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 “Early Umpires” Photo Gallery
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We Contacted By a Descendant of Former Major League Umpire, Jim Johnstone!

As I’ve mentioned many times, we always love it when we’re contacted by a relative of a former player. But it’s not often that we’re contacted by a descendant of a former major league umpire!

I recently shared an email exchange with Michael Johnstone, the great-grandson of the Deadball Era umpire, Jim Johnstone. As usual, whenever we look closely into the career of a former player — or in this case, a former umpire — we always find some interesting information. After corresponding with Michael, I learned that his great-grandad’s baseball legacy includes more than just calling balls and strikes!

(In the featured photo above, we see Deadball Era umpires Billy Evans, Silk O’Loughlin, Bill Klem, and Jim Johnstone)

Jim Edward Johnstone was born on December 9, 1872, probably in Illinois, but the location is not known. Described by Michael as a “hard-driven Irishman,” Jim Johnstone and his wife Sarah Hughes had three sons: Walter, Chester (Michael’s grandfather), and Jim. The family resided in Newark, New Jersey. Later the household added nephews Chester, Jr. (Michael’s dad), and Jim (Michael’s uncle). As Michael relates:

“My great-granddad insisted that his sons not work and stay home to care for his wife, Sarah when he was away. He was a burly 5’9”, estimated at 210 pounds in his prime. Umpiring kept him on the road often, and the “take charge” attitude he had on the field, did not play as well at home. It wasn’t until 1992 that Big Uncle Jim shared with my wife how difficult it was living with the hard-driven dad of an umpire. Big Uncle Jim was an excellent ballplayer in his own right, but his dad did not even grant him a tryout. The life of a ballplayer was not for his son!”

A little bit about his career

Jim Johnstone umpired his first game on April 23, 1902. Over his 12-year career, he officiated 1,736 games. He worked in three major leagues: the American League (1902), National League (1903-1912), and the Federal League (1915); plus the minor league American Association (1914). Not possessing a particularly thick skin, he issued 208 ejections (including ten of John McGraw), leading all umpires with 30 ejections in 1904 and 21 in 1906. Legendary umpire Bill Klem started his career as Jim Johnstone’s junior partner. The two developed a friendship and Klem later became the godfather for Johnstone’s oldest son. Johnstone officiated Cy Young’s last winning game at Forbes Field. He also umpired in the1906 and the 1909 World Series. As Michael recalled:

“In those early years of baseball, only two umpires worked the World Series. In 1906 he was the National League representative [along with Silk O’Loughlin from the American League]. In 1909, two umpires from each league were selected to work in the World Series. But only two at a time rotated working games!”

As was the case for many early umpires, Jim Johnstone started as a pitcher in the minor leagues (1894-’99) before control problems ended his mound experience. While pitching with the Irvington, New Jersey affiliate of the Atlantic League, he once threw a no-hitter; and, as Michael relates, he likely pitched against one well-known future Hall of Famer:

“A regular opponent in that league was the Paterson Silk Weavers. For sure he faced Honus Wagner, who played for them in 1896 and 1897, winning the batting title (.375) in 1897 before becoming a major leaguer in July 1897.”

Michael shared some interesting incidents from his great-grandad’s years in baseball, including this harrowing experience from rough-and-tumble early twentieth-century baseball. It happened in 1900 while umpiring a game for the Southern League playoff series in Louisville, Kentucky:

“The home team wanted to pick their own umpire to officiate the series. But Jim Johnstone had paperwork from the league assigning him to game [so the series got off to a rough start]. The home team lost the first game of the best-of-three series and was infuriated at a call he made. The next day was very tense, with a police presence, including a paddy wagon that ended up transporting him to jail after being shoved to the ground and injuring his wrist when an angry crowd welled up late in the game. When Jim contacted the league office to report the outcome of the game, the operator leaked information locally and a lynch mob assembled outside the jail. Jim was forced to remain in jail until two p.m. when the visiting team bailed him out and assisted with him leaving the area.”

Another time, while working in the American Association in 1914, Johnstone’s jaw was broken by a punch thrown by “Sleepy” Bill Burns. The incident, and the light punishment Burns received, led to Johnstone’s resignation from the league. Michael shared this interesting story, involving the irascible Ty Cobb, which Michael picked up from his dad:

“One of my dad’s favorite stories was told to him by veteran sportswriter Willie Ratner of the old Newark Evening News [who was still with the paper as late as 1972]. My dad once called him up and asked if he knew umpire Jim Johnstone. Ratner was drinking and laughed out loud and said Jim Johnstone was a ‘tough SOB.’ He recounted a story about Ty Cobb, possibly from a barnstorming game. Jim walked into Ratner’s office and dropped a pair of mangled plate shoes on his desk. Cobb and Jim Johnstone had a scuffle and Cobb stomped all over Jim’s feet with his spikes rendering the footwear unusable!”

Johnstone was behind the plate for the July 31, 1908 Giants-Cardinals game in which Fred Tenney stole first base after having already reached second! At the time no rule prevented this tactic and Johnstone allowed Tenney to remain on first base. Also that year, before the start of the Cubs-Giants playoff game to decide the 1908 pennant (following the infamous Merkle game), he and umpire Bill Klem were reportedly approached under the Polo Grounds stands before the game by the home team Giants’ physician. “Apparently, he offered them a bribe. The incident was reported, but nothing ever came of it.”

The Platform Mask

As I mentioned, Jim Johnstone added a lot more to the game than just his role as an arbiter. In 1922, he developed the original full vision mask, called the Platform mask: a lighter but more protective design of the umpire’s mask then in use. “He tested the aluminum-based mask he developed with a sledgehammer, then wore it himself.”

To manufacture and distribute the mask, he founded the Johnstone Baseball Mask Company, based out of his home. His original design would remain largely unchanged until the development of the hockey-style mask in the twenty-first century. As Michael related:

“Many umpires and catchers forwarded letters verifying the significant improvement the mask was over previous models. One of the first to wear the mask was Red Sox catcher and mentor to Babe Ruth, Pinch Thomas. Through this contact, the Babe and Thomas had dinner at Jim Johnstone’s home in Newark.”

“The day after Thanksgiving 1977, I had the good fortune of meeting Hall of Fame librarian Cliff Kachline. We shared that a copy of the mask was on display four years earlier, donated by the wife of a Brooklyn Dodger catcher from the 1920s. The mask was still on display! We then met with the head of the museum to open the display, and, lo and behold, ‘JOHNSTONE’ was imprinted inside the mask!”

“Many copies of the Platform Mask are in the possession of the Hall of Fame archives. After many years of attempting to get my great-grandfather recognition [for his invention], it unfortunately never happened. I finally pivoted to donating a copy of the mask to the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, New Jersey five years ago. It gets the attention it deserves there and is prominently displayed along with a cap worn by Yogi’s catching mentor Bill Dickey. Yogi wore a version of the mask his whole career, and is pictured with it on an early Sports Illustrated magazine cover.”

“The invention was honored by the New Jersey Inventor’s Hall of Fame in February 1994. The Johnstone Mask Company — and the family home — was located at 112 Central Avenue in Newark and continued to produce the mask out of that location. Later, production of the mask continued long after Jim Johnstone’s death, primarily with A.A. Spalding Company.”

After his wife Sarah passed away in 1926, Jim was advised to take a vacation. He sailed to his ancestors’ homeland in County Cork, Ireland with his oldest son Walter. While in Ireland, he developed an infected boil in his neck and passed away on June 13, 1927. At the time, Chester’s wife Mildred, Michael’s grandmother, became secretary of the mask company. “She saved all the documentation that we have on Jim Johnstone.”

We thank Michael Johnstone for sharing some interesting, first-hand information about his great-grandad, major league umpire Jim Johnstone. Not only was he one of the game’s original umpires, but, as we learned, he was also one of its earliest innovators.

More information on Jim Johnstone can be found in his SABR biography by David W. Anderson.

Gary Livacari 

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