RIP Harry Wendelstedt

Dead at 73. He'd had brain cancer for some years:

http://bit.ly/ynpUpj

Worked five World Series, seven NLCS and four all-star games in 33 years as a big-league umpire. Also operated an umpire school in Florida for years.

 

An excellent ump. Very sad news.

 

RIP to one of the best.

 

As a 1991 graduate of the Wendelstedt Umpire School, this makes me very sad. Harry was a great man.

 

Is he related to the defensive coordinator of the Bills?

 

RIP Harry.

 

Really?

 

Nice guy, as many of the umpires are. So long, Harry.

 

Wendelstedt was behind the plate during Game 3 of the 1977 NLCS, when the Dodgers' Burt Hooton "lost it" in the second or third inning because Harry was squeezing him. It's funny watching that game because Harry Kalas and his partner (Richie Ashburn?) were laughing at Harry's calls that resulted in Hooton getting pulled and Lasorda giving him an earful. I think he had missed an earlier call against the Phillies, too, so it seemed like this was evening things out. Of course, that's just conjecture on my part.

 

I was at that game, Corky, but from where I sat in the Vet third deck, I couldn't tell about the strike zone. No doubt Hooten choked big time, though. Then Danny Ozark forgot to put in a real outfielder for Luzinski. Oh, well. At the time I took it hard.

 

I could sit around a bar table, and listen to umpiring and refereeing stories for hours upon hours.

Me thinks Harry was a helluva story teller.

 

One of the best parts of covering baseball back in my increasingly bygone day was if the Sox skipper got chucked or if there was a brawl and then going up to the umps' room for comment. Always a great story, and a whole different way of looking at the game. I loved Earl Weaver, but I understood when umps hated him.