George James John Honochick (August 19, 1917 – March 10, 1994) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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 ...

, whose career 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 ...

(MLB) began in and ended in . During that span, Honochick officiated in six

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- ...

and four

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games. He also called balls and strikes for three

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: the first of

Virgil Trucks Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks (April 26, 1917 – March 23, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941 and 1958. He batt ...

' two (), Jack Kralick (), and

Sonny Siebert Wilfred Charles "Sonny" Siebert (born January 14, 1937) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher from 1964 to 1975. He finished with a record of 140-114 and a 3.21 ERA. He threw a no-hitter on June 10, 1966, against the ...

().

Early life and education

Born in

Oneida, Pennsylvania Oneida is a census-designated place (CDP) in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The population was 219 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oneida has a total area of , all land. Demographics At the 2000 census, ...

, and raised in

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

, Honochick graduated from West Hazleton High School. He played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

baseball for three seasons in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. Honochick was an umpire in the IL prior to his promotion to the majors in March 1949.

Career

Honochick was the crew chief who declared that the Washington Senators

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its last game (, played at home at

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

on September 30) because a mob, furious that the franchise was

relocating Relocation, also known as moving, or moving house, is the process of leaving one's dwelling and settling in another. The new location can be in the same neighborhood or a much further place in a different city or different country (immigration). ...

to the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

the next season, stormed the playing field with the team only one

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

away from victory. He was the only MLB umpire to travel with the

on its tour of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

later that year in October and November. During the mid-1970s, Honochick was one of the many

professional sports In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...

-related

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

who became

spokespeople A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for Lite Beer from Miller. His first

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

played up the

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

d notion, usually bellowed out by

heckler A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout discouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of d ...

s, that umpires should get

glasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses (American English), spectacles (Commonwealth English), or colloquially as specs, are vision eyewear with clear or tinted lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically u ...

because of questionable calls made on the field having been caused by poor eyesight. In it, he helped to promote the product without realizing who the other pitchman in the ad was. After putting on spectacles, he immediately noticed who it was, exclaiming, "Hey! You're Boog Powell!" This theme continued to be used in subsequent Miller Lite spots.

References

External links

*Career statistics and umpire information fro
The Baseball Cube
o
Jim Honochick
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) *
Jim Honochick Obituary
at Morning Call Newspapers, by Keith Groller
Jim Honochick Oral History Interview (1 of 3) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital CollectionJim Honochick Oral History Interview (2 of 3) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital CollectionJim Honochick Oral History Interview (3 of 3) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honochick, Jim 1917 births 1994 deaths Allentown Central Catholic High School alumni American League umpires Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Allentown, Pennsylvania Major League Baseball umpires Baseball players from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Temple Owls baseball players Temple Owls football players Players of American football from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania