August Joseph Donatelli (August 22, 1914 – May 24, 1990) 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'', ...
in
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), ...
who worked 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 ...
from 1950 to 1973. Highly regarded for his ability, he was also known for his inclination to eject players and managers quickly and dramatically. He was on the cover of the first issue of
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
, with catcher
Wes Westrum
Wes or WES may refer to:
* Westmorland, county in England, Chapman code
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Wes (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Wes Madiko (1964–2021), Cameroonian musi ...
and batter
Eddie Mathews
Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. He played 17 seasons for Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (1967) and Detroit Tigers (1967– ...
, in August 1954.
Life and career
Known as Gus to those close with him, Donatelli was born in
Heilwood, Pennsylvania, and raised in
Bakerton. After enjoying a 14-game career as a
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
in , he served in the
Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
'
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...
during World War II and spent 15 months as a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
after flying 18 missions as a tailgunner on a
B-17
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
. His plane was shot down during the first daylight
raid on Berlin
The Raid on Berlin took place in October 1760 during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War) when Austrian and Russian forces occupied the Prussian capital of Berlin for several days. After raising money from the city, and with the ...
, and he suffered a broken ankle upon parachuting. He began umpiring
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
games while a POW before being freed when Soviet troops overran the area. After the war he opted for an umpiring career rather than return to the coal mines near his hometown, and after graduating from
Bill McGowan
William Aloysius McGowan (January 18, 1896 – December 9, 1954) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1925 to 1954. McGowan founded the second umpire school in the United States. He was inducted ...
's school in 1946 worked in the
Pioneer League in 1946, the
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...
in 1947, and the
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
in 1948–49.
During his major league career, he umpired in the
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 ...
in
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
(outfield only),
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
,
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
,
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
and
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
. He also officiated in the
National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...
in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
and
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, serving as crew chief for the latter series, and in the 3-game playoff series to determine the NL champion in both and . He umpired in the
All-Star game in 1953,
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
(first game), 1962 (first game) and 1969. When the National League umpires began wearing uniform numbers in 1970, Donatelli was assigned uniform number 7.
Donatelli was involved in numerous other notable games. On September 20, 1969, working behind the plate for
Bob Moose
Robert Ralph Moose Jr. (October 9, 1947 – October 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates from through . Moose was a memb ...
's 4–0 win, he officiated in his eighth official
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
, tying an NL record held by
Bob Emslie
Robert Daniel Emslie (January 27, 1859 – April 26, 1943) was a Canadian pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who went on to set numerous records for longevity as an umpire. Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Emslie had a brief professional playi ...
and
Frank Secory; after Secory extended the record to nine in 1970, Donatelli again tied it on September 2, 1972, when he worked first base in
Milt Pappas
Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...
' 8–0 gem.
Tom Gorman also tied the record in 1976 before
Paul Pryor worked in his 10th no-hitter in . Donatelli called balls and strikes for four of his nine no-hitters, including
Warren Spahn
Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...
's second no-hitter on April 28, 1961, and
Ken Johnson's game of April 23, 1964, in which he became the first pitcher in history to lose a nine-inning no-hitter, by a score of 1–0. (disputed) In Game 4 of the 1957 World Series, he awarded
Milwaukee Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...
pinch-hitter
Nippy Jones
Vernal Leroy "Nippy" Jones (June 29, 1925 – October 3, 1995) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for three National League clubs during the 1940s and 1950s, and won World Series rings wit ...
first base in the 10th inning after determining that there was shoe polish on the ball, showing that Jones had been hit; a pinch runner scored the game-tying run, and the Braves went on to win both the game and the series.
[
Donatelli was noted for having perhaps the most dramatic ejection gesture in baseball. In a game between the ]New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
, Donatelli ejected the Giants' Bob Elliott for arguing a called strike two, then ejected Elliott's replacement Bobby Hofman for disputing a called third strike.[ He was part of the crew on May 2, 1954, when ]Stan Musial
Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consis ...
hit five home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s in a doubleheader; he was behind the plate in the first game, when Musial hit three of the five. He was also in the umpiring crew for the May 30, 1956, doubleheader between the Braves and Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
, in which the teams combined for a record 15 home runs; the Braves' Bobby Thomson
Robert Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010) was a Scottish Americans, Scottish-born American professional baseball player, nicknamed the "Staten Island Scot". He was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants ( ...
hit a pair in each game, and Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
and Eddie Mathews
Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. He played 17 seasons for Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (1967) and Detroit Tigers (1967– ...
each homered in both contests as well. He also umpired in the April 30, 1961, game in which Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...
hit four home runs.[Dittmar, pp. 132-134.]
Donatelli is widely regarded as having been a primary force in the creation of the first umpires' union, the Major League Umpires Association
The Major League Umpires Association was a union for the umpires of both the American League and the National League. It was formed in 1970. It was superseded by the World Umpires Association (now the Major League Baseball Umpires Association)) ...
, in 1964. He lost his position as crew chief immediately afterward, though NL president Warren Giles
Warren Crandall Giles (May 28, 1896 – February 7, 1979) was an American professional baseball executive. Giles spent 33 years in high-level posts in Major League Baseball as club president and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951) ...
denied that Donatelli's involvement with the union was the cause.[
Following Game 7 of the ]1967 World Series
The 1967 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1967 Major League Baseball season, 1967 season. The 64th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL ...
, Donatelli was seen running off the field from his position at third base with the hats of two members of the victorious St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
in his hands. The picture was picked up by the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and ran in newspapers from coast to coast the next day.
His final game behind the plate came in Game 2 of the 1973 World Series
The 1973 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1973 season. The 70th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion (and defending World Series ch ...
between the New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
and Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
. Donatelli was involved in a controversial play when he called the Mets' Bud Harrelson
Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson (born June 6, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He is a coach and part-owner of the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia ...
out when he tried to score from third base on a fly ball by Félix Millán
Félix Bernardo Millán Martínez (born August 21, 1943) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. He holds one of the best at-bat to str ...
in the top of the 10th inning with the score tied at 6–6. Replays showed that Harrelson avoided the tag of Athletics catcher Ray Fosse
Raymond Earl Fosse (April 4, 1947 – October 13, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1967 to 1979, most prominently as an All-Sta ...
. Willie Mays, playing in his final season in baseball, pleaded his case in front of Donatelli, and soon the argument was joined by Mets manager Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball ...
and Harrelson. Berra described the call as a "damn joke". The Mets went on to win the game 10–7 in 12 innings, thanks to two errors in the 12th by Oakland second baseman Mike Andrews
Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. After his playing career, he served fo ...
.
Donatelli died in his sleep at age 75 at his home in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
, and was buried at Bay Pines National Cemetery in Bay Pines, Florida.
See also
*List of Major League Baseball umpires
The following is a list of major league baseball umpires. The list includes umpires who worked in any of four 19th century major leagues (American Association, National Association, Players' League, Union Association), one defunct 20th century m ...
References
External links
Retrosheet
Augie Donatelli
- Baseballbiography.com
''Los Angeles Times'' obituary
*
Augie Donatelli Oral History Interview (1 of 2) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital Collection
Augie Donatelli Oral History Interview (2 of 2) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donatelli, Augie
1914 births
1990 deaths
United States Army personnel of World War II
Major League Baseball umpires
People from Indiana County, Pennsylvania
People from Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Baseball people from Pennsylvania
United States Army Air Forces soldiers
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
Burials at Bay Pines National Cemetery
Paducah Indians players
Beaver Falls Browns players