1. Bill Valentine was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to William Bill Valentine Sr.
13 Facts About Bill Valentine
1. 2.
Bill Valentine grew up a short distance from Travelers Field, the home stadium of the Arkansas Travelers minor league team.
3.
Bill Valentine worked odd jobs at the stadium, including sorting soft drink bottles before games, retrieving seat cushions after games, and shagging foul balls and returning them during games.
4.
Bill Valentine began umpiring in amateur and semi-pro games as a teenager.
5.
Bill Valentine graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1950, and received a scholarship from the Arkansas State Teachers College to study journalism.
6.
Bill Valentine spent several years in the lower minors, but was promoted to the Double-A Texas League in 1954.
7.
Bill Valentine spent six years as an AL umpire, and was chosen as an umpire for the 1965 All-Star Game at Metropolitan Stadium.
8.
Bill Valentine was the home plate umpire when Tony Conigliaro was hit by a pitched ball at Fenway Park on August 18,1967.
9.
On September 16,1968, Bill Valentine received a call from American League president Joe Cronin, informing Bill Valentine that he and fellow umpire Al Salerno were being fired, effective immediately.
10.
Bill Valentine was for a time the executive director of the Arkansas Republican Party, a position originally held from 1970 to 1973 by Neal Sox Johnson.
11.
Bill Valentine worked as an announcer for the Arkansas Travelers for eight years.
12.
Bill Valentine was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Officials Association Hall of Fame, the Texas League Hall of Fame, and the North Little Rock Boys Club Hall of Fame.
13.
Bill Valentine died on April 26,2015, in Little Rock, Arkansas.