Bill Deegan
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William Edward John Deegan (born April 13, 1935) is a former
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 ...
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 ...
who 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 1971 to 1980. Deegan wore uniform number 17 when the American League adopted them for its umpires in 1980, later worn by John Hirschbeck.


Career

Deegan was born in
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
. His umpiring career began in the
Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...
in . He also worked in the Carolina and Southern Leagues prior to becoming a major league umpire in . In the majors, he officiated in four
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and ...
:
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
(Game One only),
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
,
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
. He also umpired in the 1978 All Star Game and the
1976 World Series The 1976 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1976 Major League Baseball season, 1976 season. The 73rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Leag ...
; he was the home plate umpire for Game Four of the Series, which the defending champion
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
won on the strength of
Johnny Bench Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from to , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of the ...
's two-home run, five-RBI performance to complete a sweep of the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
. In that game, first base umpire Bruce Froemming ejected Yankees' manager Billy Martin after Martin threw a baseball at Deegan. Deegan was home plate umpire for two
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 ...
s in May : Jim Colborn's on May 14 and
Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...
's on May 30. He is one of a handful of umpires to have called balls and strikes for two no-hitters in the same season, and one of only three in modern history to do so in the same month, Dick Nallin (May, ) and Bill Dinneen (September, ) being the other two. Midway into the season, Deegan quit so that he could pursue other business opportunities.


After retirement

He was working as a salesman in when he realized the major league umpires were going on
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
and would be unavailable for the playoffs. He volunteered his services to work in the 1984 ALCS to Dick Butler, the American League supervisor of umpires, and served as home plate umpire for all three games of the Series, which the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
swept over the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
. The remainder of the crew consisted of local and collegiate umpires. His work in the 1984 ALCS marked the last time an umpire called balls and strikes in a postseason game using the balloon-style outside chest protector which was common throughout the junior circuit until the early 1980s. Jerry Neudecker was the last active umpire to use the outside protector, retiring after the next season. Deegan worked during two other umpire strikes: on
Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...
, at Tiger Stadium (the site of his last major league umpiring stint prior to this one) for the Yankees-Tigers game, and for six games during the season—the first week of major league play after the strike of 1994-95 ended. Deegan also used the outside chest protector during these two strikes (two games in 1995), which became the last time that type of protector was used. Said Deegan in 1984, “I don’t believe in unions.” Sandomir, Richard
BASEBALL; Union Umps Make Call on Replacements
The New York Times.


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball umpires (disambiguation) Lists of Major League Baseball umpires include: * List of Major League Baseball umpires (A–F) * List of Major League Baseball umpires (G–M) * List of Major League Baseball umpires (N–Z) See also * List of Major League Baseball umpiring ...


References


External links


Retrosheet.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deegan, Bill 1935 births American League umpires Sportspeople from Camden, New Jersey Major League Baseball umpires Living people