11 Facts About Tom Connolly

Thomas Henry Connolly was an English-American umpire in Major League Baseball.

Tom Connolly officiated in the National League from 1898 to 1900, followed by 31 years of service in the American League from 1901 to 1931.

Tom Connolly was born in Manchester, England, and played cricket as a boy.

Tom Connolly immersed himself in the rule book, and within a few years was umpiring for local games.

Tom Connolly showed an ability to stand firm against the toughest players in defense of the rules; on September 11,1912, he called Ty Cobb out for stepping across home plate while batting, after Cobb had batted in a run during an attempted intentional walk.

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Tom Connolly's reputation earned him prominent game assignments, including the first AL games ever played at Comiskey Park, Shibe Park, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium.

Tom Connolly was the sole AL umpire chosen to work in the first World Series in 1903.

In 1931, new AL president Will Harridge was concerned about widespread complaints that the quality of umpiring in the league had deteriorated, and Tom Connolly retired from active field work to become the league's first supervisor of umpires.

Tom Connolly was the home plate umpire for Addie Joss' perfect game on October 2,1908, one of four no-hitters in which he called balls and strikes.

Tom Connolly was named in the Honor Rolls of Baseball in 1946, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, one of the first two umpires given that honor.

Tom Connolly died in 1961 at age 90 in Natick, Massachusetts, survived by seven children, and predeceased by his wife, who had died in 1943.