13 Facts About Augie Donatelli

August Joseph Donatelli was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1950 to 1973.

Augie Donatelli was on the cover of the first issue of Sports Illustrated, with catcher Wes Westrum and batter Eddie Mathews, in August 1954.

Augie Donatelli's plane was shot down during the first daylight raid on Berlin, and he suffered a broken ankle upon parachuting.

Augie Donatelli began umpiring softball games while a POW before being freed when Soviet troops overran the area.

Augie Donatelli officiated in the National League Championship Series in 1969 and 1972, serving as crew chief for the latter series, and in the three-game playoff series to determine the NL champion in both 1959 and 1962.

Augie Donatelli umpired in the All-Star game in 1953,1959,1962 and 1969.

Augie Donatelli was noted for having perhaps the most dramatic ejection gesture in baseball.

Augie Donatelli was part of the crew on May 2,1954, when Stan Musial hit five home runs in a doubleheader; he was behind the plate in the first game, when Musial hit three of the five.

Augie Donatelli was in the umpiring crew for the May 30,1956, doubleheader between the Braves and Chicago Cubs, in which the teams combined for a record 15 home runs; the Braves' Bobby Thomson hit a pair in each game, and Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews each homered in both contests as well.

Augie Donatelli umpired in the April 30,1961, game in which Willie Mays hit four home runs.

Augie 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.

Augie Donatelli lost his position as crew chief immediately afterward, though NL president Warren Giles denied that Donatelli's involvement with the union was the cause.

Augie Donatelli died in his sleep at age 75 at his home in St Petersburg, Florida, and was buried at Bay Pines National Cemetery in Bay Pines, Florida.