1. Eric Eugene Gregg was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1975 to 1999.
15 Facts About Eric Gregg
1. 2.
Eric Gregg was only the third black umpire in the major leagues, following Emmett Ashford and Art Williams.
3.
Eric Gregg officiated in the 1989 World Series, and was the third base umpire for Game 3, which was postponed due to the Loma Prieta earthquake, but since the series ended in four games, he did not get to work behind home plate, as happened to Ashford in the 1970 World Series.
4.
Eric Gregg worked in four National League Championship Series, as well as the 1995 and 1996 National League Division Series and the 1986 All-Star Game at the Houston Astrodome.
5.
Eric Gregg was the home plate umpire for two no-hitters and worked third base for Tom Browning's perfect game on September 16,1988.
6.
Eric Gregg was the subject of controversy for his large strike zone during Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS, where Marlins pitcher Livan Hernandez recorded a career-high 15 strikeouts against Atlanta with Eric Gregg calling strikes on pitches that were often so far out of the strike zone that a hitter would not have made contact if he had swung at the ball.
7.
Eric Gregg continued to umpire in 1998 and a portion of the 1999 season but was not selected for post-season duties again.
8.
Eric Gregg was one of 22 umpires who resigned in 1999 as part of a labor action.
9.
In 1996, fellow umpire John McSherry died in Cincinnati of a heart attack; the two had planned for a long time to try to lose weight together, but McSherry's death motivated Eric Gregg to take a leave of absence from umpiring and enter a program at Duke University.
10.
Eric Gregg was honorary commissioner of the Wing Bowl, an annual competitive eating event in Philadelphia, and umped at various celebrity softball events.
11.
In 1999, Eric Gregg was fined $5,000 by the National League for exceeding a 300-pound weight limit.
12.
Eric Gregg's autobiography, Working the Plate, was published in 1990.
13.
Son Eric Gregg Joseito was well known as a lacrosse coach before becoming an account executive at Dell EMC in the Philadelphia area.
14.
Eric Gregg mentioned in his autobiography that umpires who usually work night games were prone to watch network television dramas; a photo of him with Eileen Davidson is in the book.
15.
Eric Gregg suffered a stroke at age 55 on June 4,2006, and died the following day.