Ernest Quigley

The quintessential arbiter, Ernest Quigley was best known for umpiring in the National League from 1913-37.  He called 3,351 major league 5,400 games, which still ranks among the most in MLB history.  Quigly umpired in six World Series, including the infamous 1919 World Series that spawned the Black Sox scandal.

Quigley was born in Canada in 1880 but raised in Concordia.  He was a student James Naismith’s at the University of Kansas, played football at KU and set out on a career as a football coach.  After stints at St. Mary’s (KS) and Kansas Wesleyan, Quigley turned to officiating.

In addition to being a National League umpire, supervisor of umpires and public relations director, Quigley officiated football and basketball.  He worked some 400 football games including three Rose Bowls, a Cotton Bowl and five Harvard-Yale games. He officiated 1,500 basketball games, including NCAA Tournaments and the 1936 Olympic finals.

In 1944, Quigley returned to KU as athletic director.  For many years, the campus baseball stadium was known as Quigley Field.  He lived the remainder of his life in Lawrence and died in 1960 at the age of 80.

For more, read Ernest Quigley’s Society for American Baseball Research bio.