John LaClaire Rice (April 27, 1918 – January 1, 2011) 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 ...

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 ...

for nineteen seasons. Rice umpired in three All-Star Games and four World Series.

Early life

Rice was born in

Homestead, Pennsylvania Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The borough is known for the Homestead strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relation ...

. He played semi-professional baseball in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

before joining the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

during World War II, serving from 1942 to 1943 in

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

and

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. ...

Umpiring career

Following his honorable military discharge, Rice began his umpiring career in the Illinois State League in 1948. He later worked in the

Middle Atlantic League The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in United States, American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century. History The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 in base ...

(1949),

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

(1950), Western League (1951–1952) and in the American Association (1953–1954). He umpired in the American League from 1955 through 1973, appearing in three All-Star Games and four

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- ...

, including the 1959 Chicago White Sox bid. Rice was behind the plate in Game 3 of the

1971 World Series The 1971 World Series was the championship round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1971 season and featured the first night game in its history. The 68th edition of the Fall Classic was a best-of-seven playoff between the defending World Series ...

when Bob Robertson of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

hit a three-run home run off

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 ...

20-game winner

Mike Cuellar Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana (; May 8, 1937 – April 2, 2010) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in 1959 and from 1964 through 1977, most prominently as a memb ...

after missing a bunt sign. The home run proved to be a turning point as Pittsburgh rallied from down 2 games to 0 to win Game 3 and the World Series in seven games. In the decisive fifth of the 1972 American League Championship Series, Rice, umpiring at first base, made a controversial call in the top of the fourth inning that was hotly disputed by the Detroit Tigers. George Hendrick of the Oakland A's was called safe on a play where the ball clearly beat him to first base, but Rice ruled that first baseman Norm Cash's foot had come off the bag. Hendrick ended up scoring the game-winning run that sent Oakland to the World Series. During the off-season, Rice worked in the Cook County Recorders Office and with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. He also served as President of the Pitch and Hit Club and the Old Timers Baseball Association of Chicago. Rice was a guest on the tv program ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'' on June 23, 1957.

Later life

Rice was inducted into the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He died in

at the age of 92.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, John L. American League umpires Major League Baseball umpires United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Chicago People from Homestead, Pennsylvania 1918 births 2011 deaths

Early life

Umpiring career

Later life

See also

References

External links