Story posted Thursday, February 25, 2010
Good Call
Resident Joe Maher Looks Back On His Brief MLB Umpiring Career
By RICHARD MAYER Assistant Managing Editor
Joe Maher
For one Arlington Hts. man, he lived a dream millions wish for: to umpire a professional baseball game.
Not only did 40-year resident Joe Maher get to call a game at Wrigley Field for his hometown Cubs, it was for the special games 1 and 2 of the 1984 National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the San Diego Padres.
He was the third base umpire for Game 1 and second base umpire for Game 2.
Maher, 65, has high school and collegiate umpiring experience dating back to 1966. He umpired local high school games for the Mid-Suburban League for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) that included schools such as Prospect and Hersey.
Maher said in 1978, Major League Baseball began to experience labor problems so MLB officials sent out a notice to all scouts of a pending umpire strike that would begin the 1979 season.
"An emergency list of umpires was created and I was one of them on the list," said Maher. "They based it on the ability to control a game and knew from experience I called tough games and was capable to handle the situation."
Starting the 1979 season, Maher along with other replacement umpires called 25 games before an agreement was reached with the umpire's union.
Five years later, another strike occurred and replacement umpires were called upon to begin the 1984 playoffs.
"We did the first two games in Chicago and then when the Cubs went to San Diego, there were other replacement umpires that called those games," said Maher. "The strike was settled before the World Series."
Prior to Game 1, Maher and other crewmembers met both managers inside the clubhouse to review the game and cover rules.
"It was nerve-racking because it was unexpected to ever be called upon to do that, but I was confident in my crew and we were treated very well by the Cubs," said Maher.
Maher continued umpiring the Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox until it became part of interleague play in 1997.
"I thought that series was won," Maher said referring to the Cubs taking a 2-0 lead in the best of five series to San Diego in 1984. "They (Cubs) really looked like the superior team."
Maher added there wasn't one incident with any of the ballplayers during the two games in Chicago.
At the time he umpired for MLB, Maher was an elementary physical education teacher for Arlington Hts. School Dist. 25. He is now retired. He also retired from umpiring baseball games with IHSA in 1999.
With more free time these days, Maher said he spends a lot of his time at the health club and referees area girls and boys high school basketball games.
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