Thomas Francis "Tom" Hallion (born September 5, 1956) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League from 1985 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2005. He is currently a crew chief. Hallion is well known for his exciting and demonstrative strikeout signal in which he twists his body 180 degrees. He was among the umpires who lost their jobs after resigning as part of a failed union bargaining strategy in 1999, but his rehiring was agreed to in December 2004 in a settlement with Major League Baseball.[1] Hallion wore uniform number 20 during his National League career and retained the number when he rejoined the MLB umpire staff in 2005.
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Hallion was born on September 5, 1956, to Alice and Francis Hallion in Saugerties, New York. He has two sisters, Kathy Cotich and Maribeth, and brother, Francis.[2]
Hallion attended the University of Buffalo, degree in Engineering. He married Elizabeth "Betsy" Carnright on September 11, 1983. They have three children, Corey, Kyle and Jacob, and reside in Louisville, Kentucky.[3][4]
While he was at the University of Buffalo, Hallion began umpiring as a summer job for the Saugerties Athletic Association softball league, a job got through his friend Jack Keeley. In 1979, he attended Bill Kinnamon Umpiring School.
He began his professional umpiring career in the New York - Penn League (1979), which was followed by stints in the Carolina League (1980-1981), Eastern League (1982) and American Association (1983-1985) before joining the NL staff.
Hallion was the home plate umpire on July 12, 1997 when Francisco Córdova and Ricardo Rincón of the Pittsburgh Pirates combined on a 3-0, 10-inning no-hitter against the Houston Astros.[5]
Hallion also umpired in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and was behind the plate for the championship game between Japan and Cuba.
In 2009, Hallion was the home plate umpire for the first game ever at the new Yankee Stadium.
He has officiated in the World Series in 2008, the League Championship Series in 1998, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and in the Division Series in 1996, 1997, and 2008. He has also worked the All-Star Game in 1992 and 2008, being at second base for the latter contest at Yankee Stadium which went a record 15 innings.
