John William Kibler was 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...

 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...

 from 1965-1989. He wore uniform number 9 for most of his career.

Early life

Kibler was born in Piseco, New York on January 9, 1928. He served in the Navy during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 and was a member of the New York State Police before becoming an umpire. He worked in the minors for six seasons in the Georgia-Florida League (1958), Pioneer League (1959), South Atlantic League

Southern League

Southern League may mean:*Southern League , a United States minor league baseball league**Southern Association, a United States minor league baseball league, was known as the Southern League from 1901–1919...

 (1960–1961), American Association

American Association (20th century)

The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...

 (1962), and International League

International 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...

 (1963).

Major League Baseball career

He joined 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...

 full time starting in 1965 after two partial seasons in 1963-64. He officiated in the 1981 National League Division Series

1981 National League Division Series

-Philadelphia Phillies vs. Montreal Expos:-Game 1, October 6:Astrodome in Houston, TexasFernando Valenzuela faced Nolan Ryan, a matchup worthy of a pitcher's duel. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth. Tony Scott singled home Terry Puhl to score the game's first run, but Steve...

, five National League Championship Series

National League Championship Series

In Major League Baseball, the National League Championship Series is a round in the postseason that determines who wins the National League pennant and advances to Major League Baseball's championship, the World Series, facing the winner of the American League Championship Series. The reigning...

' (1972

1972 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 7, 1972 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaThe Reds got a first-inning homer from second baseman Joe Morgan to take a short-lived 1–0 lead. But Pittsburgh bounced back with three in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by an RBI triple from Al Oliver and...

, 1975

1975 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 4, 1975 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioThe Reds cuffed four Pirate hurlers for 11 hits in the opener, breezing to an 8–3 triumph...

, 1979

1979 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 2, 1979 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioBoth sides threw their aces in Game 1 as fourteen-game winner John Candelaria started for the Pirates, and Tom Seaver started for the Reds. After Omar Moreno grounded out to start the game, a 45-minute rain delay stalled the...

, 1984

1984 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 2, 1984 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IllinoisBob Dernier led off the game for the Cubs with a homer, and things went steadily downhill for the Padres as Chicago romped to a crushing 13–0 win in their first postseason game since 1945. Gary Matthews also homered in the first...

 (Game 5 only), and 1987

1987 National League Championship Series

- Game 1 :Tuesday, October 6, 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriThe Giants struck first on an RBI groundout by Candy Maldonado, but the Cardinals tied it in the third on Vince Coleman's RBI single...

--crew chief), four World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

 (1971

1971 World Series

The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....

, 1978

1978 World Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1978 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWith Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded twenty-game winner Ed Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a...

, 1982

1982 World Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 12, 1982 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriThe Brewers' left-hander Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits. The Brewers' offense was led by Paul Molitor, who had a World Series-record five hits and two RBIs...

, and 1986

1986 World Series

The 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. It was cited in the legend of the "Curse of the Bambino" to explain the error by Bill Buckner in Game 6 that allowed the Mets to extend the series to a seventh game...

--crew chief), and four Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

s (1965

1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 36th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1965 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota...

, 1974

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 45th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 23, 1974, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

, 1980

1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 51st midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 8, 1980 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, home of the Los...

--crew chief, and 1985

1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 56th playing of the game, annually played between the All-Stars of the National League and the All-Stars of the American League. The game was played on July 16, 1985, in the Hubert H...

). He also umpired at the 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 of Ken Holtzman

Ken Holtzman

Kenneth Dale Holtzman is a left-handed former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics...

 (1971, third base), Nolan Ryan

Nolan Ryan

Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....

's fifth no-hitter (1981, third base), Bob Forsch

Bob Forsch

Robert Herbert Forsch was an American right-handed starting pitcher who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals before finishing his playing career with the Houston Astros...

's second no-hitter (1983, second base), and Tom Browning

Tom Browning

Thomas Leo Browning is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Royals...

's perfect game

Perfect game

A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

 (1988, second base).

1986 World Series

Kibler was the crew chief in the 1986 World Series. In Game 6, Kibler was umpiring first base when he made the call that New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 outfielder Mookie Wilson

Mookie Wilson

William Hayward "Mookie" Wilson is an American former Major League Baseball center fielder and current coach for the New York Mets. He played 12 years in baseball for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays . He was a switch hitter primarily known for his impressive speed and positive attitude...

's dribbler was a fair ball as it went between the legs of Boston

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 first baseman Bill Buckner

Bill Buckner

William Joseph Buckner is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in , representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6...

, Kibler emphatically pointing "fair" as the ball went down the first base line. Kibler then umpired behind the plate for Game 7 when New York wrapped up the series.

Personal life

Kibler married Dorothy Venn in 1958 and had two sons, John, Jr and Jeffrey. Kibler died of a heart attack on February 18, 2010, in Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

at the age of 82.