Jocko Conlan Obituary

Jocko Conlan Obituary

Baseball Almanac presents the actual word-for-word transcript from the obituary of umpire Jocko Conlan, taken from and courtesy of The New York Times.

"You've got to have a thick skin and a strong heart. You've got to command respect. Without them, you're nothing." - Hall of Fame Umpire Jocko Conlan

Jocko Conlan Obituary

Jocko Conlan, 89,
Hall of Fame Umpire

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April, 16 (AP) —

John (Jocko) Conlan, a National League umpire for 24 years and a member of baseball's Hall of Fame, died today. He was 89 years old. The cause of death was not announced.

Mr. Conlan, known as one of the feistier umpires of his day, was just 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 160 pounds. Despite his small size, he was an impressive umpire, and in 1974 he became the fifth umpire inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"You've got to have a thick skin and a strong heart," Mr. Conlan once said of umpiring. "You've got to have and command respect. Without them, you're nothing."

Mr. Conlan, was was born in Chicago, umpired in five World Series and six All-Star Games before retiring after the 1964 season. Before umpiring, he was a player for 14 seasons, but he made it up to the major leagues for only two years, playing outfield for the Chicago White Sox in 1934 and 1935. He batter .249 in his first season and .286 in his second and played in a total of 128 games.

Jocko Conlan Obituary

Jocko Conlan suffered from arthritis during his career and once in a game bent low to see a pitch. He called a strike then later told the media, "(Jackie) Robinson seemed so honestly shocked over the call I figured I must have missed it. I didn't want any more like that so rather than make another mistake, I left the field."

Jocko Conlan was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Committee on Baseball Veterans on January 28, 1974. His hall of fame plaque reads as follows:

JOHN BERTRAND CONLAN
"JOCKO"
UMPIRE
NATIONAL LEAGUE 1941-1965
SUNNY DISPOSITION, ACCURACY AND
HUSTLE EARNED HIM RATING AS STANDOUT
UMPIRE AND HE WON RESPECT OF
PLAYERS AND MANAGERS WITH HIS
FAIRNESS. ONLY ARBITER TO WORK IN
EACH OF FIRST FOUR N.L. PENNANT
PLAYOFFS. CHOSEN FOR SIX WORLD SERIES
AND SIX ALL-STAR GAMES.

Did you know that before Jocko Conlan umpired his first major league game in 1941 he was a New York state licensed boxing referee?

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