William Ervin Kinnamon (May 13, 1919 – April 16, 2011) was an

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), ...

who 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 1960 to 1969. Kinnamon officiated in the

1968 World Series The 1968 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 Major League Baseball season, 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between American League (AL) ch ...

, and in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

in 1962 (second game) and 1968. He went on to become an umpiring instructor, and he operated one of the two principal umpiring schools for several years.

Early life

Born in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, Kinnamon graduated from Lincoln High School and the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he earned a degree in business administration. He played fullback on the football team and catcher on the baseball team at Nebraska. He was stationed in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

while with the US Army during

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 opposin ...

. After the war, he worked for the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

before attending umpire school. Kinnamon began his umpiring career in the

Sooner State League The Sooner State League was a Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that operated from 1947 in sports, 1947 through 1957 in sports, 1957. The league owners kept it alive in 1958, anticipating a return to play in 1959. Howev ...

in 1953, moving up to the Pioneer League (1954), the Eastern League (1955–56) and the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

(1956–60) before joining the American League staff in September 1960.''1969 Baseball Register''. The Sporting News, p. 489. He married Anneliese Brown in 1959.

Major league umpiring

During the

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 ...

season, Kinnamon became a part of history as the home plate umpire during

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...

' record-breaking single-season 61st home run, which was hit on October 1 to break

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

's single-season record. Through the course of his career, Kinnamon worked roughly 1,500 games including the 1962 and 1968 All-Star Games and the

. He later founded his own umpiring school. After retiring from field duties due to a June 1969 injury, he became an umpiring supervisor, and then the chief instructor in the major leagues' new Umpire Specialization Course, which later became the Umpire Development Program. He eventually began running the training program independently, operating one of the two principal umpiring schools from 1974 to 1981 in San Bernardino, California & St. Petersburg, FL before selling the school to umpire

Joe Brinkman Joseph Norbert Brinkman (born April 9, 1944) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who worked in the American League (AL) from 1972 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 until his retirement during the 2006 sea ...

, who had been an instructor in Kinnamon's program since 1973. A resident of

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

throughout his major league career, he later relocated to

Largo, Florida Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,500, up from 69,371 in 2000. Largo was first incorporated in 1 ...

Death

Kinnamon died in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

, at the age of 91.Find-a-Grave.com
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnamon, Bill 1919 births 2011 deaths Major League Baseball umpires University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Sportspeople from Daytona Beach, Florida People from Largo, Florida United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers