Bob Emslie
Encyclopedia
Robert Daniel Emslie was a Canadian
pitcher
in Major League Baseball
who went on to set numerous records for longevity as an umpire
. Born in Guelph
, Ontario
, Canada
, he was nicknamed "Wig" due to his premature receding hairline, and "Blind Bob" as well, for his role in the infamous "Merkle's Boner" play during the season.
teams in Ontario until signing on with the Camden, New Jersey
team of an early version of the Interstate League
for the season. He pitched for the them until middle of the season when he joined the Baltimore Orioles
of the American Association
. The first season with the Orioles, he had a 9-13 record, with 3.17 earned run average
, 21 complete game
s, and one shutout
. His best season was in when he had a 32-17 record completed all 50 of his starts
, and had a 2.75 E.R.A.
The following season, in , Emslie's numbers greatly decreased with Baltimore, reportedly due to a sore arm that is attributed to his excessive use of the curveball
, and he was moved to the Philadelphia Athletics
also of the American Association. He pitched in only four games for the A's; his major league playing career was over, and by his minor league
career was over as well.
game, when he was asked to officiate when the assigned umpire fell ill. He then spent the next four years umpiring in three leagues. He was with the International League for the and seasons, then began his major league career when he umpired American Association games in . He began the season in the Western League
, but was soon back in the majors, working for the National League
, debuting on August 17.
Emslie was involved in many of the game's highlights, including calling four no-hitter
s. The first one was on August 16, 1893, when Bill Hawke
of the Orioles tossed his; the second was Deacon Phillippe
's of the Louisville Colonels
on May 25, 1899. The third no-hitter came on September 18, 1903 by Chick Fraser
of the Philadelphia Phillies
, and the fourth was tossed on May 8, 1907, by Francis "Big Jeff" Pfeffer
of the Boston Doves
.
He also officated on July 13, 1896 when Ed Delahanty
become the second player to hit four home run
s in one game.
By the end of the season, he began to work the bases almost exclusively, instead of calling games from behind the plate. In all, Emslie served 33 years as an active-duty umpire before retiring at the end of the season. He then served as NL Chief of Umpires, with the responsibilities of inspecting, scouting, and coaching new umpires.
-Chicago Cubs
game at the Polo Grounds
. With the score tied, with two out, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants had Moose McCormick
on third base and Fred Merkle
on first base; Al Bridwell
smashed a single
to center
to drive home McCormick with the apparent winning run, but Merkle failed to touch second base. Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers
noticed this error, and tagged second base and appealed to Emslie. Emslie claimed that he had to duck out of the way of Bridwell's line drive and did not see the play, and home plate Umpire Hank O'Day
declared Merkle out and the game a tie. New York manager John McGraw
, with whom Bob had a long and tempestuous history with, bestowed upon Emslie his nickname, "Blind Bob," and the incident is called "Merkle's Boner." Notably, Emslie and O'Day were the two most experience umpires in major league history at that point, with Emslie having worked nearly 2,500 games and O'Day nearly 1,700. Later, he showed up at a Giants' practice with a rifle, placed a dime on the pitching mound, and then with a shot fired from behind home plate sent the coin spinning into the outfield. Reportedly, McGraw never again challenged his eyesight.
, where he coached youth baseball and enjoyed curling
, bowling
, and golf
. Emslie died at age 84 in St. Thomas, Ontario, and was interred at the St. Thomas West Avenue Cemetery. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
in . Emslie Field in St. Thomas is named in his honor.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who went on to set numerous records for longevity as an umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
. Born in Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, he was nicknamed "Wig" due to his premature receding hairline, and "Blind Bob" as well, for his role in the infamous "Merkle's Boner" play during the season.
Playing career
Emslie began his professional career playing for several semi-professionalSemi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
teams in Ontario until signing on with the Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
team of an early version of the Interstate League
Interstate League
The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. The longest tenured of these was the last incarnation, which played in the Middle Atlantic States from 1939 through 1952, and was one of the few mid-level minor...
for the season. He pitched for the them until middle of the season when he joined the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles (19th century)
The Baltimore Orioles were a 19th-century American Association and National League team from 1882 to 1899. The club, which featured numerous future Hall of Famers, finished in first place three consecutive years and won the Temple Cup championship in 1896 and 1897...
of the American Association
American Association (19th century)
The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
. The first season with the Orioles, he had a 9-13 record, with 3.17 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, 21 complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
s, and one shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
. His best season was in when he had a 32-17 record completed all 50 of his starts
Games started
In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter...
, and had a 2.75 E.R.A.
The following season, in , Emslie's numbers greatly decreased with Baltimore, reportedly due to a sore arm that is attributed to his excessive use of the curveball
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
, and he was moved to the Philadelphia Athletics
Philadelphia Athletics (American Association)
The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team, one of six charter members of the American Association, a 19th-century major league, which began play in 1882 as a rival to the National League. The other teams were the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Eclipse of...
also of the American Association. He pitched in only four games for the A's; his major league playing career was over, and by his minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
career was over as well.
Umpire career
After his playing career was over, he was attending an International LeagueInternational League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
game, when he was asked to officiate when the assigned umpire fell ill. He then spent the next four years umpiring in three leagues. He was with the International League for the and seasons, then began his major league career when he umpired American Association games in . He began the season in the Western League
Western League (U.S. baseball)
The Western League of Professional Baseball Clubs, simply called the Western League, was a minor league baseball league originally founded on February 11, 1885, and focused in the Midwest....
, but was soon back in the majors, working for the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, debuting on August 17.
Emslie was involved in many of the game's highlights, including calling four no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s. The first one was on August 16, 1893, when Bill Hawke
Bill Hawke
William Victor "Bill" Hawke was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched for three seasons, all in the National League, with a career record of 32 wins and 31 losses.-Career:...
of the Orioles tossed his; the second was Deacon Phillippe
Deacon Phillippe
Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillippe was a turn-of-the-century pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates....
's of the Louisville Colonels
Louisville Colonels
The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891, first as the Louisville Eclipse and later as the Louisville Colonels , the latter name derived from the historic Kentucky colonels...
on May 25, 1899. The third no-hitter came on September 18, 1903 by Chick Fraser
Chick Fraser
Charles Carrolton Fraser was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher....
of the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, and the fourth was tossed on May 8, 1907, by Francis "Big Jeff" Pfeffer
Big Jeff Pfeffer
Francis Xavier "Big Jeff" Pfeffer was a Major League pitcher from 1905 to 1911. He threw a no-hitter in 1907. He is the older brother of Jeff Pfeffer.-External links:...
of the Boston Doves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
.
He also officated on July 13, 1896 when Ed Delahanty
Ed Delahanty
Edward James Delahanty , nicknamed "Big Ed", was a Major League Baseball player from 1888 to 1903 for the Philadelphia Quakers, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Infants and Washington Senators, and was known as one of the early great power hitters in the game.He was elected to the Baseball Hall of...
become the second player to hit four home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in one game.
By the end of the season, he began to work the bases almost exclusively, instead of calling games from behind the plate. In all, Emslie served 33 years as an active-duty umpire before retiring at the end of the season. He then served as NL Chief of Umpires, with the responsibilities of inspecting, scouting, and coaching new umpires.
The Merkle Incident
Emslie is perhaps best remembered as the base umpire on September 23, 1908, when controversy erupted at the end of the New York GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
-Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
game at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
. With the score tied, with two out, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants had Moose McCormick
Moose McCormick
Harry Elwood "Moose" McCormick , was a professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball between 1904 and 1913 for the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies...
on third base and Fred Merkle
Fred Merkle
Frederick Charles Merkle , also known as "Bonehead" Merkle, was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball...
on first base; Al Bridwell
Al Bridwell
Albert Henry Bridwell was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the a number of teams in the early 20th century, most notably the New York Giants, when the team was managed by John McGraw. Bridwell hit the single which caused the crucial "Merkle boner" running error of the...
smashed a single
Single (baseball)
In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...
to center
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
to drive home McCormick with the apparent winning run, but Merkle failed to touch second base. Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers
Johnny Evers
John Joseph Evers was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1946...
noticed this error, and tagged second base and appealed to Emslie. Emslie claimed that he had to duck out of the way of Bridwell's line drive and did not see the play, and home plate Umpire Hank O'Day
Hank O'Day
Henry Francis O'Day was an American right-handed pitcher, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball who worked as a National League umpire for 30 years between 1895 and 1927, and was the only person in major league history to appear as a player, manager and umpire. His 3,986 total games as an...
declared Merkle out and the game a tie. New York manager John McGraw
John McGraw
John McGraw may refer to:* John McGraw , , New York lumber tycoon, and one of the founding trustees of Cornell University* John McGraw , , Governor of Washington state from 1893–1897...
, with whom Bob had a long and tempestuous history with, bestowed upon Emslie his nickname, "Blind Bob," and the incident is called "Merkle's Boner." Notably, Emslie and O'Day were the two most experience umpires in major league history at that point, with Emslie having worked nearly 2,500 games and O'Day nearly 1,700. Later, he showed up at a Giants' practice with a rifle, placed a dime on the pitching mound, and then with a shot fired from behind home plate sent the coin spinning into the outfield. Reportedly, McGraw never again challenged his eyesight.
Post-career
Retirement did not stop his active involvement in of sports in St. Thomas, OntarioSt. Thomas, Ontario
St. Thomas is a city in southern , Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.-History:...
, where he coached youth baseball and enjoyed curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. Emslie died at age 84 in St. Thomas, Ontario, and was interred at the St. Thomas West Avenue Cemetery. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museums commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.-History:...
in . Emslie Field in St. Thomas is named in his honor.
External links
- Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
- Bob Emslie's Obituary - The New York Times, April 27, 1943
- Career chronology @ baseballlibrary.com