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Nicholas Ittner "Red" Jones (April 16, 1905 – March 19, 1987) was an American baseball umpire in the American League between 1944 and 1949. Jones worked in 889 major league games during that stretch.

Umpiring career

From 1936 to 1943, Jones was a minor league umpire with the South Atlantic League, Piedmont League and Southern Association. In 1942, Jones had an opportunity to get a pay raise by moving the American Association, but he turned it down, saying that he liked it when fans heckled him with a southern accent. He made his major league debut as third base umpire in a twelve-inning game between Philadelphia and Washington on April 18, 1944.

In a 1946 game at Fenway Park, Jones was behind the plate when he received heckling from the Chicago White Sox bench. Jones was called a "meathead" and someone made "whoopee-cushion noises". Unable to pinpoint the culprits, Jones ejected fourteen from the Chicago bench. For many years, legend had it that the razzing came from a ventriloquist in the stands, but at least one player has identified Chicago coach Mule Haas as the source.

Jones umpired his last MLB game in 1949. Umpire Bill McKinley described him as a good umpire but one who was easily distracted by comments from players and fans. "He heard everything," McKinley said. "It took his concentration off the game. It bothered him so much that they finally had to fire him after six years."

Later life

In 1950, Jones left umpiring and took a post in sales with the Pfeiffer Brewing Company in Detroit. He later worked in public relations for the Associated Brewing Company and briefly as a television commentator for the Cleveland Indians. Jones also co-hosted a sports interview show with Al Ackerman of WWJ-TV (NBC affiliate) in Detroit.

Death

Jones died on March 19, 1987, in Miami, Florida.

References

1. ^ Retrosheet: Red Jones, retrieved July 18, 2012
2. The Sporting News Umpire Card: Nicholas Jones, retrieved July 17, 2012
3. Welsh, F. X. (May 4, 1942). "Do you know that?". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.
4. Branch, John (July 6, 2006). "60 years and 1,000 tales since 14 were ejected". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
5. Gerlach, Larry R. (1994). The Men in Blue: Conversations with Umpires. U of Nebraska Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-8032-7045-9.
6. Smith, Lyall (January 6, 1950). "If fans toss bottles, ex-ump hopes they're his". Detroit Free Press.

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