Bill Klem Quotes

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present an unprecedented collection of baseball related quotations spoken by Bill Klem and about Bill Klem.

"I never missed one, in here." - Bill Klem talking about calls and finishing the quote by pointing at his heart
Bill Klem Quotes

Quotes From & About Bill Klem

Quotes From Bill Klem

"An angry player can't argue with the back of an umpire who is walking away."

"Baseball is more than a game to me, it's a religon."

"Fix your eye on the ball from the moment the pitcher holds it in his glove. Follow it as he throws to the plate and stay with it until the play is completed. Action takes place only where the ball goes."

"Gentleman, he was out because I said he was out." - statement made after being shown a photo of a blown call

"It ain't nothin' till I call it."

"I told the umpires to walk back at least thirty-five feet from home plate. That reduced the arguments."

"Son, when you pitch a strike, Mr. (Roger) Hornsby will let you know."

"That guy in a twenty-five cent bleacher seat is as much entitled to know a call as the guy in the boxes. He can see my arm signal even if he can't hear my voice."

"The best umpired game is the game in which the fans cannot recall the umpires who worked it."

"The most cowardly thing in the world is blaming mistakes upon the umpires. Too many managers strut around on the field trying to manage the umpires instead of their teams."

"There are one-hundred fifty-four games in a season and you can find one-hundred fifty-four reasons why your team should have won every one of them."

"Your job is to umpire for the ball and not the player."

Quotes About Bill Klem

None Yet Found



Bill Klem is believed to be the first umpire to ever use hand signals AND the first umpire to wear the smaller, more modern, chest protector.

Did you know that Bill Klem was an umpire during a Major league record setting eighteen different World Series?

Bill Klem was famous for the line he drew in the clay. Whenever a player began to argue with him, Klem would draw a line across the clay with his shoe and say to the player, "Don't cross the Rio Grande." Any player who chose to cross the line was automatically ejected.

     

Baseball Almanac on Facebook