Thomas Henry Connolly (December 31, 1870 – April 28, 1961) was an English-American umpire in Major League Baseball. He officiated in the National League from 1898 to 1900, followed by 31 years of service in the American League from 1901 to 1931.[1] In over half a century as an American League umpire and supervisor, he established the high standards for which the circuit's arbiters became known, and solidified the reputation for integrity of umpires in the major leagues.
Connolly was born in Manchester, England, and played cricket as a boy. It was not until his family emigrated to the United States in 1885, settling in Natick, Massachusetts, that he saw the game of baseball played for the first time, but he was quickly fascinated and resolved himself to learning as much about the game as he could. He immersed himself in the rule book, and within a few years was umpiring for local games. While working in YMCA games, he was discovered by major league umpire Tim Hurst, who obtained a position for Connolly in the New England League, where he umpired from 1894 to 1897.[2]
MLB career
In 1898, the National League (NL) brought Connolly up to the majors, but he was angered by the league president's reluctance to back up umpires' decisions on the field, and resigned in the middle of the 1900 season, then signed with the fledgling American League (AL) in 1901. That league's president, Ban Johnson, was eager to create a reputation for the AL as a solid challenger to the NL, and he gave umpires a greater measure of support than they had previously received, demonstrating that attacks upon umpires would not be tolerated and that their judgment was final. On April 24, 1901, Connolly had the privilege of umpiring, as its sole arbiter, the first AL game ever played.[3]
Although he had begun his career by showing that he was willing to remove players from the field — he ejected more than 10 in his first AL season[1] — he came to earn great respect from the players, and once went 5 full seasons (1925–1929) without ejecting a player.[1][a] He also showed an ability to stand firm against the toughest players in defense of the rules; on September 11, 1912, he called Ty Cobb out for stepping across home plate while batting, after Cobb had batted in a run during an attempted intentional walk.[4] During the ensuing argument, Connolly was struck in the mouth by a bottle thrown by a spectator.[5] His reputation earned him prominent game assignments, including the first AL games ever played at Comiskey Park, Shibe Park, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium. Connolly was also the sole AL umpire chosen to work in the first World Series in 1903.
In 1931, new AL president Will Harridge was concerned about widespread complaints that the quality of umpiring in the league had deteriorated, and Connolly retired from active field work to become the league's first supervisor of umpires. Travelling throughout the league to work with other umpires and ensure that everyone's work was meeting the same high standards, he remained in that post until 1954, and came to be known as the nation's foremost expert on baseball rules.
In his career, Connolly worked in an AL-record eight World Series: 1903, 1908 (even-numbered games), 1910, 1911, 1913, 1916, 1920 and 1924. He was also the home plate umpire for Addie Joss' perfect game on October 2, 1908,[6] one of four no-hitters in which he called balls and strikes.
Later life
Connolly was named in the Honor Rolls of Baseball in 1946, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, one of the first two umpires (the NL's Bill Klem was the other) given that honor.[2] Connolly and Klem are the only two umpires in history to have worked in five decades; Connolly's record of 31 years umpiring American League games was broken by Larry Barnett in 1999.
Connolly died in 1961 at age 90 in Natick, Massachusetts, survived by seven children,[7] and predeceased by his wife, who had died in 1943.[2]
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For the baseball outfielder see Tom Connelly For other people with the same name see Tom Connolly disambiguation Thomas Henry Connolly December 31 1870 April 28 1961 was an English American umpire in Major League Baseball He officiated in the National League from 1898 to 1900 followed by 31 years of service in the American League from 1901 to 1931 1 In over half a century as an American League umpire and supervisor he established the high standards for which the circuit s arbiters became known and solidified the reputation for integrity of umpires in the major leagues Tom ConnollyConnolly at the 1916 World SeriesUmpireBorn 1870 12 31 December 31 1870Manchester EnglandDied April 28 1961 1961 04 28 aged 90 Natick Massachusetts USMember of the NationalBaseball Hall of FameInduction1953Election methodVeterans Committee Contents 1 Early life 2 MLB career 3 Later life 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksEarly life EditConnolly was born in Manchester England and played cricket as a boy It was not until his family emigrated to the United States in 1885 settling in Natick Massachusetts that he saw the game of baseball played for the first time but he was quickly fascinated and resolved himself to learning as much about the game as he could He immersed himself in the rule book and within a few years was umpiring for local games While working in YMCA games he was discovered by major league umpire Tim Hurst who obtained a position for Connolly in the New England League where he umpired from 1894 to 1897 2 MLB career EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tom Connolly news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message In 1898 the National League NL brought Connolly up to the majors but he was angered by the league president s reluctance to back up umpires decisions on the field and resigned in the middle of the 1900 season then signed with the fledgling American League AL in 1901 That league s president Ban Johnson was eager to create a reputation for the AL as a solid challenger to the NL and he gave umpires a greater measure of support than they had previously received demonstrating that attacks upon umpires would not be tolerated and that their judgment was final On April 24 1901 Connolly had the privilege of umpiring as its sole arbiter the first AL game ever played 3 Although he had begun his career by showing that he was willing to remove players from the field he ejected more than 10 in his first AL season 1 he came to earn great respect from the players and once went 5 full seasons 1925 1929 without ejecting a player 1 a He also showed an ability to stand firm against the toughest players in defense of the rules on September 11 1912 he called Ty Cobb out for stepping across home plate while batting after Cobb had batted in a run during an attempted intentional walk 4 During the ensuing argument Connolly was struck in the mouth by a bottle thrown by a spectator 5 His reputation earned him prominent game assignments including the first AL games ever played at Comiskey Park Shibe Park Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium Connolly was also the sole AL umpire chosen to work in the first World Series in 1903 In 1931 new AL president Will Harridge was concerned about widespread complaints that the quality of umpiring in the league had deteriorated and Connolly retired from active field work to become the league s first supervisor of umpires Travelling throughout the league to work with other umpires and ensure that everyone s work was meeting the same high standards he remained in that post until 1954 and came to be known as the nation s foremost expert on baseball rules In his career Connolly worked in an AL record eight World Series 1903 1908 even numbered games 1910 1911 1913 1916 1920 and 1924 He was also the home plate umpire for Addie Joss perfect game on October 2 1908 6 one of four no hitters in which he called balls and strikes Later life EditConnolly was named in the Honor Rolls of Baseball in 1946 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953 one of the first two umpires the NL s Bill Klem was the other given that honor 2 Connolly and Klem are the only two umpires in history to have worked in five decades Connolly s record of 31 years umpiring American League games was broken by Larry Barnett in 1999 Connolly died in 1961 at age 90 in Natick Massachusetts survived by seven children 7 and predeceased by his wife who had died in 1943 2 See also Edit Baseball portalList of Major League Baseball umpiresNotes Edit Some sources say 10 years 2 but detailed ejection logs on Retrosheet show only 5 years 1 References Edit a b c d Tommy Connolly Retrosheet Retrieved August 21 2017 a b c d Anderson David W Tommy Connolly SABR Retrieved August 21 2017 Chicago 8 Cleveland 2 box score Chicago Tribune April 25 1901 Retrieved August 21 2017 via newspapers com Called Cobb Out Hit with Bottle The Philadelphia Inquirer September 12 1912 Retrieved August 21 2017 via newspapers com Umpire Struck by Bottle Chicago Tribune September 12 1912 Retrieved August 21 2017 via newspapers com Addie Joss Perfect Game Box Score Baseball Almanac Retrieved August 21 2017 Ex Umpire Connolly is Dead at 90 Chicago Tribune UPI April 29 1961 Retrieved August 21 2017 via newspapers com External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tom Connolly Tom Connolly at the Baseball Hall of Fame Tom Connolly at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom Connolly amp oldid 1113592350, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
