Frederick Charles Spenn is an American former baseball umpire. Spenn was one of the eight minor league replacement umpires who was promoted to the major leagues during the 1979 Major League Umpires Association strike.[1] Spenn wore uniform number 32 when the American League adopted them for its umpires in 1980.
While umpiring in the Southern League in 1972, Spenn was chased and struck with a bat by Savannah Braves hurler Pablo Torrealba after a called third strike on the pitcher. The bat broke across Spenn's back. Torrealba was suspended for the rest of the season.[3] Spenn received a $50 fine and a reprimand for abusive language.[4]
Major league baseball
Before his promotion in 1979, Spenn had served as an American League reserve umpire for the previous two seasons, substituting in 95 major league games during that time. Spenn umpired through the 1980 MLB season, after which he was fired. He appeared in one game during the threatened umpire strike of 1991, after which MLB umpires went back to work.[5] He was the last umpire to join the American League using the outside chest protector.[6] He used this through the 1979 season. He switched to the inside protector for 1980.
fred, spenn, frederick, charles, spenn, american, former, baseball, umpire, spenn, eight, minor, league, replacement, umpires, promoted, major, leagues, during, 1979, major, league, umpires, association, strike, spenn, wore, uniform, number, when, american, le. Frederick Charles Spenn is an American former baseball umpire Spenn was one of the eight minor league replacement umpires who was promoted to the major leagues during the 1979 Major League Umpires Association strike 1 Spenn wore uniform number 32 when the American League adopted them for its umpires in 1980 Fred SpennBorn 1945 05 04 May 4 1945 age 78 Monroe MichiganOccupationFormer MLB umpire Contents 1 Minor league career 2 Major league baseball 3 See also 4 ReferencesMinor league career EditSpenn began umpiring minor league baseball in 1970 He officiated in the Carolina League Southern League and American Association prior to becoming a major league umpire during the 1979 strike 2 While umpiring in the Southern League in 1972 Spenn was chased and struck with a bat by Savannah Braves hurler Pablo Torrealba after a called third strike on the pitcher The bat broke across Spenn s back Torrealba was suspended for the rest of the season 3 Spenn received a 50 fine and a reprimand for abusive language 4 Major league baseball EditBefore his promotion in 1979 Spenn had served as an American League reserve umpire for the previous two seasons substituting in 95 major league games during that time Spenn umpired through the 1980 MLB season after which he was fired He appeared in one game during the threatened umpire strike of 1991 after which MLB umpires went back to work 5 He was the last umpire to join the American League using the outside chest protector 6 He used this through the 1979 season He switched to the inside protector for 1980 Spenn was home plate umpire for Bert Blyleven s no hitter on September 22 1977 7 See also Edit Baseball portalList of Major League Baseball umpiresReferences Edit Farber Michael August 2 1980 One strike the umps will never forget The Montreal Gazette Retrieved July 6 2012 Frederick Spenn TSN Umpire Cards Retrosheet Retrieved July 6 2012 Pitcher Hits Ump With Bat Suspended Associated Press July 4 1972 Retrieved July 7 2012 Braves minor league pitcher suspended Associated Press July 1 1972 Retrieved July 6 2012 Fred Spenn Retrosheet Retrieved July 7 2012 Cleveland Memory Project http images ulib csuohio edu u press 3131 Retrosheet Boxscore Texas Rangers 6 California Angels 0 This biographical article relating to an American baseball umpire is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fred Spenn amp oldid 1066015960, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
