Dusty Boggess
Encyclopedia
Lynton Ross "Dusty" Boggess (June 7, 1904 – July 8, 1968) was an American
umpire
in Major League Baseball
who worked in the National League
from 1944 to 1962.
Boggess was born in Terrell, Texas
, and attended Waco High School
in Waco
. He played pro baseball for a Cleburne
team under the fitting alias of "Bogus" at age 16, and was disqualified from high school competition when this was discovered. He went on to enjoy a minor league playing career through 1933, primarily in the St. Louis Cardinals
' system, during which he played every field position; on three occasions he played every position in a single game. He was also a manager
in his last two seasons, and in 1932 he spent his life savings on a minor league team, the Muskogee
Chiefs of the Class C Western Association
, which he operated virtually singlehandedly; but the venture failed financially in the midst of the Great Depression
, with the team even having to travel in a boxcar on one occasion. After the 1933 season he turned to officiating amateur baseball, basketball
and football
games before getting his first chance in the minor leagues in 1939, having to hitchhike from Texas to South Dakota to begin work. A bout with high blood pressure in 1943 delayed his entry to the major leagues for a year.
After reaching the majors, he officiated in the World Series
in 1950
, 1952
(outfield only), 1956
and 1960
, serving as crew chief for the last; he was the second base umpire for Don Larsen
's perfect game
in the 1956 Series. He also umpired in the All-Star Game
in 1946, 1952, 1955 and 1960 (both games), calling balls and strikes for the second half of the first 1960 game, and in the three-game playoffs to determine the NL champion in 1946
, 1959
and 1962
. He was the home plate umpire on July 31, 1954, when Joe Adcock
hit four home runs
and a double
, and was the first base umpire for the first of Sandy Koufax
' four no-hitter
s on June 30, 1962. Upon retiring in 1962, he received the first Bill Klem
Award from the Houston
chapter of the BBWAA
as baseball's top umpire.
Boggess, who also worked as a scout for the Chicago White Sox
as well as the NFL
's Pittsburgh Steelers
, later became a brewery representative. He wrote an autobiography, Kill the Ump!: My 42 Years in Baseball, in which he controversially suggested that the Los Angeles Dodgers
had blown the 1962
NL pennant by focusing on Maury Wills
' pursuit of the single-season stolen base
record. Boggess died of a lung ailment at age 64 in Dallas
' Parkland Hospital
, and was buried in Dallas' Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery
with a souvenir baseball he had kept which was autographed by every other umpire with whom he had worked.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who worked in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
from 1944 to 1962.
Boggess was born in Terrell, Texas
Terrell, Texas
Terrell is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States, and a southeastern suburb of Dallas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,606...
, and attended Waco High School
Waco High School
Waco High School is a Texas UIL Class 4A public high school located on N. 42 Street in Waco, Texas. As of August 2009, enrollment was 1902 with 139 teachers. The ethnicity is roughly 44.95% African American, 36.91% Hispanic, 17.19% White American and 0.95% Other. The school mascot is the lion...
in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
. He played pro baseball for a Cleburne
Cleburne, Texas
Cleburne is a city in Johnson County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. According to 2007 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population is 29,050. It is the county seat of Johnson County. Cleburne is named for a Confederate General, Patrick Cleburne...
team under the fitting alias of "Bogus" at age 16, and was disqualified from high school competition when this was discovered. He went on to enjoy a minor league playing career through 1933, primarily in the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
' system, during which he played every field position; on three occasions he played every position in a single game. He was also a manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
in his last two seasons, and in 1932 he spent his life savings on a minor league team, the Muskogee
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
Chiefs of the Class C Western Association
Western Association
The Western Association was the name of five different leagues in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries.The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western Association on October 28, 1887...
, which he operated virtually singlehandedly; but the venture failed financially in the midst of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, with the team even having to travel in a boxcar on one occasion. After the 1933 season he turned to officiating amateur baseball, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games before getting his first chance in the minor leagues in 1939, having to hitchhike from Texas to South Dakota to begin work. A bout with high blood pressure in 1943 delayed his entry to the major leagues for a year.
After reaching the majors, he officiated in the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
in 1950
1950 World Series
The 1950 World Series was the 47th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as 1950 champions of the National League and the New York Yankees, as 1950 American League champions, competed to win a best-of-seven...
, 1952
1952 World Series
The 1952 World Series featured the three-time defending champion New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their fourth straight title—tying the mark they set between 1936 and 1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Casey Stengel became the second manager in Major...
(outfield only), 1956
1956 World Series
The 1956 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the New York Yankees and the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers during the month of October 1956. The Series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series...
and 1960
1960 World Series
The 1960 World Series was played between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League from October 5 to October 13, 1960...
, serving as crew chief for the last; he was the second base umpire for Don Larsen
Don Larsen
Donald James Larsen is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 15-year baseball career, he pitched from 1953-67 for seven different teams. Larsen is best known for pitching the sixth perfect game in baseball history, doing so in game 5 of the 1956 World Series...
's perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
in the 1956 Series. He also umpired in the All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
in 1946, 1952, 1955 and 1960 (both games), calling balls and strikes for the second half of the first 1960 game, and in the three-game playoffs to determine the NL champion in 1946
1946 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox *All-Star Game, July 9 at Fenway Park: American League, 12–0-Other champions:*Negro League World Series: Newark Eagles over Kansas City Monarchs...
, 1959
1959 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox ; Larry Sherry, MVP*All-Star Game , July 7 at Forbes Field: National League, 5-4*All-Star Game , August 3 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American League, 5-3...
and 1962
1962 in baseball
The 1962 season is perhaps most notable for the dismal 40–120 record of the New York Mets, the third-worst winning percentage and the record for most games lost since 1900.-Major League Baseball:...
. He was the home plate umpire on July 31, 1954, when Joe Adcock
Joe Adcock
Joseph Wilbur "Billy Joe" Adcock was an American first baseman and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the powerful Milwaukee Braves teams of the 1950s, whose career included numerous home run feats...
hit four home runs
MLB hitters with four home runs in one game
Writers of Sporting News described hitting four home runs in a single Major League Baseball game as "baseball's greatest single-game accomplishment". Fifteen players have accomplished the feat to date. No player has done this more than once in his career and no player has ever hit more than four...
and a double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, and was the first base umpire for the first of Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
' four no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s on June 30, 1962. Upon retiring in 1962, he received the first Bill Klem
Bill Klem
William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm , known as the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941...
Award from the Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
chapter of the BBWAA
Baseball Writers Association of America
The Baseball Writers' Association of America is a professional association for baseball journalists writing for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying Web sites. The BBWAA was founded on October 14, 1908, to improve working conditions for sportswriters in the early part of the 20th century...
as baseball's top umpire.
Boggess, who also worked as a scout for the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
as well as the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, later became a brewery representative. He wrote an autobiography, Kill the Ump!: My 42 Years in Baseball, in which he controversially suggested that the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
had blown the 1962
1962 in baseball
The 1962 season is perhaps most notable for the dismal 40–120 record of the New York Mets, the third-worst winning percentage and the record for most games lost since 1900.-Major League Baseball:...
NL pennant by focusing on Maury Wills
Maury Wills
Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...
' pursuit of the single-season stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
record. Boggess died of a lung ailment at age 64 in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
' Parkland Hospital
Parkland Memorial Hospital
Parkland Memorial Hospital is a hospital located at 5201 Harry Hines Boulevard, just west of Oak Lawn in Dallas, Texas . It is the main hospital of the Dallas County Hospital District and serves as Dallas County's public hospital.- History :The original hospital opened in 1894 in a wooden...
, and was buried in Dallas' Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery
Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery
Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 7405 West Northwest Highway in north Dallas, Texas . Among the notable persons interred here are:*Sawnie Robertson Aldredge , mayor of Dallas, Texas...
with a souvenir baseball he had kept which was autographed by every other umpire with whom he had worked.
External links
- Retrosheet
- The Dead Ball Era - New York Times obituary
- BaseballLibrary
- Dusty Boggess at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...