Alfred S. Mannassau (1866 – October 13, 1933) was a professional baseball

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

, manager and player. Mannassau umpired in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in , working 92 games. Mannassau then umpired 96

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

games in . He returned to baseball in , and umpired in 109 Federal League games.

Playing and managing career

Mannassau was a journeyman outfielder in several minor leagues from 1887 to 1895, including the Northern Michigan League, the

Central Interstate League The Central Interstate League was an independent minor league baseball league that operated from 1888 to 1890. William H. Allen (1888), Henderson Ridgely (1889), E.T. McNeally (1890) and Fitzpatrick (1890) served as the league presidents. Th ...

, the

Pacific Northwest League The Pacific Northwest League was a professional Minor League Baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest. It was the first professional baseball league ever in the region. History Founding The Pacific Northwest League was founded in 1890. I ...

, the

Michigan State League The Michigan State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in various seasons between 1889 and 1941. The league franchises were based exclusively in Michigan, with the league forming on six different occasions. Twenty two different ...

, the Pacific Northwestern League, the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

, the Western League and the Virginia State League. He never played two full seasons in a row for the same team. In fact, during 1894 alone, Mannassau played for half of the eight teams in the Western League. Speed seems to have been a strength as a player, as he recorded 195 stolen bases in eight seasons. He had a brief stint as a manager in the Michigan State League in 1895 with the

Lansing Senators Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

Umpiring career

In 1898, ''Sporting Life'' characterized Mannassau's umpiring work in the Western League as "grossly incompetent", saying that Mannassau had "feigned sickness and left the field" that day in response to persistent protests from fans. A few weeks later, the same publication described Mannassau as "improving". In 1899, the National League was said to have purchased Mannassau from the Western League for $350. By midseason, J. Earle Wagner of the Washington team publicly criticized the umpiring of Mannassau and his partner. Wagner expressed a desire to return to the one-man umpiring system the following year. In late May 1901, Mannassau was heckled heavily by Baltimore fans. The local newspaper heavily criticized Mannassau's "ignorance of the national game" and said that "President Johnson was a spectator of the game and something is likely to drop." On August 8, 1901, Mannassau was punched in the jaw by

Hugh Duffy Hugh Duffy (November 26, 1866 – October 19, 1954) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was a player or player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Pirates, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters, Milwaukee ...

of Milwaukee. Mannassau enraged Duffy, who would end up in the Hall of Fame, with a fair ball call that went against Milwaukee and resulted in the team's defeat. In 1914, Mannassau was one of eight umpires hired to work in the Federal League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mannassau, Al 1866 births 1933 deaths Major League Baseball umpires Sportspeople from Michigan 19th-century baseball umpires Lansing Senators players