Doug Harvey | |
|---|---|
 Harvey at the 2011Baseball Hall of Fame induction parade | |
| Born | (1930-03-13)March 13, 1930 South Gate, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 13, 2018(2018-01-13) (aged 87) Visalia, California, U.S. |
| Education | San Diego State University |
| Occupation | Baseball umpire |
| Years active | 1962–1992 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
Baseball player Baseball career | |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2010 |
| Vote | 93.8% |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Harold Douglas Harvey (March 13, 1930 – January 13, 2018), nicknamed "God", was an Americanumpire inMajor League Baseball (MLB), who worked in theNational League (NL) from 1962 through 1992.
Known for commanding presence and authoritative signals on thefield, he earned histongue-in-cheeknickname from players, and was the last major league umpire hired who never attended an umpiring school.[1] Harvey umpired fiveWorld Series and sevenAll-Star Games. His career total of 4,673 games[2] ranked third in major league history at the time of his retirement. In 2010, he became the ninth umpire to be inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame.[2]
In 1999, theSociety for American Baseball Research ranked Harvey as the second-greatest umpire in history, behind onlyBill Klem.[3] In 2007,Referee magazine selected him as one of the 52 most influential figures in the history of sports officiating.[4] Harvey wore uniform number 8 for most of his career.
Harvey was born on March 13, 1930, inSouth Gate, California, but was raised inSan Diego, California.[5]
Harvey began officiating localbasketball games at the high school level at age 16, later umpiringsoftball and baseball.[6] He attendedSan Diego State College in 1955–56, where he played baseball andfootball.[7] He then returned to umpiring in theminor leagues while also officiatingcollege basketball and football games.[5] He remained a resident ofSan Diego throughout his umpiring career.[5]
Harvey umpired in theCalifornia League from 1958 to 1960, and in thePacific Coast League in 1961.[8] He married Joy Ann Glascock on September 24, 1960, and the couple had two sons, Scott and Todd.[9] Harvey reached the majors on April 10, 1962, the first regular-season game inDodger Stadium. His greatest influences were umpiresAl Barlick,Jocko Conlan andShag Crawford, each of whom gave him invaluable advice in developing his skills – Barlick for his renowned mastery of the rules, Conlan for helping him appreciate the fun of umpiring, and Crawford for his tremendous work ethic.[7]
Harvey umpired in fiveWorld Series (1968,1974,1981,1984 and1988), serving as crew chief in 1984 and 1988, and in sevenAll-Star Games (1963,1964,1971,1977,1982,1987, and1992), calling balls and strikes for the 1982 and 1992 games.[10]
Harvey set a record by officiating in theNational League Championship Series nine times –1970 (Games 2–3),1972,1976,1980,1983,1984 (Game 5),1986,1989 and1991 – serving as crew chief for the last five; his record was later tied byPaul Runge in1997, and broken byBruce Froemming in2000.[10]
He was the home plate umpire for the Pirates inaugural game (against theCincinnati Reds) atThree Rivers Stadium on July 16, 1970.[10] Harvey worked second base in the final game of the 1972 season, in whichRoberto Clemente collected his3,000th (and last) base hit off theNew York Mets'Jon Matlack, then retrieved the ball for Clemente.[7] Harvey was the home plate umpire for thesingle-game playoff to decide the NL's Western Division champion in 1980, between theHouston Astros and theLos Angeles Dodgers.[6] Harvey was the home plate umpire for Game 1 of the1988 World Series whenKirk Gibson hit a game-winning home run offDennis Eckersley.[8]
ThePlayers Association conducted polls of players in both leagues to identify and rank the best umpires in 1974; Harvey was named the top NL umpire, being the only official in the league rated as "excellent."[11] In 1987, aSports Illustrated poll of NLcatchers ranked him as the third best umpire in the league for calling balls and strikes, with one voter saying he "still cares about doing the best possible job."[12] In 1990,Sport magazine named him the best umpire in the game, citing his unbending application of the rules and noting his campaign to enforce thebalk rule two seasons earlier, when he said, "Give me ten high school pitchers, let me spend a week with them, and I'll show you 10 pitchers who won't balk.[6] It's not that difficult. So they better learn it."[13]
Harvey's goal of umpiring until age 65 ended on October 4, 1992, at age 62, whenknee problems necessitated his retirement.[10] He nonetheless became the first NL umpire sinceBill Klem to work for more than 30 years, finishing with 31 years in the major leagues; his 4,673 games then ranked third in major league history behind Klem (5,374) andTommy Connolly (4,769).[14]
Harvey noted that when he arrived in the major leagues, the emphasis was on making calls quickly and decisively, and said, "Everything was called too quickly. I've got a photograph of Jocko Conlan working first base. Jocko's arm was extended in the out call. But the runner was still short of the bag, and the ball was still in flight. In those days it was common to anticipate the call".[7] Harvey, however, changed attitudes by insisting that it was better to delay the call and make sure it was correct.[15]
Harvey was easily recognizable due to his thick white hair, which had already gone completely gray when he was in his 30s, leading to the early nickname of "Silver."[16] In late 1971, he grew ahandlebar mustache,[17] at a time when no major league field personnel had worn facial hair since the 1940s; he kept it trimmed to the edges of his mouth, and he wore it during the 1972 season, whenOakland A's players began to grow mustaches that season in order to earn bonuses from ownerCharlie O. Finley. In the latter part of his career, Harvey was the voice of MLB's "You Make the Call" segments.[18]
In August 1997, Harvey was diagnosed withesophageal cancer, which was attributed to his longtime use ofchewing tobacco.[19]
In both2003 and2007, Harvey was the leading candidate for theBaseball Hall of Fame in voting by Hall members on theVeterans Committee composite ballot for managers, umpires and executives; however, his totals of 48 and 52 votes in the two elections fell short of the 60 and 62 necessary for election.[6] Under new rules established by the Hall in 2007, he was again eligible for election in2008, but fell one vote short of the required 12 votes.[20] On December 7, 2009, Harvey was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Hall of Fame Veterans' Committee and was inducted on July 25, 2010.[6] Due to persistent voice issues from his cancer, Harvey's speech was pre-recorded and delivered on a video broadcast, though he did say a few words after the speech was played to the estimated 10,000 fans in attendance.[21][22]
Harvey died at the age of 87 on January 13, 2018, under hospice care inVisalia, California.[6][20]
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