Bill Valentine
| Bill Valentine | |
|---|---|
Valentine in 2007
|
|
| Born |
William Terry Valentine, Jr. November 21, 1932 Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Died | April 26, 2015 (aged 82) Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Occupation | Umpire |
| Years active | 1963–1968 |
| Employer | American League |
| Height | 5' 11 |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg). |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Ellouise Pefferly (1951–1989; her death) Nena Duncan (1991–2015; his death) |
William Terry "Bill" Valentine, Jr. (November 21, 1932 – April 26, 2015) was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1963 to 1968. Valentine was an umpire in the 1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In his career, he umpired 947 Major League games.
Valentine was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to William Valentine Sr., a railroad worker, and Margaret Kremer Valentine. Valentine grew up a short distance from Travelers Field, the home stadium of the Arkansas Travelers minor league team. Valentine worked odd jobs at the stadium, including sorting soft drink bottles before games, retrieving seat cushions after games, and shagging foul balls and returning them during games.
Valentine began umpiring in amateur and semi-pro games as a teenager. Valentine graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1950, and received a scholarship from the Arkansas State Teachers College to study journalism. However, Valentine continued to umpire, and in 1951 he attended Bill McGowan's umpiring school in West Palm Beach, Florida. He received an offer to umpire in the Class D Ohio–Indiana League, and became the youngest professional umpire in baseball history, at the age of 18.
Valentine spent several years in the lower minors, but was promoted to the Double-A Texas League in 1954. After seven seasons in the Texas League, Valentine was promoted to the Pacific Coast League in 1960, and was hired to the American League staff two seasons later in 1963.
Valentine spent six years as an AL umpire, and was chosen as an umpire for the 1965 All-Star Game at Metropolitan Stadium. A few days after the All-Star game, in the same ballpark, Valentine got into an argument with Minnesota Twins manager Sam Mele, in which Mele appeared to throw a punch at Valentine. Mele was suspended five games for his actions. Valentine was also the home plate umpire when Tony Conigliaro was hit by a pitched ball at Fenway Park on August 18, 1967.
...
Wikipedia