The Evolution of Umpires’ Equipment and Uniforms

The evolution of umpires’ equipment and uniforms began in the mid-nineteenth century when modern baseball under the New York Rules was introduced. Beginning in 1846 when the New York Rules came into effect and the popularity of baseball began to spread across the country, umpires had to enforce the rules of play. Since leagues were not yet created, the competing teams were likely from nearby towns and the umpires were selected by the home team. The umpires were supposedly well-known townspeople of high ethical standards, such as lawyers, merchants, and doctors.1

They were the “representatives of authority.” There were no regulations on the umpires’ uniforms, but they were expected to be one of the most formally and conservatively dressed men at the grounds.2 The early umpires were dressed in a “sober black suit, white linen shirt, black scarf ties, and a tall silk hat.”3

Umpires’ dress began to evolve about 20 years before they began using protective equipment.

One of the first “tools of the trade” was the ball-and-strike indicator, introduced in 1874. The home teams were required to furnish a device consisting of pieces of wood moving on a wire, like a billiard tally, to track balls and strikes. In 1875 Peck & Snyder Sporting Goods began selling an “Umpires Assistant,” a ball-and-strike indicator made of black walnut with each ball and strike registered by turning the thumb screw. By 1885 the technology was improved to include a method for keeping track of runs scored in addition to the balls and strikes.4

In 1882 the American Association, organized as a major league the year before, became the first league to require umpires to wear a uniform, a blue wool suit. This was the first time umpires officiated in uniforms rather than their own clothes.5 The Association decided that having the umpires wear the same uniform would make a statement about their authority to judge the action on the playing field as well as making the single umpire working the game more identifiable to players and spectators as he moved around the field to make a call.6

At first the umpire made calls from a stationary position behind the pitcher. Starting in the 1880s National League umpires worked from behind home plate, where they had a complete view of the field. The umpire could also move around the field to get the best view of a play in order to make the best call possible.7

The National League adopted umpires’ uniforms in 1883, and the American League did when it was founded in 1901.8

There were only slight changes in the appearance of the umpires until the 1960s.

Umpires’ protective equipment evolved just as did the catchers’ equipment and the game itself. A rule change in 1880 required that the catchers had to catch the ball on a fly to record a strikeout.9 The catchers thus had to move closer to the batter and home plate, making their job far more dangerous. As the catchers moved closer to the plate, so did the umpires. Both required protection.

The first form of protective equipment used by catchers and umpires was the face mask, in 1882.10 Dick Higham is credited with being the first umpire to wear one.11

Top hats could no longer be worn with the face masks, and in the June 21, 1886, issue of The Sporting News the C.J. Chapin Arms Company, a dealer in firearms and sporting goods, advertised a new sunshade hat for $1. Wearing the hat allowed umpires to dispense with the umbrellas they held to ward off the sun’s rays, an annoyance to catchers.12 Eventually base umpires wore a “university style” of cap while the home plate umpire wore a shorter-billed “Boston style” cap that would fit under his mask.13

After the face mask was widely accepted and used throughout the umpiring community, the next piece of equipment introduced was the chest protector. The earliest chest protector was created by umpire John Gaffney, who in the 1888 season was reported to be wearing “an ingenious breast and stomach protector … made of pasteboard in sections, joined together with elastic, and made to fit tight around.”14 When Gaffney buttoned up his cardigan jacket, no one would know he was wearing a protector. He said he had been “hit so often in the chest and over his heart that he had to make some means to save his life.”15 By the end of the 1891 season most umpires were following Gaffney’s lead by wearing cork chest protectors. In 1913 Bill Klem was credited with having invented the aluminum rib protector, which was worn inside the coat.16 But Klem maintained that umpire Jack Sheridan invented the inside chest protector after suffering numerous injuries. Sheridan used a 20-by-10-inch hotel ledger which was worn inside his coat.17

Bill Klem also claimed that the inside protector gave him a better view of the ball. Before that, umpires used a “balloon,” the name for the outside protector because it had an inflatable bladder that deflated for travel and was worn outside the coat. The outside protector evolved in design to where it could not be deflated. Therefore, two outside protectors were kept at each ballpark so that umpires did not have to travel with them.18

Following Klem’s lead, the National League eventually made the inside chest protector mandatory for its The only exceptions were Lou Jorda and Beans Reardon, who were allowed to continue wearing the balloon, and Jocko Conlan, who was allowed to wear it for five more years because he had a throat problem and the outside protector offered greater protection.19

The next piece of protective gear to be introduced to the umpires was the shin guard. For years it was determined that since the umpire stood behind the catcher, they didn’t need shin guards. The earliest reported use of shin guards by an umpire were by Bob Emslie in 1900, when he showed up wearing cricket pads.20 By 1911 shin guards were in standard use, worn under the umpire’s pants and slightly smaller than the catcher’s shin guards.21

Changes in equipment have required changes in uniforms. Wearing shin guards under the pants, required that home-plate umpires’ pants have larger legs. When the chest protector moved from the balloon style to being worn inside the coat, the coats became bigger.

Whisk brooms replaced the large brooms used in both the National and American Leagues after Chicago Cubs outfielder Jack McCarthy stepped on a broom and sprained his ankle in a game on May 14, 1904.

By 1906 umpires could buy a kit to screw in spiked plates to prevent slipping on the field.22 Toe pads were introduced by umpire Jim Johnson in 1912.23 Since the late 1930s, umpire shoes have been available with a steel toe. The Major League Umpires Association has its own shoe endorsement.24

After blue suits became the symbol of authority for major-league baseball, they remained so with slight variation until the 1960s.25 The coat was modified over the years to keep up with changes in the game. As inside chest protectors became more common, the umpires wore jackets two sizes larger than usual to present a neatly tailored appearance.26 After Ray Chapman was killed by a Carl Mays pitch in August 1920, presumably because he couldn’t see the dirty ball as it came toward him, the “clean ball rule” was introduced, requiring the home-plate umpire to carry a supply of new balls. His suit jacket had larger pockets to carry the additional baseballs.27

In 1913 American League President Ban Johnson announced that an alternate white flannel suit would be worn on holidays and when the president of the United States attended a game.28 That year he also decided that umpires would wear a row of braid on their coat sleeves for each year of service, to be replaced by a gold star after five years.29

The white flannel suits quickly went away, but in 1926 alternate colored suits were tried again, this time light brown khaki suits for summer games. On “gala days” umpires wore “peachy ice-cream outfits.”30 The umpires accepted these outfits enthusiastically, even placing carnations in the button holes on Mother’s Day, the first day of wearing the new garb.31 After hoots and catcalls greeted the umpires when they took the field, they went back to the traditional blue for the next 40 years.32 A few years later the National League tried white trousers and blue blazers, but the players made a sport of kicking dirt on the white pants.33

During the last half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, fans wore suits to games. By the 1960s they were wearing sport shirts, khaki pants, jeans, shorts, and T-shirts to games. The umpire’s dress was way out of style. The days of attending a game in a suit were gone unless you came directly from work.34 In the transformation to a more relaxed atmosphere at the ballpark, the umpires appeared to project a formal, stiff, undertaker image. They needed to look more modern and the traditional colors did not look good on television. Times were changing and baseball umpires had to adapt while continuing to project an authoritative image.35

On March 20, 1968, the American League announced the first change in umpires’ attire in three decades. They began wearing blue blazer-style jackets and gray slacks with a white shirt. In hot weather the umpires could wear a blue shirt with the league’s symbol on the breast pocket with gray slacks, and without a jacket.36

The National League retained the blue suits, but added patches on the breast pocket and sleeves. In 1970 the league permitted umpires to wear short-sleeved blue shirts.37 The same year, the NL attached identification numbers to the umpires’ right sleeve, moving the league patch to the chest.38

When the leagues relaxed their rules about wearing jackets, the umpires needed something to hold spare baseballs. Two ball bags hung from an umpire’s belt and each held six balls.39

By the mid-’60s the American League was encouraging its umpires to use the inside protector, in part so they would look better on television. For the 1977 season, the inside chest protector was made mandatory for all new American League umpires. The last umpire to wear the outside chest protector was Jerry Neudecker in 1985, his last year before retiring.40

The chest protector had an influence on how the umpires called strikes. National League umpires could squat lower while wearing the inside protector and see around the catcher, better enabling them to see low strikes. American league umpires stood more upright with the balloon protector, and called more high strikes.41

The leagues also started to pay for umpires’ uniforms in the 1970s, a cost the umpires had to bear up to that point.42

This was the beginning of many slight changes to umpires’ uniforms for years to come. Sometime in the early ’70s, National League umpires were permitted to wear black turtlenecks under their blue suit jackets as well as a dark T-shirt under their uniform shirts, for a popular layered look.43

In 1975 the American League broke tradition by attiring the umpires in maroon suit jackets, the first deviation from blue since the 1920s. These maroon coats were worn with dark gray or black slacks, a white shirt, black tie, and a hat with a white shield.44

By 1980 both the American and National Leagues began to move more and more toward identical standards. Both leagues were now required to wear the inside chest protector (with the few specific exceptions), and umpires from both leagues came out of the same umpire schools and were governed by the Umpire Development Program.45 Both leagues adopted the blue blazer and gray trouser combination with a white AL or NL on the dark blue cap. League emblems were located on the left jacket pocket. Turtlenecks and short-sleeved shirts continued to be worn.46 The trend of slight color changes and shirt styles continued into the twenty-first century.

An interest in focusing on safety for both the players and the umpires brought many technology advancements to the game. Joe West, who umpired his first major-league game in 1976 at age 23, designed and patented the only umpire gear endorsed by Major League Baseball for use by its umpires.47 The “West Vest” line of umpires’ equipment is made by Wilson Sporting Goods.

The “Pro Platinum Chest Protector” is manufactured for maximum protection. The reason is that it fits better. This chest protector conforms to the shoulders, and the enhanced side pads add comfort and protection. It has the most armor and fits the best, making it the most widely used chest protector today.

Joe West also designed a mask that is made with two single crossbars made of solid steel for strength. This style is an upgrade from the hinged masks that create a blind spot on balls hit up or down.48 Today’s masks are made with a variety of pads including deerskin and memory foam, which conforms to the face and are wrapped in a moisture wicking fabric.49

Innovations in the West Vest line of shin guards includes protecting one of the hardest areas to protect — the knees. Increased padding behind the knees absorbs the blows so the knees and legs don’t need to. These shin guards are adjustable in many ways to help make the best fit for each umpire.50

West Vest supplies other umpire protection equipment like the biceps protectors and throat protector that hangs from the mask and protects the throat from foul tips.51

Toward the end of the twentieth century, some catchers and umpires began wearing hockey-style masks, which provide better visibility and protection from a hitter’s backswing, but does not offer as much protection from foul tips as the conventional mask and skull caps from the past. Since concussions from foul tips are much more common than being hit in the back of the head with a backswing, many catchers and umpires who tried the hockey-style helmets have gone back to the conventional mask.

Former official Dick Honig started Honig’s Whistle Stop in 1984, a supply house for officiating clothing and equipment which has expanded to eight branch offices in addition to the main office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.52

Honig’s latest Pro-Elite Chest Protector key features include increased strength, rigidity, and hardness, as well as being lightweight. Removable Velcro pads on the backside provide extra protection while at the same time creating a quarter-inch space between the protector and the torso for improved air flow and comfort. A vest style mesh harness replaces the typical “y-strap” harness for added comfort and ventilation. Additional waist and shoulder adjustment straps make this chest protector fit like a glove.53

As with the chest protectors, Honig’s shin guards and face masks are designed to provide the greatest protection as well as comfort for today’s umpires.

Recent advancements have allowed the umpires’ uniforms to be more comfortable with variations for the weather, and technology advancements in equipment are providing the umpires with a safer and more comfortable environment.

 

Notes

1 Elizabeth K. Martin, The Development of Baseball Umpires’ Uniforms, 1846-1996 (University of Rhode Island master’s thesis, 1997), 6.

2 Martin, 1.

3 Matin, 5.

4 Peter Morris, A Game of Inches (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee Publisher, 2006), 391.

5 Martin, 2.

6 Ibid.

7 Martin, 4.

8 Martin, 13.

9 Martin, 64.

10 Morris, 391.

11 Jonathan Fraser Light, The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, 2nd Edition (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2005), 970.

12 Morris, 391; The Sporting News, June 21, 1886.

13 Light, 970.

14 Morris, 391.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 Light, 970.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Morris, 391.

21 Light, 970.

22 Light, 971.

23 Morris, 391; The Sporting News, June 15, 1912.

24 Light, 971.

25 Martin, 4.

26 Martin, 16.

27 Ibid.

28 Martin, 34.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

32 Ibid.

33 Ibid.

34 Martin, 37.

35 Ibid.

36 Ibid., 39.

37 Ibid.

38 Martin, 40.

39 Light, 970.

40 Ibid.

41 Ibid.

42 Martin, 40.

43 Ibid.

44 Ibid.

45 Martin, 43.

46 Ibid.

47 Umpirejoewest.com/umpire_equipment.htm.

48 Ibid.

49 Ibid.

50 Ibid.

51 Ibid.

52 honigs.com/

53 Ibid.