David Leroy "Satch" Davidson (January 18, 1935 – August 21, 2010) was a

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), ...

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'', ...

in the National League from 1969 to 1984. During his career, Davidson was behind the plate for

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

's 715th

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 ...

which broke

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 career record and he called the game in which

Carlton Fisk Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" and "The Commander", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1969 to 1993 for the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–1980) a ...

hit a game-winning home run in game 6 of the

1975 World Series The 1975 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1975 season. The 72nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the Natio ...

. Davidson wore uniform number 4 when the National League adopted umpire uniform numbers in 1970.

Early life and career

Davidson was born on January 18, 1936, in

London, Ohio London is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Ohio, United States. Located about southwest of the Ohio capital of Columbus, London was established in 1811 to serve as the county seat. The population was 10,279 at the 2020 census. ...

, and attended Wilmington College and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

.Satch Davidson
Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. Accessed September 5, 2010. His nickname came from his being a fan of the character "Sach" played by

Huntz Hall Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular "Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later " Bowery ...

in the 1940s films featuring

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 195 ...

.Barron, David
"Davidson lauded for being fair: Late umpire worked successive no-nos involving Astros, Reds"
''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'', August 24, 2010. Accessed September 5, 2010. He played professional football and was a catcher in the minor leagues for the

Columbus Jets The Columbus Jets were a Minor League baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, from 1955 to 1970. The team moved from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where they were known as the Ottawa Athletics. The Jets were a member of the Triple-A (baseball), Tr ...

in 1961 before becoming an umpire in the New York – Penn League in 1966 and in the Eastern League in the following two seasons.

Major league career

Promoted to 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 s ...

in 1969 after only three years umpiring minor league baseball, Davidson was an umpire for the pair of

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s thrown on consecutive days during the first month of play that season at

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

. Davidson was the first base umpire when

Jim Maloney James William Maloney (born June 2, 1940) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels (1971). One of the hardest-throwing pitchers of the 1960s, Maloney boasted a fastball c ...

of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

no-hit the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

and on May 1 was behind the plate when Don Wilson pitched a no-hitter for the Astros against the Reds.Walker, Ben via

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

"Longtime NL umpire Satch Davidson dead at 75"
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', August 23, 2010. Accessed September 5, 2010. He would be umpire for three other no-hitters during his career. On April 8, 1974, in a game played at

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in the southeastern United States, located in Atlanta. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of the ...

, Davidson was the home plate umpire when Hank Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th home run, making sure he touched home plate as teammates came out of the dugout to congratulate him. He recalled that the stadium, which had been packed at the start of the game, was half empty by the seventh inning after the record was broken and said he "respected Hank because of the way he played and conducted himself" and that "it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy".Doyle, Al
"Satch Davidson: the game I'll never forget: former major league umpire was behind the plate for Hank Aaron's 715th career home run and Game 6 of the 1975 World Series"
''

Baseball Digest ''Baseball Digest'' is a baseball magazine resource, published in Orlando, Florida by Grandstand Publishing, LLC. It is the longest-running baseball magazine in the United States. History and profile It was created by Herbert F. Simons, a spor ...

'', October 2005. Accessed September 5, 2010. Davidson was home plate umpire during Game 6 of the

, with the Cincinnati Reds up three games to two over the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in a game played at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

. The Reds had taken a 6–3 lead, but the Red Sox tied the game with a three-run home run by

Bernie Carbo Bernardo Carbo (born August 5, 1947) is an American former outfielder and designated hitter who played from through for the Cincinnati Reds (1969–72), St. Louis Cardinals (1972–73, 1979–80), Boston Red Sox (1974–76, 1977–78), Milwaukee ...

in the bottom of the seventh inning. The game went into extra innings and remained tied until the 12th inning when

hit a pitch off of

Pat Darcy Patrick Leonard Darcy (born May 12, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds from through . Darcy was a member of the Reds te ...

of the Reds. In one of baseball's most iconic moments, Fisk waved his arms as if trying to keep the ball fair, before the ball hit the foul pole and was called a home run, winning the game for Boston. Davidson was the one who called it a home run, saying he had a better view of the ball than the umpires at third base and in left field. Davidson was an umpire at the

1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 47th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1976 ...

and for the

1982 World Series The 1982 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1982 Major League Baseball season, 1982 season. The 79th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Leag ...

, in addition to being part of the umpiring crew for the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and the National League West Division Series in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Davidson also officiated on April 17, 1976, when

Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 18-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a ...

hit four

s in one game. He retired from baseball in 1985, citing back problems.

Personal life

During the baseball offseason, Davidson was a police officer in his home town of London, Ohio. Davidson also spent 21 years as an NCAA basketball referee. He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. A resident of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

for 27 years, Davidson died there at age 74 on August 21, 2010. He was survived by his wife, Lynn, as well as by three daughters, a son and five grandchildren.Staff
"Satch Davidson"
''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...

'', August 26, 2010. Accessed September 5, 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Satch 1936 births 2010 deaths College men's basketball referees in the United States Columbus Jets players Major League Baseball umpires Ohio State University alumni People from London, Ohio Wilmington College (Ohio) alumni Sportspeople from Houston