Arthur Matthew Passarella (December 23, 1909 – October 12, 1981) was an American

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'', ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, and later an actor. He worked in the

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 ...

from 1941 to 1942, and again from 1945 to 1953. He missed two years due to military service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Passarella umpired 1,668 major league games in his career. He umpired in three

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

(

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

, 1949 and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

) and two All-Star Games ( 1947 and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

). He appeared in several television shows, including ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...

'', '' Home Run Derby'', '' Ironside'', and ''

Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges a ...

'', and in the movie ''

That Touch of Mink ''That Touch of Mink'' is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Delbert Mann and starring Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young, and Audrey Meadows. Plot Cathy Timberlake, an unemployed New York City career woman, goes to the unemploymen ...

''.

Umpiring career

Passarella's professional umpiring career began in the 1930s with the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

. After that league dissolved, Passarella moved on to the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He umpired there for eight years before signing on to the American League. Passarella joined the American League in 1941, then missed the 1943 and 1944 seasons due to service in the Army during World War II. He served as a plans and training clerk for a medical training battalion during the war, receiving a promotion from private first class to technician fifth grade. Passarella ran what is thought to be the first military umpire training school; it was conducted for members of his medical unit. In January 1945, Passarella received an Army discharge. Holding seniority over newer umpires in the American League, he regained his umpiring job, which he held until his resignation in 1953. In Game 5 of the 1952 World Series, Passarella called

Johnny Sain John Franklin "Johnny" Sain (September 25, 1917 – November 7, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He ...

out on a play at first base. Photos of the play showed that Sain had beaten the throw and first baseman

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

had taken his foot off the bag before the ball arrived. Passarella was widely condemned for missing the call, and was only partially supported by commissioner

Ford Frick Ford Christopher Frick (December 19, 1894 – April 8, 1978) was an American sportswriter and baseball executive. After working as a teacher and as a sportswriter for the ''New York American'', he served as public relations director of the Natio ...

. Passarella was home plate umpire for Bill McCahan's no-hitter on September 3, 1947.

Acting

After leaving baseball, Passarella appeared in a few films, mostly as an umpire (such as in ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...

'' and ''

''), but found more work on television, playing minor roles in '' Home Run Derby'', '' Ironside'', and ''

''. He also made numerous uncredited appearances in the 1960s gangster series ''

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

'', usually as a hood or henchman of

Frank Nitti Frank Ralph Nitto (born Francesco Raffaele Nitto, ; January 27, 1886 – March 19, 1943), known as Frank Nitti, was an Italian-American organized crime figure based in Chicago. The first cousin and bodyguard of Al Capone, Nitti was in charge o ...

(played by Bruce Gordon) or other Chicago hoods. Passarella portrayed Sergeant Sekulovich in ''

''. Sekulovich was a "legman" for Detective Mike Stone, played by

Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. He was primarily a character actor, who according to Robert Berkvist, "for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun aut ...

; the character name was an in-joke, as Sekulovich was Malden's real last name.

Death

Passarella died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in Hemet, California in 1981. He was 71 years old.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Passarella, Art 1909 births 1981 deaths Major League Baseball umpires Sportspeople from Rochester, New York 20th-century American male actors United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers