1. Albert Henry Soar was an American football running back and defensive back in the National Football League who went on to have a long career as an umpire in Major League Baseball.
10 Facts About Hank Soar
1. 2.
Hank Soar played nine seasons for the New York Giants, and caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the 1938 NFL Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers at the Polo Grounds.
3.
Hank Soar served in the Army during World War II, and his officiating in a baseball game drew the attention of Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack, who recommended him for an umpiring career.
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Hank Soar then became backfield coach for the football team at Rhode Island State College from 1947 to 1949.
5.
Hank Soar worked in five World Series, serving as crew chief for the '69 Series between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, one of the most famous of all time.
6.
Hank Soar was the first base umpire when Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitched a perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 Series, and was again at first base on June 1,1975, when Nolan Ryan of the California Angels pitched his fourth no-hitter to tie Sandy Koufax's major league record.
7.
Hank Soar officiated in four All-Star Games, calling balls and strikes for the last contest, as well as the 1971 American League Championship Series, when he again served as crew chief.
8.
In 1941, Hank Soar made a bit of history as one of the first two players ever to be fined by the NFL's league office when commissioner Elmer Layden in August assessed $25 fines on Hank Soar and Green Bay Packers quarterback Larry Craig for fighting.
9.
Hank Soar died at age 87 at a family home in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and was buried in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence.
10.
Hank Soar has a memorial marker at Slater Park in Pawtucket next to the tennis courts.