William Finneran (January 12, 1878 – July 3, 1961) was an American umpire in

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 ...

in 1911 and 1912. He also umpired in the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

, a "third major league", in 1915 and spent several seasons in various levels of professional umpiring. He is best known for an on-field incident in which he was knocked unconscious by a punch from player

Sherry Magee Sherwood Robert "Sherry" Magee (August 6, 1884 – March 13, 1929) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1904 through 1919, Magee played with the Philadelphia Phillies (1904–1914), Boston Braves (1915–1917) and Cincinna ...

Early life

Finneran was born in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, where he attended public schools before going to work at the age of 14. He was a first baseman in semi-professional baseball before becoming an umpire.

Umpiring career

Finneran's umpiring career began in amateur baseball in his home of Erie in 1904. By 1905, he was umpiring professionally with the Erie Independent club. He spent the 1906 season in the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

and the Eastern League. He was signed to umpire in the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

for the 1907 and 1908 seasons. By 1909, he had returned to the Eastern League, which was newly promoted to Class AA. Finneran joined the staff of the National League in 1911, but had moved to the Class AA International League by 1913, where he remained in 1914. He umpired in the Federal League in 1915. He then spent several seasons umpiring minor league baseball in the Northwestern League and the American Association.

Magee incident

On July 10, 1911, Finneran called a third strike on Philadelphia's Sherry Magee. Magee responded angrily, striking Finneran with one punch that left the umpire momentarily unconscious and bleeding. Magee was initially suspended for the remainder of the season. However, he was allowed to return to the field on August 16 following an appeal. Media coverage at the time described Magee as a "nervous, irritable player" and refers to an incident in which Magee had jumped from a second story window after being overcome by extreme heat. The same coverage also indicates that Finneran "has never been regarded as a competent umpire" despite early prospects. Finneran was said to have been "somewhat of a 'scrapper'" and may have been warned by his partner against making threats toward players.

Death

Finneran died in Erie, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finneran, William Major League Baseball umpires 1878 births 1961 deaths Sportspeople from Erie, Pennsylvania