Timothy Carroll Hurst (June 30, 1865 – June 4, 1915) was an American sports official who worked as an

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

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 ...

and as a boxing referee in championship fights. His baseball umpiring career lasted 16 seasons from to . For one season, in , he became the on-field manager of the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

, at which the team had a record of 39–111 in 154 games. After his season of managing the Browns, he returned to his umpiring career. From 1891 through 1904 he umpired in the

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 ...

, then finished his career 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 1905-1909. Noted for his pugnacious and combative style, Hurst was suspended on several occasions for refusing to report player misconduct to his league office, insisting instead he ought to be allowed to settle matters with players personally, often engaging them in fights after the game was over. During a game on June 6, 1893 between the Chicago Colts and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

at New York's

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

, Hurst made several controversial calls which made the "

Bleacher Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

ites ... feverishly indignant." At the end of the game, "a number of ill-bred fellows" from the crowd jumped the railings and rushed at Hurst. With the help of three or four policemen, Hurst escaped with at most a scratch. During a game on August 4, 1897 between

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 ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

at Cincinnati's

League Park League Park was a baseball park located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was situated at the northeast corner of Dunham Street (now known as East 66th Street) and Lexington Avenue in the Hough, Cleveland, Hough neighborhood. It was buil ...

, Hurst angered fans by ruling that Cincinnati's Bug Holliday was tagged out despite having been deliberately tripped by Pittsburgh's Dick Padden. After a fan threw a beer glass onto the field which landed at Hurst's feet, Hurst threw the glass back into the crowd, hitting an innocent fan in the head who "fell to the floor like an ox hit in the head with a sledgehammer." The man was carried off unconscious and in serious condition while police had to keep the crowd from attacking Hurst. Hurst was ultimately arrested and charged with assault. In 1946 Hurst was among several umpires named to the Honor Rolls of Baseball by the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

, at a time when no umpires had yet received full membership in the Hall. Hurst was born in Ashland, Pennsylvania and died at the age of 49 in

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is a city and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the wes ...

. He is interred at the Calvary Cemetery in

Woodside, Queens Woodside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, Queens, Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, Queens, Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

References

External links

Baseball-Reference manager page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, Tim 1865 births 1915 deaths Major League Baseball umpires 19th-century baseball umpires American boxing referees St. Louis Browns managers Sportspeople from Pennsylvania People from Ashland, Pennsylvania Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Queens)