Arthur Matthew Passarella (December 23, 1909 – October 12, 1981) 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 , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, and later an actor. He worked in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

from 1941 to 1942, and again from 1945 to 1953. He missed two years due to military service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Passarella umpired 1,668 major league games in his career. He umpired in three

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

(

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

) and two All-Star Games (

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

). He appeared in several television shows, including ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is an American television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ow ...

'', ''

Home Run Derby The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. In the context ...

'', '' Ironside'', and ''

Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges ...

'', and in the movie ''

That Touch of Mink ''That Touch of Mink'' is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Delbert Mann, and starring Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young and Audrey Meadows. Plot Cathy Timberlake, a New York career woman looking for a job, walks to the unempl ...

''.

Umpiring career

Passarella's professional umpiring career began in the 1930s with the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

. After that league dissolved, Passarella moved on to the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He umpired there for eight years before signing on to the American League. Passarella joined the American League in 1941, then missed the 1943 and 1944 seasons due to service in the United States Army during World War II, in which he served as a plans and training clerk for a medical training battalion during the war, receiving a promotion from private first class to

technician fifth grade Technician fifth grade (abbreviated T/5 or Tec 5) was a rank of the United States Army from 1942 to 1948. The rank was created to recognize enlisted soldiers with special technical skills, but who were not trained as combat leaders. History ...

. Passarella ran what is thought to be the first military umpire training school, conducted for members of his medical unit. In January 1945, Passarella received an honorable discharge. Holding seniority over newer umpires in the American League, he regained his umpiring job, which he held until his resignation in 1953. In Game 5 of the 1952 World Series, Passarella called

Johnny Sain John Franklin "Johnny" Sain (September 25, 1917 – November 7, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He ...

out on a play at first base. Photos of the play showed Sain had beaten the throw and first baseman

Gil Hodges Gilbert Raymond Hodges (born Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Broo ...

had taken his foot off the bag before the ball arrived. Passarella was widely condemned for missing the call, and was only partially supported by 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 Journal-American, New York American'', he served as public rela ...

. Passarella was the home plate umpire for the Philadelphia Athletics

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

thrown by Bill McCahan on September 3, 1947.

Acting

After leaving baseball, Passarella appeared in a few films, mostly as an umpire (such as in ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., d ...

'' and ''

''), but found more work on television, playing minor roles in ''

'', '' Ironside'', and ''

''. He also made numerous uncredited appearances in the 1960s gangster series ''

The Untouchables Untouchable or Untouchables may refer to: People * Untouchability, the practice of socially ostracizing a minority group of very low social status * Untouchables, word for the Dalits or Scheduled Castes of India * Untouchables (law enforcement), ...

'', usually as a hood or henchman of

Frank Nitti Frank Ralph Nitto (born Francesco Raffaele Nitto, ; January 27, 1886 – March 19, 1943), known as Frank Nitti, was an Italian-American organized crime figure based in Chicago. The bodyguard of Al Capone, Nitti was in charge of all money flowing ...

(played by Bruce Gordon) or other Chicago hoods. Passarella portrayed Sergeant Sekulovich in ''

''. Sekulovich was a "legman" for Detective Mike Stone, played by

Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American stage, movie and television actor who first achieved acclaim in the original Broadway productions of Arthur Miller's '' All My Sons'' and Tennessee Will ...

; the character name was an

in-joke An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke with humour that is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest ...

, as Sekulovich was Malden's real last name.

Death

Passarella died as the result of a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Hemet, California in 1981. He was 71 years old.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Passarella, Art 1909 births 1981 deaths American League umpires Major League Baseball umpires Sportspeople from Rochester, New York 20th-century American male actors United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers