Clarence Ernest Eldridge (June 24, 1888 – February 7, 1981) was a

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 ...

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 ...

and an advertising executive. Eldridge was a newspaper writer in college, acquiring the nickname "Dope." He practiced law before beginning his career in baseball umpiring. Eldridge umpired his first major league game on June 24, , his only game in 1914. He returned the following year to umpire five games. All six of his career major league games umpired were at first base. Following his umpiring career, he worked as an advertising manager for the

REO Motor Car Company The REO Motor Car Company (''REO'' pronounced , not letter by letter) was a company based in Lansing, Michigan, which produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point, the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms. ...

, a vice president of

Young & Rubicam VMLY&R was an American marketing and Marketing communications, communications company specializing in advertising, Digital media, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the 2020 mer ...

, vice president in charge of marketing for

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...

, and executive vice president of the

Campbell Soup Company The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campbe ...

. He was inducted into the

American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame The Advertising Hall of Fame, operated by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), began in 1948 as a result of a proposal by the New York Ad Club and its president, Andrew Haire, to the Advertising Federation of America, the predecessor organiza ...

Education and early career

Eldridge grew up in Kalamazoo and attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He served as a writer and managing editor for the ''University of Michigan Daily''. He even left school briefly in 1907 for a stint as the sporting editor at the ''Arkansas Gazette''. Eldridge umpired Michigan baseball games, managed the 1909 Michigan Wolverines baseball team and worked as a college football referee in Michigan and surrounding states. Eldridge umpired minor league baseball in the Southern League, Southern Michigan League and Central League between 1907 and 1910. In spite of his varied extracurricular pursuits, Eldridge managed to earn an undergraduate degree from Michigan in 1909 and a law degree from the school in 1911.

After law school

After completing the law degree, Eldridge became a practicing attorney in Chicago. He kept a watchful eye out for umpiring opportunities, however. He was quoted as saying that he knew that he should stick to law, but that he might rather umpire. "A regular position has not been offered me in the major leagues. I hope it isn't. I am almost afraid of my choice," he said. Eldridge would serve as a substitute umpire in a total of six MLB games over the 1914 and 1915 seasons.

References

External links

Clarence Eldridge
at

SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...

Bio Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Eldridge, Clarence 1888 births 1981 deaths Major League Baseball umpires Sportspeople from Michigan 20th-century American businesspeople American advertising executives University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Three Rivers, Michigan