James Cecil Odom (July 16, 1921 – January 18, 1989) was a professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
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'', ...
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 1965 to 1974. Odom umpired 1,597
major league games in his 10-year career. He umpired in the
1971 World Series
The 1971 World Series was the championship round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1971 season and featured the first night game in its history. The 68th edition of the Fall Classic was a best-of-seven playoff between the defending World Series ...
, two
League Championship Series
The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, and ...
(
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
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. ...
) and the
1968 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1968 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 39th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball.
The game was held on July 9 ...
.
Minor leagues
Jim umpired for 18 years before being promoted to the major leagues. His minor league service included time in the
West Texas–New Mexico League
The West Texas–New Mexico League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1937 through 1955, with a hiatus from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. The league started as a Class D level league, upgraded to Class C in 1946 and then ...
,
Tobacco State League
The Tobacco State League was a Class D level American minor baseball league that played for five seasons (1946–1950) in Organized Baseball in the state of North Carolina. The Red Springs Red Robins won two league championships.
History
The T ...
,
Big State League
The Big State League was a mid-level, Class B level circuit in American minor league baseball that played for 11 seasons, from 1947 through 1957. Its member clubs were exclusively based in Texas. The Corpus Christi Clippers (1955-1956), Texark ...
,
Sally 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 h ...
,
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
and
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 ...
.
Notable games
In 1971, Odom served as home plate umpire for the last game in
Washington Senators history. With the Senators up by two runs in the ninth inning, Senators fans began to storm the field. With only one out needed to win the game, the crowd became uncontrollable and the game was forfeited to New York.
Personal life
Odom attended high school in
Bennettsville, South Carolina
Bennettsville is a city located in the U.S. state of South Carolina on the Great Pee Dee River. As the county seat of Marlboro County, Bennettsville is noted for its historic homes and buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries—including ...
, where he played three sports. Early in his career, Odom spent the offseason working for Young Pecan Company of Florence, South Carolina.
[
Jim's younger brother Harvey was an umpire who worked in several minor league circuits.][
]
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
The Sporting News umpire card
1921 births
1989 deaths
Major League Baseball umpires
Sportspeople from South Carolina
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