View source for Bill Klem

{{Short description|American baseball umpire (1874-1951)}}
{{infobox person
| name   = Bill Klem
| image     = Billklem.jpg
| image_size     = 
| caption  = Klem in 1914
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1874|2|22}}
| birth_place = [[Rochester, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1951|9|16|1874|2|22}}
| death_place = [[Miami, Florida]], U.S.
|occupation = [[National League (baseball)|National League]] [[Umpire (baseball)|Umpire]]
|years_active =1905–1941
|spouse          = {{marriage|Marie Kranz|1910}}
|module= {{Infobox baseball biography
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1953 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1953]]
|hofmethod=Veterans Committee
|embed = yes
}}
}}

'''William Joseph Klem''' (born '''Klimm'''; February 22, 1874 – September 16, 1951), known as "'''the Old Arbitrator'''", was an American [[baseball umpire]] who worked in [[Major League Baseball]] from 1905 to 1941, spending his entire career in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL).<ref name=tdb/> He worked 18 World Series, which is a major league record. Klem was posthumously inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1953.

==Biography==

===Early life===
Klem was born on February 22, 1874, in the "Dutchtown" area of [[Rochester, New York]]. He had changed the spelling of his last name from "Klimm" to "Klem" because he thought it had a better sound. Klem pursued a baseball career as a [[catcher]] until he sustained an arm injury. He then worked as a bartender and traveled through the Northeast building bridges. He decided to pursue umpiring after reading a newspaper article about major league umpire [[Silk O'Loughlin]].<ref name=Philly>{{cite web|last1=Fitzpatrick|first1=Frank|title=Klem, The Old Arbitrator, was father of umpiring. He was the first umpire elected To Baseball's Hall Of Fame. but his career was not without controversy|url=http://articles.philly.com/1999-09-02/sports/25487317_1_umpire-bill-klem-nickname|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219052253/http://articles.philly.com/1999-09-02/sports/25487317_1_umpire-bill-klem-nickname|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 19, 2014|publisher=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|access-date=November 30, 2014|date=September 2, 1999}}</ref>

His umpiring career began in the [[Connecticut League]] in 1902. That year, Klem had a run-in with league secretary and team manager [[Jim O'Rourke (baseball)|Jim O'Rourke]] after Klem ejected one of the manager's players. O'Rourke threatened that Klem would not umpire another game in the league, but Klem responded, "Maybe so, but I'll umpire this one."<ref name=Orator>{{cite book|last1=Roer|first1=Mike|title=Orator O'Rourke: The Life of a Baseball Radical|date=2006|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786423552|page=234|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzTv-wj6ey8C|access-date=January 19, 2015}}</ref>

He worked in the [[New York State League (1885–1917)|New York State League]] the following year. Klem spent the 1904 season in the [[American Association (20th century)|American Association]] before joining the NL in 1905.<ref name=NYHS>{{cite web|title=Bill Klem|url=http://sports.nyhistory.org/bill-klem/|publisher=New York Historical Society|access-date=September 5, 2013}}</ref>

===MLB career===
He worked a record 18 [[World Series]]:<ref name=bbhof/> [[1908 World Series|1908]], [[1909 World Series|1909]], [[1911 World Series|1911]], [[1912 World Series|1912]], [[1913 World Series|1913]], [[1914 World Series|1914]], [[1915 World Series|1915]], [[1917 World Series|1917]], [[1918 World Series|1918]], [[1920 World Series|1920]], [[1922 World Series|1922]], [[1924 World Series|1924]], [[1926 World Series|1926]], [[1929 World Series|1929]], [[1931 World Series|1931]], [[1932 World Series|1932]], [[1934 World Series|1934]] and [[1940 World Series|1940]]. No other umpire has worked in more than ten Series. Of the 16 major league teams in existence during his career, all but one&mdash;the [[St. Louis Browns]], who would not win a pennant until 1944&mdash;appeared in a World Series that he officiated; the only other teams which did not win a championship with Klem on the field were the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]], [[Philadelphia Phillies]] (neither of which won a title during Klem's lifetime) and the [[Detroit Tigers]]. He was also one of the umpires for the first [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] in [[1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1933]], and worked behind the plate for the second half of the game; he later umpired in the [[1938 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1938 All-Star Game]] as well.

Klem holds the [[MLB]] record for most career ejections by an umpire with 279.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.closecallsports.com/2011/08/polls-she-gone.html|title=Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Polls: He Gone|work=Close Call Sports|date=August 1, 2011}}</ref>

He called balls and strikes in five no-hitters, an NL record later tied by [[Harry Wendelstedt]]. He was also the home plate umpire on September 16, 1924, when [[Jim Bottomley]] of the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] had a record 12 [[run batted in|runs batted in]]. Klem had a number of nicknames amongst the players: his favorite was "the Old Arbitrator", but his jowly appearance also led to some players calling him "Catfish". Klem despised the latter name, and was notorious for ejecting players whom he caught using it.<ref name=sabr>Anderson, David. [http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/31461b94 Bill Klem]. [[Society for American Baseball Research]]. Retrieved November 30, 2014.</ref> One particular incident involved a player whom Klem ejected after he caught the player drawing a picture of a catfish with his foot in the infield dirt.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated-->|date=March 1, 2023 |title=Human umpires important part of baseball |url=https://www.poncacitynews.com/sports/human-umpires-important-part-baseball |work=The Ponca City News |access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Umpires for the World Series of 1924 lined up before the game with Geo. Phillips, left, official announcer. L. to rt.- Phillips, Umpires Dineen, Klem, Quigley, and Connolly LCCN2016887767.jpg|thumb|Umpires for the [[1924 World Series|World Series of 1924]] lined up before the game with George Phillips, left, official announcer. Left to Right: Phillips, Umpires [[Bill Dinneen]], Bill Klem, [[Ernest C. Quigley]], and [[Tom Connolly (umpire)|Tom Connolly]].]]
Klem also dismissed catcher [[Al López]] from a game after López pasted a newspaper clipping onto home plate which showed Klem clearly in error calling a play involving López. The catcher had covered the photo with dirt and waited for Klem to brush off home plate.<ref>''Baseball's Greatest Managers'', 1961.</ref>

As Klem got older, he began to experience a skin condition that he said related to his nerves. He once commented on the toll that umpiring took on him, saying, "Most baseball fans... feel that these verbal and physical public humiliations [umpires endure] go in one ear and out the other. Well, they don't. They go in one ear and go straight to the nervous system, eating away coordination, self-confidence and self-respect."<ref name=Philly/> Late in his life, Klem stated in interviews that he had originated the use of hand signals for umpiring calls. It was difficult to challenge Klem at the time because so many years had passed. Recent research does not yield a clear answer to the origin of hand signals, with credit often going to umpire [[Cy Rigler]].<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Stuart|title=Umpires' signs: The movie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/sports/baseball/25umpire.html?_r=0|access-date=November 30, 2014|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 25, 2010}}</ref>

By 1940, Klem had retired and had been replaced by future Hall of Fame umpire [[Al Barlick]].<ref name=Barlick>{{cite news|title=Hall-of-fame Ump Barlick Dies|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/12/28/hall-of-fame-ump-barlick-dies/|access-date=November 30, 2014|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=December 28, 1995}}</ref> At that time, Klem was appointed the NL's chief of umpires. The league began experimenting with four-man umpire crews in 1941 and Klem appeared in a few games that season so that those games would have four umpires.<ref name=Walkoffs>{{cite book|last1=Chuck|first1=Bill|last2=Kaplan|first2=Jim|title=Walkoffs, Last Licks and Final Outs: Baseball's Grand (and Not-so-grand) Finales|date=2007|publisher=ACTA Publications|isbn=978-0879463427|page=163|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EX2iPhcpza0C&pg=PA163|access-date=November 30, 2014}}</ref> Klem held the record for most MLB games umpired for over 70 years – at his retirement in 1941, he had umpired 5,375 games, the record until 2021 when it was surpassed by [[Joe West (umpire)|Joe West]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/joe-west-ties-mlb-record-for-most-games-umpired/ |title=Joe West breaks MLB record for most games umpired |author1= Katherine Acquavella |author2=R.J. Anderson |date=May 25, 2021 |publisher=CBS |accessdate=May 26, 2021}}</ref><ref name ="mostgames">{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/umpire-joe-west-works-5-164-game-the-second-most-in-major-league-history/490981771/?refresh=true|title=Umpire Joe West works 5,164th game — the second most in major league history|publisher=StarTribune|date=August 16, 2019|access-date=October 25, 2019}}</ref> He finished his career having umpired 5,375 regular season MLB games (all in the National League), 103 postseason games (all in World Series), and two MLB All-Star Games.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/K/Pklemb901.htm |title=Bill Klem |website=[[Retrosheet]] |access-date=August 17, 2019}}</ref>

He had the longest career of any major league umpire (37 years) before [[Bruce Froemming]] tied that mark in 2007, and was also the oldest umpire in history at age 67 until Froemming surpassed that mark as well. Klem was widely respected for bringing dignity and professionalism to umpiring, as well as for his high skill and good judgment. Klem was also an innovative umpire: he was one of the first to wear a modern, somewhat pliable chest protector inside his shirt, a move which he successfully campaigned to have adopted throughout the NL, although [[Jocko Conlan]] and [[Beans Reardon]] used the outside protector. He was the first to straddle foul lines and stand to the catcher's side for better perspective. Finally, he was the last umpire to work the plate exclusively (traditionally the crew chief always worked the plate; today umpire crews rotate base/plate assignments).

===Personal life===
Klem's wife was named Marie. She often traveled with him to games that he worked. They had no children.<ref name=Philly/>

===Death and legacy===
Klem died on September 16, 1951, at age 77, at Doctors Hospital in [[Coral Gables, Florida]].<ref name=tdb>{{cite news |title=Bill Klem, 77, Dies. Dean of Umpires. 'Old Arbitrator,' Who Served National League 35 Years, Worked 18 World Series A 'Likely Young Man' Always 'On Top' of Play In Seventeen World Series. Honored by Writers |url=http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Umpires/Klem.Bill.Obit.html |quote=William J. Klem, dean of major league baseball umpires, died here early today in Doctors Hospital of a heart ailment, with which he became afflicted two years ago when his eyesight also began to fail. |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 17, 1951 |access-date=2013-12-27 }}</ref> He died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] after suffering from heart problems for two to three years. He had been hospitalized for over a month when he died. About a week before his death, Klem seemed to know that his death was coming, commenting to his attorney, "This is my last game and I'm going to strike out this time."<ref name=Death>{{cite news|title=Bill Klem, veteran umpire, dies of heart attack at 77|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1951/09/17/page/69/article/bill-klem-veteran-umpire-dies-of-heart-attack-at-77|access-date=November 30, 2014|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=September 17, 1951}}</ref> His wife was his only survivor.<ref name=Death/>

Klem and [[Tom Connolly (umpire)|Tom Connolly]] were the first two umpires inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1953.<ref name=bbhof>[http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/detail.jsp?playerId=427281 Bill Klem at Baseball Hall of Fame] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222024732/http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/detail.jsp?playerId=427281 |date=December 22, 2007 }} accessed 18 December 2007</ref> They are also the only umpires to have worked in five different decades. In 1946 Klem and Connolly had also been named to the [[Honor Rolls of Baseball]].

In 1962, the Houston chapter of the [[Baseball Writers' Association of America]] established the Bill Klem Award to honor outstanding NL umpires.<ref name=Award>{{cite news|title="Bill Klem" Award set|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19621125&id=GThWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2419,3618944|access-date=November 30, 2014|work=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|date=November 25, 1962}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball umpires (disambiguation)]]
* [[Major League Baseball umpiring records]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|William Joseph Klem|Bill Klem}}
*{{Baseball Hall of Fame profile|klem-bill}}
*Career statistics and umpire information from [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=188796 The Baseball Cube], or [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/K/Pklemb901.htm Retrosheet]
* {{SABR Baseball Biography Project|31461b94}}
*[https://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Klem.Bill.Obit.html The Deadball Era]
*{{Find a Grave|10682}}

{{1953 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Honor Rolls of Baseball}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klem, Bill}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball umpires]]
[[Category:National League umpires]]