There
were eight regular umpires signed by the Canadian-American League in 1937.
Two were Canadians - Gene Chouinard of Ottawa and Arthur Prince,
33 years old, from Montreal. Chouinard was the only Canadian-American League
umpire to be retained from the 1936 season. The other six umpires were
Americans. Roy Arthur, 35, from Maryville, Mo had been an umpire for twelve
years. Leo Enger, 35, of St. Louis, Mo.had been an umpire in two
other professional leagues. Arthur Gore, 30 years old, from
Cambridge, Mass had umpired four years in the Catholic High School League
of Boston. J.A. "Tex" McDonald, 38, from Princeton, Minn.had worked in
the major league St. Louis Cardinals camps as an instructor and umpire.
Ray Murphy, from Lockport, NY was a high school teacher in Buffalo. Frank
Scanlon, 32 years old from Scranton, Pa. had umpired for ten years in the
New York City high school league, five years in the Scranton Pro Baseball
league and three years at the college level. Bernard Hogan of Utica
and Norman "Red" Collins of Carleton Place Ontario were given contracts
as substitute umpires.
Other
names that appear as umpires throughout the 1937 season include Reiger,
Padden, Cuthleno, and Raymondjack. The most promising umpire was Ray Murphy.
He had been sent to the Can-Am league by officials of the International
League and was scouted throughout the season. He had experience as an umpire
"in the National Colored League and was umpire in chief of the Western
New York Semi-Pro playoffs."
In
the photo above, Art Horsington is batting, Can-Am league umpire Artie
Gore is catching and Paul Padden is calling the balls & strikes.
The setting was a Saturday morning, before an afternoon game in Smiths
Falls Ontario in the summer of 1937. Art Horsington says that they
were just "fooling around' waiting for the afternoon game. The photo
along with several others that survive from that day provide a remarkable
record of a minor league ballpark in a small town in that era.
Umpires
were paid $175 a month, an increase of $25 from the previous season. According
to a story in the Ogdensburg Journal of April 15 1937, the umpires were
individually recommended by a variety of sources, including the Montreal
Royals, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Bees, National League officials,
college athletic directors, major league scouts, newspaper sports editors
and Presbyterian ministers. Despite this, there is evidence of a lot of
dissatisfaction with the work of the umpires. The Ogdensburg
Journal reported that a league game in Brockville on June 6 between the
Pirates and the Gloversville Glovers "was delayed frequently thru disputes
over decisions of the umpires, who were forced to call many close plays."
On Friday June 18, the Brockville Recorder and Times reported that Pirate
player-manager John Grilli delivered a solid smash to the jaw of pitcher
Ace Lee of the Ottawa Braves, Grilli taking exception to a few of Lee's
remarks. "Fistic engagements on the ball field are by no means a novelty,
but Umpire Arthur's decision in this instance left room for criticism.
Until Grilli let fly with a punch that staggered Lee, the altercation was
merely a chewing bee." The umpire allowed Grilli to remain in the game. |
Art
Horsington in front, Ernie Downer, Xavier Rescigno, Artie Gore, Paul Padden
standing. The best pitcher in the Can-Am league in 1937 was Xavier
Rescigno, (16-7, 1.56 ERA) from Jackson Heights,Long Island and Manhatten
College, where he was known as “Mysterious Mr. X”. Signed by the
Yankees in 1935, he made it to the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates from
1943 to 1945, followed by 4 seasons in the Pacific Coast league with Hollywood
and San Diego.
On
June 24 at a game in Ogdensburg there were a couple of "miniature riots"
when fans and players milled around the field after a disputed home run
by a visiting Oswego player. Umpire Leo Enger had to be given a police
escort through a crowd waiting outside the clubhouse after the game was
over. In his column of July 22, Jimmy Johnston described some of the officiating
as "putrid." He wrote that some of the umpires blink too much behind the
plate and miss the close calls. He did not suggest that the Beavers were
especially harmed by the poor officiating. "The Umps have not shown partiality
in particular. Every team had suffered."
On
Monday July 26, rising star Ray Murphy offered to fight anybody in the
stands during a game in Ogdensburg. Jimmy Johnston reported the incident
in his typical colorful fashion. "Murph thumped his chest in Tarzan manner
and challenged all the bleacher bozos to fistic combat." Murphy received
a two-week suspension from the league. On August 30, Frank Mason, sports
editor of the Ogdensburg Journal singled out "Tex" McDonald for criticism
and observed that, "the fans as a whole are kicking on the umpiring on
the part of two or three officials. It stands to reason that all the fans
can't be wrong. The league would be better off if the weak officials were
weeded out."
Smiths
Falls Beavers' manager Johnny Haddock was ejected from at least three games
during the season for arguing too strenuously with the officials. In a
game on August 5 in Perth, Haddock swung at umpire Roy Arthur, which
resulted in a 10-day suspension and a $100 fine from Judge Bramham.
The
editor of the Potsdam, NY Courier-Freeman, commented on a game played in
September.
"Saw
my last baseball game of the season in Ogdensburg on Monday. The work I
saw . . . was simply rotten and was not of the so-called sand lot
order. The league pays these men good American money, more money
than many of them have ever earned before, and it is entitled to
get value received . . . (I ) have seen most of the umpires in action and
with one or two exceptions the work of the umpires has been terrible -
and the fans know it."
The
problems that the Can-Am League experienced in 1937 due to questionable
officiating were mild compared to some other leagues in the same season.
In the Class D Kitty League, umpires complained that spectators rushed
out on the field and took pokes at them or remained in the stands and fired
at them with B.B. guns. |
