Cesare "Cece" Carlucci (December 30, 1917 – September 17, 2008) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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'', ...

. Carlucci worked in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) for 12 seasons and was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame.

Early life

Carlucci was born on December 30, 1917, and raised in

Bell, California Bell is an incorporated city in Los Angeles County, California, near the center of the former San Antonio Township (abolished after 1960). Its population was 35,477 at the 2010 census, down from 36,664 in the 2000 census. Bell is located on the ...

. He had 13 siblings. 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 ...

, he was stationed in Alaska. His nickname "Cece" was pronounced exactly like the English word "cease."

Career

After the war, Carlucci wanted to pursue a career in baseball but decided that he was too old to play. He began working as an

in winter leagues and then was hired by 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 ...

for the 1946 season. His contract was sold to the

(PCL) before the 1950 season. During a game that he umpired between the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

and

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars (192 ...

on August 2, 1953, fighting broke out that required 50

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

officers to break up. Carlucci said that he was knocked down three times during the brawl. Carlucci sought a promotion to

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), ...

(MLB) on three occasions. But, he told friends, at that time MLB wanted big, physically imposing umpires, and Carlucci stood no more than 5'8" tall. When he was not hired by MLB in the

1961 MLB expansion The 1961 Major League Baseball expansion resulted in the formation of two new Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises in the American League (AL). A new club was started in Washington, D.C. and took the existing name of the Senators, as the previou ...

, Carlucci quit the PCL before the 1962 season. He retired from umpiring in

after having officiated 2,590 consecutive games in organized baseball. Never missing a game, Carlucci worked with broken ribs and after being hit by pitches and hit in the throat. During the 1961 season, the PCL announced that Carlucci's consecutive game streak was the longest in baseball history. After leaving the PCL, Carlucci continued to umpire amateur competitions. He umpired in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and for the

Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an independent barnstorming team. The Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball League at the league's inception in 1974. The G ...

in 1967, 1968, and 1972. He umpired the 1970 International World Series in Colombia and the American Legion World Series in 1971. He also umpired for the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

and

JUCO World Series The JUCO World Series is an annual baseball tournament held across three divisions of National Junior College Athletic Association baseball. Taking place in late May and early June each year, it determines the junior college baseball national champi ...

. Carlucci manufactured umpiring equipment that he sold through the company "Mr. Ump" in

Lake Elsinore, California Lake Elsinore is a city in western Riverside County, California, United States. Established as a city in 1888, it is on the shore of Lake Elsinore, a natural freshwater lake about in size. The city has grown from a small resort town in the l ...

. In addition to designing equipment for umpires at all levels of baseball, he made the umpiring gear used in the 1984 film ''

The Natural ''The Natural'' is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mo ...

''.

Personal life

Carlucci and his wife, Lucille, had a daughter. He died at his home in

Wildomar, California Wildomar is a city in southwest Riverside County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on July 1, 2008. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,875. The community has grown very quickly during the early twenty-first century; t ...

on September 17, 2008.

References

External links

Cece Carlucci – Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlucci, Cece 1917 births 2008 deaths Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California People from Bell, California Baseball umpires Military personnel from California