Frank William Umont (November 21, 1917 - June 20, 1991) was an umpire in the American League of Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1973.[1] He was the first major league umpire to wear spectacles while officiating.[2]
He called balls and strikes for the 1971 All-Star Game, which became famous for Reggie Jackson's mammoth home run off of Dock Ellis, which hit a transformer on the right-center field roof of Tiger Stadium. The American League went on to a 6-4 victory, the junior circuit's only triumph in a 20-year period between 1963 and 1982. Among Umont's colleagues on the umpiring crew were eventual Hall of Fame inductee Doug Harvey from the National League; Don Denkinger, who would go on to work in the AL for 29 seasons and is best remembered for his missed call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series; and Jake O'Donnell, who left his AL umpire post after the 1971 season to focus on his NBA officiating career, which would see him work numerous All-Star Games in that league and the NBA Finals in every season from 1972 through 1994.
Umont was the home plate umpire for the final game in the original Yankee Stadium prior to its two-year closure for renovations. The Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Yankees 8-5 on September 30, 1973.