Walter John "Butch" Henline (December 20, 1894 – October 9, 1957) was an American

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

and

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 played from 1921 to 1931 for the New York Giants, Brooklyn Robins, Philadelphia Phillies and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He spent most of his career with the Phillies,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.316 as a rookie in 1922 and .324 in 1923 before his playing time gradually decreased. Born in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, Henline was working in Cleveland, Ohio in 1918 when a local restaurant owner – aware of Henline's play on semi-pro teams – encouraged him to contact former star

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

, who lived nearby. After doing so, he was signed two weeks later by the Indianapolis club of 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 ...

, but did not join the team until the following year due to military service during World War I. In his 1922 rookie year with the Phillies, he led 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 ...

in fielding percentage with a .983 mark, and on September 15 of that year he hit three

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 March 1925, Henline was named team captain of the Phillies. After his playing career ended in the minor leagues in 1934, he became a

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

operator in Florida, but took up umpiring soon afterward after recalling that

Bill Klem William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm (February 22, 1874 – September 16, 1951), known as the "Old Arbitrator" and the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League (NL) umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941. He worked ...

had encouraged him to pursue the profession. He began working in the

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated wit ...

before moving up to the International League from 1940 to 1944, and then the NL. Henline served as an NL umpire from 1945 to 1948, and officiated in the 1947

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 d ...

. He went on to become supervisor of umpires in the

Florida International League The Florida International League was a lower- to mid-level circuit in American and Cuban minor league baseball that existed from 1946 through July 27, 1954. It was designated Class C for its first three seasons, then upgraded to Class B in 1949 fo ...

from 1949 to 1954 before that league folded. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at age 62 at his home in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

, and his cremated remains were interred at Manasota Memorial Park in

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

. On August 24, 1948, Henline was the first umpire to eject Jackie Robinson from a major league game. Robinson, Bruce Edwards, and coach

Clyde Sukeforth Clyde Leroy Sukeforth (November 30, 1901 – September 3, 2000), nicknamed "Sukey", was an American professional baseball catcher, coach, scout and manager. He was best known for signing the first black player in the modern era of Major League ...

were ejected for bench jockeying in a game at

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 740 games over 11 seasons, Henline compiled a .291

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(611-for-2101) with 258 runs, 96 doubles, 21 triples, 40 home runs, 268 RBI, 192 base on balls, .361 on-base percentage and .414 slugging percentage. He was hit by pitch 38 times and had 51

sacrifice hits In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...

. Defensively, he posted a .971 fielding percentage.

References

External links

Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henline, Butch 1894 births 1957 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Philadelphia Phillies players Brooklyn Robins players Chicago White Sox players New York Giants (NL) players Baseball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Sportspeople from Fort Wayne, Indiana Baseball players from Sarasota, Florida American military personnel of World War I Deaths from cancer in Florida Major League Baseball umpires Bloomington Bloomers players Indianapolis Indians players Toledo Mud Hens players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Montreal Royals players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Hopkinsville Hoppers players