Emmet Thomas "Red" Ormsby (April 3, 1895 – October 11, 1962) was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

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 nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

who worked in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

from 1923 to 1941. Ormsby umpired 2,537 major league games in his 19-year career, in addition to working in the

1935 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1935 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the third 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 July ...

, and in four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

(

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

, 1933,

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...

, and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

Pitching career

Ormsby began his baseball career in as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

in the

Wisconsin–Illinois League The Wisconsin State League was a class D baseball league that began in 1905, changing its name to the Wisconsin–Illinois League in 1908 and operating through 1914. The league re–organized under that name in 1926. Another Wisconsin State Leagu ...

. He posted a 14–13

win-loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

while playing for the

Green Bay Bays Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

. In , he pitched for Green Bay,

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

, and Omaha. He then served in the Marines during World War I.

Umpiring career

In , Ormsby started his umpiring career in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. He moved on to the Western League in , before being hired by the

in . In 1927, he required a police escort from the field in Philadelphia after a foul ball ruling on a blast hit by

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the la ...

. Fans rioted after Cobb and

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

were both ejected from the game. At a 1929 Philadelphia-Cleveland game, Ormsby sustained a concussion when was hit in the head by a glass bottle intended for another umpire. During a Browns-White Sox contest in 1935, Ormsby was indirectly responsible for the start of Hall of Fame umpire Jocko Conlan's time as an arbiter. Ormsby was overcome by the heat during the game and injured White Sox player Conlan was asked to assume umpiring duties. In December 1941, Ormsby was placed on the retired list with a pension. He had been in declining health for the last three years of his career.

Later life

After his umpiring career, he worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

from to .The Sporting News umpire card
/ref> He also worked with a county sheriff's department and was secretary on the Chicago Liquor License Appeal Board. He died on October 11, 1962, while raking leaves at his Chicago home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ormsby, Red 1895 births 1962 deaths Major League Baseball umpires Sportspeople from Illinois Green Bay Bays players Waterloo Jays players Omaha Rourkes players