American baseball umpire (1956-2019)
Chuck Meriwether
|
---|
|
Born
| Julius Edward Meriwether
(
1956-06-30
)
June 30, 1956
|
---|
Died
| October 26, 2019
(2019-10-26)
(aged 63)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
|
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Occupation(s)
| MLB
umpire
Umpire supervisor
|
---|
Years active
| 1987?2009
|
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Height
| 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
|
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Julius Edward "Chuck" Meriwether
(June 30, 1956 ? October 26, 2019)
[1]
[2]
was a
Major League Baseball
(MLB)
umpire
. After working in the
American League
(AL) from 1988 to 1999, he umpired in both leagues from 2000 to 2009. Meriwether originally wore number 32, but in 2004 switched to number 14.
Career
[
edit
]
After graduating from
Athens State College
in 1978, he first umpired in the minor leagues in 1979, reaching the
American Association
in 1986 before continuing up to the AL. He was an umpire in the
2004 World Series
and the
2007 World Series
, and in the
All-Star Game
in
1996
and
2002
. He also umpired in the
2003 National League Championship Series
and the
2006 American League Championship Series
, and in eight
Division Series
(
1998
,
1999
,
2000
,
2001
,
2002
,
2004
,
2007
, and
2009
). He was the third base umpire for
the single-game playoff
to decide the National League's
2007
wild card team. He was the third base umpire for
David Cone
's
perfect game
on July 18, 1999, and the second base umpire for
Mark Buehrle
's
perfect game
on July 23, 2009.
Upon joining the AL's staff, Meriwether became only the fifth
African American
umpire in major league history, and the first in the AL since
Emmett Ashford
retired in 1970. Coincidentally, Meriwether was behind the plate when the
Boston Red Sox
? the last major league team to
integrate
its roster ? won its
first World Series in 86 years
in
2004
, and he was again behind the plate when they won the Series three years later in
2007
.
[2]
He worked on the same umpiring crew as
Eric Cooper
, who died six days before Meriwether, in 2004 and 2009.
[1]
Before the start of the 2010 season, fellow MLB umpire
Mike DiMuro
wrote on his "
Umps Care
Blog" that Meriwether would sit out the 2010 season on the
disabled list
and then retire following the 2010 season.
[3]
Meriwether did in fact miss the entire season, and retired along with fellow veteran umpires
Mike Reilly
and
Jerry Crawford
on February 23, 2011.
[4]
The umpire dressing room at Nashville's
First Horizon Park
was named after Meriwether in 2016.
[5]
At the time of his death, Meriwether was a supervisor of MLB umpires.
[6]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Meriwether's son Chris was a walk-on point guard for the
Vanderbilt University basketball team
from 2008 to 2010.
[7]
Meriwether died at his home in Nashville on October 26, 2019, at the age of 63 after a battle with cancer.
[8]
Later that evening, there was a moment of silence in memory of Meriwether prior to
Game 4 of the World Series
.
[9]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Umpire Julius E "Chuck" Meriwether Dies at 63"
.
closecallsports.com
. Close Call Sports & Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. October 26, 2019
. Retrieved
October 26,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"MLB Umpire Dies at 63"
.
The New York Times
. Reuters. October 26, 2019
. Retrieved
October 26,
2019
.
- ^
"Retirements Will Prompt New Hiring"
.
Umps Care Charities
. NBC Sports. Archived from
the original
on June 17, 2011.
- ^
"Veteran Umpires Jerry Crawford, Chuck Meriwether, and Mike Reilly Retiring"
.
HardballTalk
.
NBC Sports
. February 3, 2011
. Retrieved
May 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Sounds to Name Umpire Dressing Room After Nashville Native Chuck Meriwether"
.
MiLB.com
. Minor League Baseball. May 5, 2016
. Retrieved
May 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Umpire Executives"
.
MLB.com
. Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
October 26,
2019
.
- ^
"Chris Meriwether Bio"
.
vucommodores.com
.
Vanderbilt Commodores
. 4 May 2019
. Retrieved
October 27,
2019
.
- ^
"Former major league umpire Chuck Meriwether dies at 63"
.
ESPN
. October 26, 2019
. Retrieved
October 27,
2019
.
- ^
"MLB remembers Chuck Meriwether"
. MLB. October 26, 2019
. Retrieved
October 27,
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]