Charles H. Cushman (May 25, 1850 – June 29, 1909) 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'', ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

in the late 19th century. In parts of three seasons, he umpired a total of 110

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 ...

games. Late in the 1891 season, he managed a replacement team, the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, in the major-league

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 ...

Baseball career

Managing

Cushman managed the minor-league

of the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

during part of the 1884 season. He later managed another minor-league

team in the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

during 1890 and 1891. That team served as a replacement team in the major-league

late in the 1891 season. He led the major-league Brewers to a 21–15 record in 36 games that season.

Umpiring

In May 1884, after umpiring a St. Paul at Fort Wayne game in the Northwestern League, Cushman was struck in the head with a rock thrown by an eleven-year-old boy. Cushman later umpired in the

: 46 games in 1885, one game in 1894, and 63 games in 1898. In 1898, he umpired until July. Initial rumors were that Cushman was having problems with league president Nicholas Young. Later, Cushman said that he was discharged after refusing to attest to an affidavit incriminating managers

Cap Anson Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain") and "Pop", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 c ...

and

Patsy Tebeau Oliver Wendell "Patsy" Tebeau (December 5, 1864 – May 16, 1918) was an American first baseman, third baseman, and manager in Major League Baseball.

of violating the league's prohibition on obscene or vulgar language (the "Brush law", named after owner

John T. Brush John Tomlinson Brush (June 15, 1845 – November 26, 1912) was an American sports executive who is primarily remembered as the principal owner of the New York Giants franchise in Major League Baseball from late in the 1902 season until his death ...

). Cushman joined the staff of the Western League late in the season.

Personal life

Cushman died in June 1909, aged 59, after being ill for six months following an injury at the

railroad yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...

where he worked. He was survived by his wife and a daughter.

References

External links