'' * ''Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers L ...
at
Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...
in a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Giants. Fans had become irate over a call made by Barlick's crew member George Barr and they littered the field with fruit, soda bottles and paper. The ruling constituted the first major league forfeit since 1942. Before the 1956 season, Barlick was hospitalized in Illinois for treatment of a heart problem. League president
Warren Giles Warren Crandall Giles (May 28, 1896 – February 7, 1979) was an American professional baseball executive. Giles spent 33 years in high-level posts in Major League Baseball as club president and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951 ...
characterized the issue as a minor heart ailment, but newspaper reports held that Barlick would not be ready for opening day that year. After he sat out the entire 1956 season, a March 1957 article reported that the heart issue would probably cause him to miss that season as well. He returned to the field for the 1958 season.


Later career

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 The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
, 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. Barlick stated that the poll was a disgrace due to the lack of qualifications of the writers and the nature of the categories, which included "most sarcastic", "hardest to talk to", "biggest grandstander", and "worst pop-off". In 1963, the league instructed umpires to crack down on
balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball R ...
s by pitchers. A few weeks after ejecting pitcher
Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story "Light of Other Days" ...
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, Giles announced that there had been a "misunderstanding" and that Barlick would relax at his home for a few days before rejoining his umpire crew. After the 1963 season, Barlick took a job as a public relations 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 The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
in 1965. In 1966, Barlick missed nine 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 The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
on a five-week tour of Japan. In 1969, Barlick was the crew chief for the first-ever
National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
. In 1970, he umpired the final game at
Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...
, as well as the first game at
Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...
. 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 MLB 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." The 1971 season was Barlick's final year of umpiring, and he skipped the final series of the season at the advice of his fellow umpires. Barlick retired with seven All-Star Game appearances (1942, 1949,
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
, 1955,
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, 1966,
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
), as well as seven World Series (1946, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1967). Barlick had been known for his very loud calls behind home plate. Subsequent MLB officials, including Dusty Boggess and
Dutch Rennert Laurence Henry "Dutch" Rennert Jr. (June 12, 1930 – June 17, 2018) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1973 to 1992. Early years Rennert was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and graduated from Oshkos ...
, said that they tried to imitate him when they became umpires.


Supervisor and scout

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 Bruce Neal Froemming (; born September 28, 1939) is Major League Baseball Special Assistant to the Vice President on Umpiring, after having served as an umpire in Major League Baseball. He first umpired in the National League in 1971, and from 2 ...
, “very proud of the staff he built.” Sportswriter Jerome Holtzman wrote that Barlick was outspoken when defending the league's umpires to NL president
Warren Giles Warren Crandall Giles (May 28, 1896 – February 7, 1979) was an American professional baseball executive. Giles spent 33 years in high-level posts in Major League Baseball as club president and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951 ...
and baseball commissioner
Ford Frick Ford Christopher Frick (December 19, 1894 – April 8, 1978) was an American sportswriter and baseball executive. After working as a teacher and as a sportswriter for the ''New York American'', he served as public relations director of the Natio ...
. When the umpires went on strike at the conclusion of the 1984 regular season, Barlick and fellow supervisor
Ed Vargo Edward Paul Vargo (September 17, 1928 – February 2, 2008) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1960 to 1983. He officiated in the World Series, National League Championship Series and All-Star Ga ...
were located in the dugouts during the playoffs to assist the replacement umpires with questions over rules.


Later life

In 1989, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Manager
Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an infie ...
and umpire
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 ...
were also considered by the committee that year, but the group could only vote in one non-player per year. Barlick had been under consideration by the committee for several years before his election. In his induction speech, Barlick said, "My dreams are fulfilled far beyond my expectations." Barlick wore uniform number 1 when the NL adopted them for its umpires in 1970; however, the league retired number 3 in Barlick's honor after his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. On December 27, 1995, Barlick collapsed at his home. He was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, where he died. A wife, Jennie, and two children survived him. Barlick was cremated. In 2013, the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Barlick as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball umpires The following is a list of major league baseball umpires. The list includes umpires who worked in any of four 19th century major leagues (American Association, National Association, Players' League, Union Association), one defunct 20th century ma ...


References


External links

*
Retrosheet
*
Al Barlick Oral History Interview (2 of 2) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital CollectionAl Barlick Oral History Interview (1 of 2) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlick, Al 1915 births 1995 deaths National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Barlick, Al Sportspeople from Springfield, Illinois Major League Baseball umpires United States Coast Guard enlisted