September 14, 1976: Cowboy Joe’s first ride: West umpires first of record-setting 5,460 games

The long, record-setting, and sometimes turbulent career of umpire Joe West began about as quietly as could be imagined, in front of fewer than 1,000 paying customers on a rainy Tuesday evening in Atlanta on September 14, 1976.

At age 23, West umpired his first big-league game in the first half of a doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros. He worked at third base, without reported incident, as the Astros defeated the Braves, 4-3.

The eight big-league games West umpired that season kicked off a 44-season career in which he worked 5,460 regular-season contests – more than any other umpire as of July 20241 – along with six World Series, three All-Star Games, and numerous playoff series and wild-card games.

Along the way, the ump known as “Cowboy Joe” for his sideline singing country music landed in more controversies than can be recounted here. Among others, he was suspended for three days in 1983 and fined $500 for pushing Braves manager Joe Torre; threw Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dennis Cook to the ground during a 1990 brawl; ejected Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo from a ballpark suite for yelling and complaining in 2020; and won a $500,000 defamation judgment against former catcher Paul Lo Duca, who falsely claimed on a podcast that West gave teammate Billy Wagner favorable strike calls in exchange for rides in Wagner’s 1957 Chevrolet.2 Although West was sometimes bitterly criticized by those he clashed with, he was also described as one of the major leagues’ best umpires.3

That was all in the unforeseen future on September 14, 1976, though. The first game of the doubleheader was a makeup for a game postponed by rain on May 28, and conditions were again damp and chilly on the rescheduled date. In a ballpark with a seating capacity of more than 51,500, a scant 1,570 fans turned out, of whom 970 paid.4 Astros manager Bill Virdon was realistic about the poor turnout: “The circumstances tonight did not lead anyone to expect a big crowd. The weather was bad, there’s no [pennant] race, and school has started.”5

Both teams had long since fallen out of competition in the National League West Division. Virdon’s Astros entered the day in third place with a 71-74 record, 22 games behind the eventual World Series champion Cincinnati Reds. Dave Bristol’s Braves held sixth and last place with a 62-82 record, 30½ games out. Houston had swept a three-game series from Atlanta at the end of May and won three of four from the Braves in a series from July 30 to August 1. In total, the Astros won 11 of their 18 games against the Braves that season.

The Astros started right-hander Mark Lemongello, making his big-league debut at age 21. Lemongello, a New Jersey native, had signed with the Detroit Tigers as an undrafted free agent in 1973; the Tigers traded him to Houston in December 1975. A 10-6 record and a 4.53 ERA in 30 games at Triple-A Memphis were enough to punch Lemongello’s ticket for a late-season call-up.6

Atlanta started right-hander Dick Ruthven, in his first season with the Braves after being traded from the Chicago White Sox in December 1975.7 Ruthven, who hadn’t won a game since August 8, entered with a 13-14 record and a 3.75 ERA. He went on to lead the NL that season in earned runs allowed (112) and losses (17).8 Although the Braves started a veteran in the first game on September 14, they too had pitchers poised to make their major-league debuts. Al Autry started the second game, while Rick Camp made his first big-league appearance starting the next day’s game against the Astros.9

As for new arrival West, he’d reached the majors after just three seasons in the minor leagues. He started in the Class A Western Carolinas League in 1974, then rose to the Double-A Southern League in 1975. He spent most of the 1976 season there, though some sources reported he had moved up to the Triple-A American Association when the NL called him up.10 One reporter called him the Southern League’s “best arbiter this summer” in August 1976.11 For his first big-league game, he was joined by colleagues Paul Pryor behind home plate, John McSherry at first base, and Art Williams at second.12

The visiting Astros quickly jumped out to a lead they never relinquished. With one out in the first inning,13 Enos Cabell and César Cedeño hit back-to-back singles. Cedeño – the ’76 Astros’ team leader in steals with 58 – stole second base to put runners on second and third. An intentional walk to Bob Watson loaded the bases. The Braves got the force at second on José Cruz’s grounder to shortstop, but Cabell scored and Cedeño took third.

With Jerry DaVanon at the plate, Cruz stole second. Braves catcher Vic Correll threw wildly, and Cedeño scored for a 2-0 Astros lead.14 Walks to DaVanon and Ed Herrmann reloaded the bases before eighth-place hitter Roger Metzger ended the rally with a groundout.

Correll, who had handed the Astros their second run, helped get the Braves on the board in the bottom of the third. He led off with a single, took second on Ruthven’s sacrifice, and scored one out later on a single by Rod Gilbreath, cutting the deficit to 2-1. A walk to Willie Montañez put runners on first and second, but Ken Henderson grounded back to Lemongello.

Both teams capitalized on rallies in the fifth. In the top half, Gross walked. Two outs later, Watson doubled him in for a 3-1 Houston lead. The Braves responded with a double by Ruthven, a single by Jerry Royster that moved Ruthven to West’s bailiwick at third, and a run-scoring groundout by Gilbreath. Ruthven collected 13 hits in 76 at-bats that season, and this was his only extra-base hit. It was again a one-run game at 3-2.

Astros third baseman Cabell was not typically a power hitter. He’d gone deep only once before in 1976, on June 25, and ended his career with 60 home runs in parts of 15 seasons.15 But with one out in the seventh, he found the range against Ruthven for a solo home run that made the score 4-2, Houston. Cedeño again singled and stole second, but Watson and Cruz could not bring him around.

The seventh and eighth innings saw the Braves make notable lineup changes. Lefty-swinging Brian Asselstine made his big-league debut leading off the seventh as a pinch-hitter for Correll, flying to right field. Asselstine played parts of six seasons with the Braves.

In the top of the eighth, 20-year-old Dale Murphy – who had made his first big-league appearance the previous day – entered the game to replace Correll at catcher. Later converted to the outfield, Murphy became one of the top NL sluggers of the 1980s, a two-time recipient of the NL Most Valuable Player Award and The Sporting News NL Player of the Year Award, and a five-time Gold Glove winner. Pablo Torrealba replaced Ruthven on the mound in the eighth and pitched two hitless, shutout innings.

Lemongello remained in the game to start the eighth but ran into trouble. Montañez singled to center and took second when Cedeño misplayed the ball. Henderson singled him in, bringing the score to 4-3. Ken Forsch, who served as the Astros’ late-inning shutdown reliever, replaced Lemongello and retired Dave May, Tom Paciorek, and Darrel Chaney to keep Houston in the lead.16

The Braves threatened again in their last turn at bat. Murphy led off with a single, his third major-league hit.17 Rob Belloir, hitting for Torrealba, bunted Murphy into scoring position. Forsch stiffened, getting Royster to pop to the catcher and Gilbreath to ground out to Metzger at shortstop. The game ended in 2 hours and 16 minutes with Lemongello getting his first major-league win,18 Forsch picking up his 19th save, and Ruthven taking the loss. “(Lemongello) did a good job for us,” Virdon said afterward. “He threw strikes.”19

The Braves won the nightcap, 4-3, and Bristol praised his team’s effort: “We played it to the hilt. Not everybody does this time of year, in our situation.”20 News accounts made no mention of arguments or disagreements featuring West or any of the other umpires. The Astros and Braves finished 1976 in the same positions they’d held on September 14.

West’s career highlights included working behind the plate for a no-hitter by the Boston Red Sox’ Clay Buchholz on September 1, 2007; Willie McCovey’s 500th home run on June 30, 1978; Pete Rose’s 4,000th hit on April 13, 1984; the 2005 and 2017 All-Star Games; the clinching Game Six of the 2009 World Series; and the first regularly scheduled American or National League game outside the US and Canada, played in Monterrey, Mexico, in August 1996.21 As of this writing in July 2024, though, West had not followed Klem into the Hall of Fame, receiving fewer than five votes in balloting in December 2023.22

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Larry DeFillipo and copy-edited by Len Levin. The author thanks SABR member and Games Project chair John Fredland for research assistance.

Photo credit: Joe West, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for general player, team, and season data and the box scores for this game.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL197609141.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1976/B09141ATL1976.htm

Notes

1 The previous record-holder was Hall of Famer Bill Klem, with 5,375 games. West broke Klem’s record on May 25, 2021, working home plate for a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox. Rick Hummel, “Errors Doom Cards,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 2021: B1.

2 Jay Cohen (Associated Press), “Joe West Breaks Umpiring Record of 5,375 Games,” Elwood (Indiana) Call-Leader, May 26, 2001: 8; Matt Bonesteel, “As He Retires, a Look at Umpire Joe West’s Greatest Hits, Misses,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 10, 2021: D1.

3 “Record-Breaking Ump West to Retire,” Newport News (Virginia) Daily Press, October 5, 2021: B4.

4 Seamheads.com ballpark database entry for Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, accessed July 2024, https://www.seamheads.com/ballparks/ballpark.php?parkID=ATL01; Wayne Minshew, “Montanez Blast Gets Braves Split,” Atlanta Constitution, September 15, 1976: 1C. According to Retrosheet’s game log for the 1976 Braves, the team played to fewer than 2,000 paying customers eight times between September 1 and the season’s end on October 3. All but one of those games were played at home.

5 “Only 970 See Astros, Braves Split,” Houston Chronicle, September 15, 1976: 6:2. This story is credited to “Chronicle News Services.”

6 Lemongello was the only Memphis pitcher to reach double digits in wins in 1976, and also led the team in innings pitched with 165.

7 Ruthven spent 1973 through 1975 with the Philadelphia Phillies, who traded him to the White Sox on December 10, 1975, in a deal that brought Jim Kaat to Philadelphia. The White Sox flipped Ruthven to Atlanta two days later; Ruthven never appeared in a game for the White Sox.

8 Ruthven finished the season with a 14-17 record. His 14 wins were second on the Braves behind Phil Niekro’s 17, and Ruthven ranked third on the team with 4.5 Wins Above Replacement, trailing only Niekro’s 6.9 and Andy Messersmith’s 5.6.

9 Autry and Camp had dramatically different major-league careers. Autry’s appearance in the second game on September 14 was his only major-league game; he worked five innings and got the win. Camp took the loss on September 15, but appeared in 414 games across nine seasons for the Braves. Camp was a useful member of the pitching staff of the 1982 NL West Division champion Braves, appearing in 51 games and winning 11, though he was hit hard in his only playoff appearance.

10 Sporting News umpire card for Joe West, accessed July 2024, https://retrosheet.org/TSNUmpireCards/West-Joseph.jpg. The Associated Press’s widely reprinted story on West’s promotion in September 1976 listed him as coming from the American Association, but news stories from as late as August 1976 indicate he was still in the Southern League at that time, and it appears most likely he had been in the Southern League all season. Rick Young, “Hard Luck Dogs SL Batting Kings,” Montgomery (Alabama) Alabama Journal, August 10, 1976: 7; Larry Pope, “Sunday’s Notebook: Soroko a Realist,” Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen-Times, August 1, 1976: 1B; Associated Press, “NL Calls Up New Umpires,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 15, 1976: 3D.

11 Rick Young, “Fly Lost ‘In The Moon,’” Montgomery Alabama Journal, September 21, 1976: 9.

12 In a tragic measure of the length of West’s career, all three of the other umpires from his debut game had been dead for at least a quarter-century by the time he retired. Williams, the NL’s first Black umpire, died after falling into a coma following surgery for a pituitary gland tumor in 1979; Pryor died in 1995 following a lengthy illness; and McSherry suffered a fatal heart attack on the field during an Opening Day game in Cincinnati in 1996.

13 Leadoff hitter Greg Gross reached first on an error by Braves shortstop Darrel Chaney, but was thrown out trying to steal second.

14 Correll’s wild throw drew a cry of “Oh, no!” from Braves owner Ted Turner, sitting with a reporter, who had to explain the play to Turner. The following season, Turner took over the Braves’ managerial reins for one game – a loss. Frank Hyland, “Dog Days,” Atlanta Journal, September 15, 1976: 1D.

15 Cabell broke out for 16 homers in 1977, the only season of his career with double-digit homers at the big-league level.

16 Forsch led the team with 19 saves for the full season. The next-closest reliever, Gene Pentz, had 5.

17 Murphy finished his career with 2,111 major-league hits over 18 seasons.

18 Lemongello ended his career with 22 wins over four major-league seasons.

19 “Only 970 See Astros, Braves Split.”

20 Minshew, “Montanez Blast Gets Braves Split.”

21 This list only includes noteworthy games for which West was behind the plate; it does not include additional significant games for which West was working on the basepaths or in the outfield. For instance, West umped at first base for the first game in Florida/Miami Marlins franchise history on April 5, 1993.

22 Ronald Blum (Associated Press), “Leyland Elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame,” McDowell News (Marion, North Carolina), December 5, 2023: B3.