- Augie Donatelli
August Joseph Donatelli (
August 22 1914 -May 24 1990 ) was an American umpire inMajor League Baseball who worked in theNational League from 1950 to 1973. Highly regarded for his ability, he was also known for his inclination to eject players and managers quickly and dramatically.Donatelli was born in
Heilwood, Pennsylvania and raised in Bakerton. After enjoying a 14-game career as a minor leagueinfielder in by|1938, he served in the Army Air Forces'Eighth Air Force duringWorld War II and spent 15 months as a Germanprisoner of war after flying 18 missions as a tailgunner on a B-17. His plane was shot down during the first daylight raid on Berlin, and he suffered a broken ankle upon parachuting. He began umpiringsoftball games while a POW before being freed when Soviet troops overran the area. After the war he opted for an umpiring career rather than return to the coal mines near his hometown, and after graduating fromBill McGowan 's school in 1946 worked in the Pioneer League in 1946, theSouth Atlantic League in 1947, and theInternational League in 1948-49.cite news |title=Last Call at 76 for N.L. Umpire Donatelli |work=The Sporting News |date=1990-06-04 |page=18]During his major league career, he umpired in the
World Series in 1955 (outfield only), 1957, 1961, 1967 and 1973. He also officiated in theNational League Championship Series in 1969 and 1972, serving as crew chief for the latter series, and in the 3-game playoff series to determine the NL champion in both by|1959 and by|1962. He umpired in the All-Star game in 1953, 1959 (first game), 1962 (first game) and 1969.Donatelli was involved in numerous other notable games. On
September 20 , by|1969, working behind the plate forBob Moose 's 4-0 win, [cite book |last=Coberly |first=Rich |title=The No-Hit Hall of Fame: No-Hitters of the 20th Century |year=1985 |publisher=Triple Play |location=Newport Beach, CA |isbn=0-934289-00-X |pages=p. 150] he officiated in his eighth officialno-hitter , tying an NL record held byBob Emslie andFrank Secory ; after Secory extended the record to nine in 1970, Donatelli again tied it onSeptember 2 , by|1972 when he worked first base inMilt Pappas ' 8-0 gem. [Coberly, p. 160.] Tom Gorman also tied the record in 1976 beforePaul Pryor worked in his 10th no-hitter in by|1978. Donatelli called balls and strikes for four of his nine no-hitters, includingWarren Spahn 's second no-hitter onApril 28 , by|1961, [Coberly, p. 116.] and Ken Johnson's game ofApril 23 , by|1964 in which he became the first pitcher in history to lose a nine-inning no-hitter, by a score of 1-0. [Coberly, p. 125.] In Game 4 of the 1957 World Series, he awarded Milwaukee Braves pinch-hitterNippy Jones first base in the 10th inning after determining that there was shoe polish on the ball, showing that Jones had been hit; a pinch runner scored the game-tying run, and the Braves went on to win both the game and he Series.Donatelli was noted for having perhaps the most dramatic ejection gesture in baseball. In a by|1952 game between the New York Giants and
St. Louis Cardinals , Donatelli ejected the Giants' Bob Elliott for arguing a called strike two, then ejected Elliott's replacementBobby Hofman for disputing a called third strike. He was part of the crew onMay 2 , by|1954, whenStan Musial hit fivehome run s in a doubleheader; he was behind the plate in the first game, when Musial hit three of the five. [cite book|last=Dittmar|first=Joseph J.|title=Baseball's Benchmark Boxscores|year=1990|publisher=McFarland & Co.|location=Jefferson, NC|id=ISBN 0-89950-488-4|pages=pp. 104-107] He was also in the umpiring crew for theMay 30 , by|1956 doubleheader between the Braves andChicago Cubs , in which the teams combined for a record 15 home runs; the Braves'Bobby Thomson hit a pair in each game, andHank Aaron andEddie Mathews each homered in both contests as well. [Dittmar, pp. 116-120.] He also umpired in theApril 30 , by|1961 game in whichWillie Mays hit four home runs. [Dittmar, pp. 132-134.]Donatelli is widely regarded as having been a primary force in the creation of the first umpires' union, the
Major League Umpires Association , in 1964. He lost his position as crew chief immediately afterward, though NL presidentWarren Giles denied that Donatelli's involvement with the union was the cause.Following Game 7 of the
1967 World Series , Donatelli was seen running off the field from his position at third base with the hats of two members of the victoriousSt. Louis Cardinals in his hands. The picture was picked up by theAssociated Press and ran in newspapers from coast to coast the next day.His final game behind the plate came in Game 2 of the
1973 World Series between theNew York Mets andOakland Athletics . Donatelli was involved in a controversial play when he called the Mets'Bud Harrelson out when he tried to score from third base on a fly ball byFelix Millan in the top of the 10th inning with the score tied at 6-6. Replays showed that Harrelson may have avoided the tag of Athletics catcherGene Tenace , although Tenace could have also nicked a thread on Harrelson's jersey. Willie Mays, playing in his final season in baseball, pleaded his case in front of Donatelli, and soon the argument was joined by Mets managerYogi Berra and Harrelson. Berra described the call as a "damn joke". The Mets went on to win the game 10-7 in 12 innings, thanks to two errors in 12th by Oakland second basemanMike Andrews .Donatelli died in his sleep at age 75 at his home in
St. Petersburg, Florida , and was buried atBay Pines National Cemetery inBay Pines, Florida .ee also
References
External links
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/D/Pdonaa901.htm Retrosheet]
* [http://www.garybed.co.uk/player_biographies/donatelli_augie.htm Baseball in Wartime]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Augie_Donatelli BaseballLibrary]
* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Donatelli.Augie.Obit.html "New York Times" obituary]
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