Альберт Барлик: Бейсбол төрешісінің өмірі мен мансабы

American baseball umpire (1915 1995)

Albert Joseph Barlick (April 2, 1915 – December 27, 1995) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League for 28 seasons (1940–1943, 1946–1955, 1958–1971). Barlick missed two seasons (1944–45) due to service in the United States Coast Guard and two seasons (1956–57) due to heart problems. He umpired seven World Series and seven All Star Games. Barlick was known for a strong voice and for booming strike calls. After he left active umpiring in 1971, Barlick became an umpire scout and supervisor. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .

Barlick was born in Springfield, Illinois. His father, an Austrian immigrant, worked for 50 years at a Peabody coal mine. Barlick dropped out of high school after two years to support his family. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, and spent six months in Washington and six months in Wisconsin. When Barlick's brother died, he returned to the coal mine to assist his father. Barlick said that he did not play much baseball as a youngster, but that he often watched the game. During a coal mine strike, a 19 year old Barlick was offered $1 ($) to umpire his first game. He played outfield in semipro baseball, but he was described as "mediocre." In August 1936, the Class D Northeast Arkansas League was in need of a replacement umpire, and hired Barlick for the last 4 weeks of the season. In 1947, Barlick was the first base umpire during Jackie Robinson's MLB debut. In 1949, Barlick was again chosen as an umpire for the 1949 All Star Game. He began the game at home plate, although when it became time for the umpires to rotate, as was customary during All Star games, Barlick left the game, leaving the right field line uncovered; no reason was given for his departure. Before the 1956 season, Barlick was hospitalized in Illinois for treatment of a heart problem. League president Warren Giles characterized the issue as a minor heart ailment, but newspaper reports held that Barlick would not be ready for opening day that year. After he sat out the entire 1956 season, a March 1957 article reported that the heart issue would probably cause him to miss that season as well. He returned to the field for the 1958 season.

In 1961, the Sporting News polled managers and coaches to determine the best umpires in the major leagues. Barlick was voted as the most respected umpire in the National League, as well as the best caller of balls and strikes, best on the bases, best knowledge of rules, best at being in the right position and most serious minded. In 1963, the league instructed umpires to crack down on balks by pitchers. A few weeks after ejecting pitcher Bob Shaw due to an argument about balks, Barlick called Fred Fleig, the secretary of the National League, and said, “I'm fed up with the whole thing and I am going to quit and go home.” On June 17, 1963, Giles announced that there had been a "misunderstanding" and that Barlick would relax at his home for a few days before rejoining his umpire crew. Barlick had been known for his very loud calls behind home plate. Subsequent MLB officials, including Dusty Boggess and Dutch Rennert, said that they tried to imitate him when they became umpires.

After retiring from umpiring, Barlick was hired by the league to supervise and scout umpires, a job he held for 22 years. Barlick scouted many umpires who wound up having long careers, and was, according to Bruce Froemming, “very proud of the staff he built.” When the umpires went on strike at the conclusion of the 1984 regular season, Barlick and fellow supervisor Ed Vargo were located in the dugouts during the playoffs to assist the replacement umpires with questions over rules.

In 1989, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Manager Leo Durocher and umpire Bill McGowan were also considered by the committee that year, but the group could only vote in one non player per year. In his induction speech, Barlick said, "My dreams are fulfilled far beyond my expectations." Barlick wore uniform number 1 when the NL adopted them for its umpires in 1970; however, the league retired number 3 in Barlick's honor after his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. On December 27, 1995, Barlick collapsed at his home. He was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, where he died. A wife, Jennie, and two children survived him. Barlick was cremated. In 2013, the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Barlick as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.