Larry Napp
Encyclopedia
Larry Albert Napp, born Larry Albert Napadano (May 21, 1916 - July 7, 1993), was an American
umpire
in Major League Baseball
who worked in the American League
from 1951 to 1974. He officiated in the World Series
in 1954
, 1956
, 1963
and 1969
, and in the All-Star Game
in 1953, 1957
, 1961 (second game) and 1968, calling balls and strikes in 1961. He also worked the American League Championship Series
in 1971
and 1974
, serving as crew chief in 1974. His 3,609 total games ranked sixth in AL history when he retired.
Napp umpired in eight no-hitter
s in his career, and is one of seven umpires to have worked in two perfect game
s. He was the third base umpire during Don Larsen
's perfect game for the New York Yankees
against the Brooklyn Dodgers
in the 1956 Series, and was at first base for Catfish Hunter
's perfect game for the Oakland Athletics
against the Minnesota Twins
on May 8, 1968. Among the other notable games he worked were Bob Feller
's record-tying third no-hitter on July 1, 1951, Bobo Holloman
's no-hitter in his first career start on May 6, 1953, Dean Chance
's 2-1 no-hitter for the Twins against the Cleveland Indians
on August 25, 1967, and Clyde Wright
's no-hitter for the California Angels
against the Athletics on July 3, 1970, the first no-hitter in Anaheim Stadium
history; Napp called balls and strikes for the last two contests.
Napp was born in Brooklyn
, New York
and played as a catcher
in high school and in the minor leagues from 1938 to 1940 in the Eastern Shore League
, PONY League and Michigan State League
. He also boxed
professionally as a lightweight and welterweight from 1936 to 1938. A judo
expert, he served as a chief fitness instructor in the Navy
from 1942 to 1946 at USNTC Bainbridge, Maryland
and Staten Island
during World War II
. He married Phyllis Tencza on March 19, 1942; they had one son, Larry Jr. He began umpiring in the minor leagues in 1948, working in the Middle Atlantic League
(1948) and International League
(1949–50) before moving up to the AL. He was a resident of Staten Island until prior to the 1962 season, when he relocated to Plantation, Florida
. He died there at age 77 after suffering a heart attack.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
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 worked in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
from 1951 to 1974. He officiated in the 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...
in 1954
1954 World Series
The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the...
, 1956
1956 World Series
The 1956 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the New York Yankees and the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers during the month of October 1956. The Series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series...
, 1963
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....
and 1969
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...
, and in the 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...
in 1953, 1957
1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 24th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 9, 1957 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis,...
, 1961 (second game) and 1968, calling balls and strikes in 1961. He also worked the American League Championship Series
American League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...
in 1971
1971 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Sunday, October 3, 1971 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandDave McNally, a 20-game winner for the fourth season in a row, survived a rocky start to win the opener. He trailed, 3–0, after four innings pitched, giving up three doubles and a triple. The A's had McNally tottering in the...
and 1974
1974 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 5, 1974 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaThe Birds jumped all over the ace of the Oakland staff, Catfish Hunter, pounding him for six runs and eight hits, including three homers in less than five innings. Hunter had a skein of seven straight...
, serving as crew chief in 1974. His 3,609 total games ranked sixth in AL history when he retired.
Napp umpired in eight 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 in his career, and is one of seven umpires to have worked in two 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...
s. He was the third base umpire during Don Larsen
Don Larsen
Donald James Larsen is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 15-year baseball career, he pitched from 1953-67 for seven different teams. Larsen is best known for pitching the sixth perfect game in baseball history, doing so in game 5 of the 1956 World Series...
's perfect game for the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
against the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in the 1956 Series, and was at first base for Catfish Hunter
Catfish Hunter
James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter , was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 15-year baseball career, he pitched from 1965-1979 for both the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees...
's perfect game for the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
against the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
on May 8, 1968. Among the other notable games he worked were Bob Feller
Bob Feller
On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...
's record-tying third no-hitter on July 1, 1951, Bobo Holloman
Bobo Holloman
Alva Lee "Bobo" Holloman was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Browns in . Holloman pitched in just 22 games in his lone year, with three wins against seven losses. However, he pitched a no-hitter in his first major league start against the Philadelphia...
's no-hitter in his first career start on May 6, 1953, Dean Chance
Dean Chance
Wilmer Dean Chance is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Over the right hander's 11-year major league career, he would play for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers...
's 2-1 no-hitter for the Twins against the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
on August 25, 1967, and Clyde Wright
Clyde Wright
Clyde Wright , nicknamed "Skeeter", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the California Angels , Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers . He also pitched three seasons in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants...
's no-hitter for the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
against the Athletics on July 3, 1970, the first no-hitter in Anaheim Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
history; Napp called balls and strikes for the last two contests.
Napp was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and played as a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
in high school and in the minor leagues from 1938 to 1940 in the Eastern Shore League
Eastern Shore Baseball League
The Eastern Shore Baseball League was a Class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were not consecutive, and featured teams from Maryland,...
, PONY League and Michigan State League
Michigan State League
Michigan State League was the name of six American professional baseball leagues. Five of them operated only one or two baseball seasons and the other four seasons...
. He also boxed
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
professionally as a lightweight and welterweight from 1936 to 1938. A judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
expert, he served as a chief fitness instructor in the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1942 to 1946 at USNTC Bainbridge, Maryland
United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland
United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge was the US Navy Training Center located at Port Deposit, Maryland, on the bluffs of the northeast bank of the Susquehanna River. It was active from 1942 to 1976....
and Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He married Phyllis Tencza on March 19, 1942; they had one son, Larry Jr. He began umpiring in the minor leagues in 1948, working in the Middle Atlantic League
Middle Atlantic League
The Middle Atlantic League was a lower-level circuit in American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century.-History:...
(1948) 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...
(1949–50) before moving up to the AL. He was a resident of Staten Island until prior to the 1962 season, when he relocated to Plantation, Florida
Plantation, Florida
Plantation is the name of the following places in the U.S. state of Florida:*Plantation, Florida, a city in Broward County; the largest of the places named "Plantation" in Florida*Plantation, Sarasota County, Florida, a census-designated place...
. He died there at age 77 after suffering a heart attack.