Bob Emslie

Bob Emslie
Pitcher/Umpire
Born: (1859-01-27)January 27, 1859 Guelph, Ontario
Died: April 26, 1943(1943-04-26) (aged 84) St. Thomas, Ontario
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 25, 1883 for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
July 16, 1885 for the Philadelphia Athletics
Career statistics
Win-loss record	44-44
Earned run average	3.19
Strikeouts	362
Teams
Baltimore Orioles - (1883-1885) Philadelphia Athletics - (1885)

Robert Daniel Emslie (January 27, 1859 – April 26, 1943) was a Canadian pitcher in Major League Baseball who went on to set numerous records for longevity as an umpire.^[1] Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Emslie had a brief professional playing career with the Baltimore and Philadelphia clubs in the American Association. His professional umpiring career began in 1888. After spending a couple of seasons in the minor leagues, he was promoted to the major leagues as an umpire in 1890.

Emslie was nicknamed "Wig" due to his premature receding hairline, which was a result of the stress of umpiring games single-handedly in the rough-and-tumble 1890s; he was derisively called "Blind Bob" by the New York Giants following his role in the infamous "Merkle's Boner" play during the 1908 World Series.^[2] The play involved a force out when a Giants player stopped running to second base upon seeing that the game's winning run would score.

When "Merkle's boner" occurred, Emslie had already worked more major league games than any umpire major league history. He served as the National League's chief of umpires after retiring from active umpiring. He retired to Ontario and died there in 1943. He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Emslie began his professional career playing for several semi-professional teams in Ontario until signing on with the Camden, New Jersey team of an early version of the Interstate League for the 1882 season. He pitched for the them until middle of the 1883 season when he joined the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association.^[2] The first season with the Orioles, he had a 9–13 record, with 3.17 earned run average (ERA), 21 complete games, and one shutout. His best season was in 1884, when he had a 32–17 record, completed all 50 of his starts, and had a 2.75 ERA.^[1]

In 1885, Emslie's numbers greatly decreased with Baltimore, reportedly due to a sore arm that is attributed to his excessive use of the curveball, and he was moved to the Philadelphia Athletics also of the American Association. He pitched in only four games for the A's; his major league playing career was over, and by 1887 his minor league career was over as well.^[2]

Umpiring career

After his playing career was over, he was attending an International League game and was asked to officiate when the assigned umpire fell ill. He umpired with the International League for the 1888 and 1889 seasons, then began his major league career when he umpired American Association games in 1890. He began the 1891 season in the Western League, but was back in the majors by August 17, working for the National League.^[2]

Emslie as an NL umpire in 1914

Emslie was involved in many of the game's highlights, including calling four no-hitters. The first one was on August 16, 1893, when Bill Hawke of the Orioles tossed his; the second was Deacon Phillippe's of the Louisville Colonels on May 25, 1899. The third no-hitter came on September 18, 1903 by Chick Fraser of the Philadelphia Phillies, and the fourth was tossed on May 8, 1907, by Francis "Big Jeff" Pfeffer of the Boston Doves.^[3]

He also officated on July 13, 1896 when Ed Delahanty become the second player to hit four home runs in one game. ^[4] By the end of the 1909 season, he began to work the bases almost exclusively instead of calling games from behind the plate.^[1] In all, Emslie umpired for 33 years before retiring at the end of the 1924 season. He then served as NL chief of umpires, with the responsibilities of inspecting, scouting, and coaching new umpires.^[2]

The Merkle incident

Emslie was the base umpire on September 23, 1908, when controversy erupted at the end of the New York Giants-Chicago Cubs game at the Polo Grounds. With the score tied and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants had Moose McCormick on third base and Fred Merkle on first base; Al Bridwell smashed a single to center to drive home McCormick with the apparent winning run, but Merkle failed to touch second base. Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers noticed this error, and tagged second base and appealed to Emslie. Emslie claimed that he had to duck out of the way of Bridwell's line drive and did not see the play, and home plate umpire Hank O'Day declared Merkle out and the game a tie.

New York manager John McGraw, with whom Bob had a long and tempestuous history, bestowed upon Emslie his nickname "Blind Bob" after the controversy. The incident is often referred to as "Merkle's Boner."^[5] Notably, Emslie and O'Day were the two most experienced umpires in major league history at that point, with Emslie having worked nearly 2,500 games and O'Day nearly 1,700. Later, Emslie showed up at a Giants' practice with a rifle, placed a dime on the pitching mound and shot it from behind home plate, sending the coin spinning into the outfield. Reportedly, McGraw never again challenged his eyesight.

Post-career

He retired to St. Thomas, Ontario, where he coached youth baseball and enjoyed curling, bowling, and golf.^[2] Emslie died at age 84 in St. Thomas, Ontario, and was interred at the St. Thomas West Avenue Cemetery.^[1] He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.^[2][6] Emslie Field in St. Thomas is named in his honor.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
• Bob Emslie's Obituary - The New York Times, April 27, 1943
• Career chronology @ baseballlibrary.com