George Merlyn Anthony (April 26, 1926 – February 2, 1993) was an American professional

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

from 1969 to 1975. Anthony umpired the

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 45th playing of the midsummer 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 July 2 ...

and the 1973 American League Championship Series. In his career, he umpired 965 Major League games. Before his umpiring career, he was a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

player in 1946 and 1948. During the 1950s Merle played second base for his hometown Marysville Giants and the Yuba-Sutter Rebels where he gave younger players tips on how to improve their skills. His nickname was "Rabbit."

Early career

Anthony had a brief minor league career as a player in the 1940s and 1950s. He returned to the minor leagues as an umpire between 1960 and 1969. During that period, Anthony umpired in the California League and the Pacific Coast League before receiving the nod to work in the major leagues.

MLB career

Notable games

Anthony was added to the American League staff in June 1969 following a

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...

to Cal Drummond, who died in May 1970 due to complications from that injury while working a rehabilitation assignment in

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. As a home plate umpire on July 9, 1971, Anthony was involved in two arguments with

Tony Conigliaro Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and C ...

that preceded Conigliaro's retirement the next day. The first ensued when Conigliaro swung at a dropped third strike. The slugger ran to first base, but Anthony called him out per baseball rules, as there was already a runner occupying first base. In the 19th inning, Conigliaro was called out on strikes while attempting to bunt. Conigliaro tossed his helmet in the air and hit it with his bat. The player was ejected by one of Anthony's crew members,

George Maloney George Patrick Maloney (February 28, 1928 – July 29, 2003) was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1983, wearing uniform number 28 when the American League adopted them for umpires in 1980. Maloney umpir ...

. Anthony was also one of the first three umpires, along with

Don Denkinger Donald Anton Denkinger (; August 28, 1936 – May 12, 2023) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who worked in the American League (AL) from 1969 to 1998. Denkinger wore uniform number 11, when the AL adopted uniform numbers ...

and Dave Phillips, to switch to the inside chest protector, which American League umpires were allowed to use beginning in the 1975 season.

Personal life

Anthony was married to the former Virginia Luggar.TSN Umpire Card: Merle Anthony
/ref> He was sales manager of the local Plymouth dealer during the 1950s. Merle passed away on February 2nd, 1993. He was 66 years old.

References

External links