John McSherry

John Patrick McSherry (September 11, 1944 – April 1, 1996) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1971 until his death.

He debuted as a Major League umpire on June 1, 1971 as the third base umpire during a game between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros at Atlanta Stadium.

On July 4, 1972, he ejected Astros manager Harry Walker from a game for arguing that Pittsburgh Pirates batter Al Oliver had failed to touch first base on a double.

It was McSherry's first ejection on the Major League level.

He also officiated in the National League Championship Series in 1974, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1990, and 1992, and in the National League Division Series in 1981 and 1995.

McSherry worked the 1975, 1982, and 1991 All-Star Games, for which the umpiring crew consisted of three American League umpires and three National League umpires during the years 1949 to 1999.

McSherry umpired in the World Series in 1977 and 1987.

McSherry wore uniform number 9 when he entered the National League, then wore number 10 from 1979 through the rest of his career.

A respected arbiter, he was one of several umpires who were noticeably obese.

As far back as 1983, Joe Garagiola was quoted in The New York Times as saying "It looks like [McSherry is] getting all the meal money."

In 1984, Steve Wulf had written in Sports Illustrated that McSherry "makes your average sumo wrestler look like Freddie Patek."

More than 1,000 people attended McSherry's funeral mass at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church in the Bronx, the same church in which he was baptized.

About 200 people attended his burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.

He was promoted to crew chief in July 1988.

McSherry dealt with health issues prior to this one, including leaving a few games due to dizziness and dehydration in the early 1990s.

According to Richie Phillips, the head of the Major League Umpires Association, McSherry weighed closer to 380 lb than his listed weight of 328 lb and was particularly vulnerable to job-related stress.

According to Phillips, at the request of the league, McSherry spent multiple offseasons attending weight-loss programs at Duke University, but once the season began, he habitually regained whatever weight he had lost.

McSherry removed himself from the seventh game of the 1992 National League Championship Series in the second inning due to illness.

McSherry was officially listed at 6 ft and 328 lb. On April 1, 1996, the opening day of the 1996 Major League Baseball season, McSherry suffered a fatal heart attack while calling a game in Cincinnati.

McSherry was baptized at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church in the Bronx, where he grew up.

McSherry played baseball at St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School.

His high school coach advised him to go into umpiring if he wanted to continue in baseball.

He enrolled at St. John's University after high school on an academic scholarship but left after two years to attend umpiring school.

McSherry's "primary tutor" as a young umpire was Tom Gorman.

On April 1, 1996, the Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos were playing an Opening Day game, and McSherry was the home plate umpire.

Seven pitches into the game, McSherry called a timeout, spoke briefly to Reds catcher Eddie Taubensee, and walked slowly towards the Reds' dugout.

Moments after signaling for the second base umpire to come in and replace him, McSherry stumbled forward and collapsed face-first onto the turf.

Resuscitative efforts were begun on McSherry and he was taken to University Hospital in Cincinnati, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

He was 51 years old.

Because third-base umpire Tom Hallion had followed the ambulance to the hospital, it left the remaining two umpires, Steve Rippley and Jerry Crawford, to decide whether to proceed with the game.

Shaken and tearful players on both teams consoled the grieving umpires, and the umpires decided to postpone the game.

Reds manager Ray Knight recalled a comment from shortstop Barry Larkin: "Barry told me very quietly and with very much emotion: 'Ray, I've had a lot of deaths in my family. In good conscience, out of respect for life, I can't go out there.'"

Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was quoted as having said, "Snow this morning and now this. I don't believe it. I feel cheated. This isn't supposed to happen to us, not in Cincinnati. This is our history, our tradition, our team. Nobody feels worse than me."

Schott's statement was criticized as a public gaffe, though supporters contended that she was thinking of the some 50,000 fans who had expected to see a baseball game and might be unable to attend a makeup game.

Schott sent flowers to the umpire's dressing room, but a story in the Dayton Daily News later said that the flowers had been given to Schott on Opening Day by Reds television partner SportsChannel Ohio.

According to the story, Schott hastily wrote a sympathy note and attached it to the flowers.

The game was resumed the following day, with the Reds winning 4–1 over the Expos.

Rich Rieker joined the umpiring crew as an emergency replacement at third base.

An autopsy revealed that McSherry had suffered a massive heart attack, caused by severe coronary artery disease.

He went into cardiac arrest when he collapsed during the game.