Lawrence John Goetz (February 15, 1895 – October 31, 1962) was an American professional baseball

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 ...

. Goetz started umpiring in the Blue Grass League from

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

. He also umpired in the Western Ohio League,

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Cities represented The following cities hosted teams th ...

, and the American Association. He then became a successful

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

umpire from

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

through the

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

season, working in 3,218 games. Goetz was an umpire in the

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1952 World Series The 1952 World Series featured the 3-time defending champions New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their 4th consecutive title, tying the mark they set in 1936–1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Cas ...

, and was an alternate for the 1940 series as well as working the

1939 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1939 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the seventh playing of the mid-summer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on Jul ...

. Goetz was also home plate umpire for

Vern Bickford Vernon Edgell Bickford (August 17, 1920 – May 6, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed starting pitcher, he played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves from 1948 to 1953 in the ...

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 ...

on August 11, 1950. He was one of the umpires in

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

's famous painting '' Bottom of the Sixth'', along with Beans Reardon and

Lou Jorda Louis Delarond Jorda (May 22, 1893 – May 27, 1964) was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the National League from 1927 to 1931 and again from 1940 to 1952. Minor league playing career Jorda began his baseball career in as a catcher ...

. He was known for being a strict disciplinarian and not taking arguments from players, and as a result he earned their respect. He was dismissed in 1957 by National League President Warren Giles, having been inactive the previous season due to illness. The discharged arbitrator had been critical of the Senior Circuit because of the refusal by the league to include umpires in the retired players pension fund. In his last years he served as a commentator for the Mutual Broadcasting Company and had made appearances on local Cincinnati radio programs. Goetz died in his native

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

at the age of 67, following a heart attack. He was survived by his widow, Helen.

References

External links

Umpire Card
1895 births 1962 deaths Major League Baseball umpires Minor league baseball umpires National League umpires {{US-baseball-umpire-stub