Hall of Fame Umpires

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

How 'bout some love for Ron Luciano, the most entertaining umpire most of us ever saw?

I read his books years ago, and they were very entertaining.

[h2oya311]

my vote's for Enrico Pallazzo. He certainly had a certain "flair" to his strike calling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyghaQMO5HQ

[Butch7999]

Umpires Committee? 19th Century Committee? Don't know what clique would need to consider him,
but James Gaffney, essentially the grandfather of modern umpiring (multi-umpire crews, field positioning,
signals, &c') and in his day widely considered the most accurate and most ethical ump in the sport,
should've been a shoo-in with the first umps elected to the Hall. Evidently the "shameful personal failing"
of alcoholism tainted his reputation long enough that he was eventually completely forgotten.

[mainemule]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Umpires Committee? 19th Century Committee? Don't know what clique would need to consider him,
but James Gaffney, essentially the grandfather of modern umpiring (multi-umpire crews, field positioning,
signals, &c') and in his day widely considered the most accurate and most ethical ump in the sport,
should've been a shoo-in with the first umps elected to the Hall. Evidently the "shameful personal failing"
of alcoholism tainted his reputation long enough that he was eventually completely forgotten.

Thanks for this write-up. I just read a bit about James so I appreciate learning about someone I had not heard of before.