Umpire Ron Luciano (3) Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1937

Ronald Michael Luciano was born in Binghamton, New York on June 28, 1937. It says on Wikipedia that he was born in Endicott, but in his book, "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says he was born in Binghamton. His father passed away when Ron was 11, and he and his two sisters were raised by their mother. Ron attended Syracuse University on a scholarship and played both lacrosse and football.

At Syracuse at the time was Football Hall of Fame player Jim Brown. In his book, "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says of Jim Brown: "We had a nice friendship.

He called me 'Hey You' and I called him 'Mr. Brown'. Years later, I ran into him in Los Angeles. At first he pretended not to know who I was, but then he said, 'Hey You, move over please.' It was nice to see that even after all his success he still remembered his old teammate."

Answer: Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills

Ron was originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts, but was immediately forwarded to the Detroit Lions to complete an earlier trade for Hall of Fame player Bobby Layne. He was a player-to-be-named-later. In his book, "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says, "The fact that the Colts included thirty-five other players and forty million dollars in the deal didn't bother me.

In my mind it was Luciano for Layne." Ron was later traded to the Minnesota Vikings, but decided to sign with the Buffalo Bills instead.

Answer: True

Not once, but twice in the same day! While Ron was playing for Detroit, he was chosen to play in the annual Pro-College All-Star Game. At the time, Richard Nixon was Dwight Eisenhower's Vice-President, and had come to watch the team practice. Nixon came into the locker room just before the team went out on the field. Ron, in full uniform, stood up to shake hands with him, but his cleats slid on the slippery floor and Ron inadvertently grabbed the Vice-President as he went down, taking Nixon with him. Everyone laughed it off.

But then on the field, Nixon was standing on the sidelines watching the team scrimmage. Ron threw a cross-body block to stop an end run. His momentum kept him going right out of bounds, and knocked Nixon right off of his feet.

In his book, "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says, "Nixon took it well. While we were still lying there on the ground he looked at me and shook his head in disbelief. Then he said, 'You've just got to be a Democrat!'"

Answer: Too many injuries

Ron suffered several injuries to both his shoulder and his knee. He even had his arm pulled out of its socket by a player named "Big Daddy" Lipscomb. After three years being on the disabled list, in 1962, while playing in the third preseason game for the Buffalo Bills, Ron tore up his shoulder again.

He then retired from playing pro football. He joked about his football career later on, but it deeply affected him, as it had always been his dream to play professional football. In his book, "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says, "I wanted a career playing professional ball.

Then I could retire, and open a bar!"

Answer: True

After his football career ended, Ron became a math teacher. He also taught shop class. In "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says about teaching woodshop, "I can't even change a light bulb without written instructions. All I knew about working with wood was that you had to sand it. Whatever the problem, my answer was 'sand it.' I had good rapport with the kids, though. I was an easy marker. If they earned 30 on a test, I'd give them an 80. I let them pass." Ron was not happy being a teacher, as he was never very fond of children.

Answer: 1963

In 1963, Ron was offered the job of General Manager of the Detroit Lions' minor league team. After accepting the job, Ron decided to take a trip to Florida. There he heard about a baseball school in Daytona Beach. Ron decided to enroll, so he could at least learn the rules of the game.

He attended Al Somers' Umpire Instructional Course. From "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says, "The instructors looked at me and said I'd make an excellent umpire. They said 'You got good size.' Good size! That should have told me something right there.

The aspect I liked best, though, from the very beginning, was that I could be back on the playing field and I didn't have to worry about getting hurt or listening to coaches scream at me." Obviously, Ron had not yet met Earl Weaver or Billy Martin!

Answer: 11

Ron's contract was purchased by the American League in 1968. He umpired until he retired during spring training of 1980, when he was hired by NBC as a broadcaster for the "Game of the Week". But after two years, NBC did not renew his contract.

Answer: 5

Ron and co-author David Fisher wrote five books together, four of them becoming best-sellers. They are as follows:

"The Umpire Strikes Back"
"Strike Two"
"The Fall of the Roman Umpire"
"Remembrance of Swings Past"
"Baseball Lite: The Funniest Moments of The 1989 Season"

After reading these books, I certainly changed my opinion of umpires! I stopped expecting umpires to be perfect in their performance on the field and realized that they make mistakes, too. Thanks to Ron Luciano for that!

Answer: Yes

Ron met Polly Dixon through National League umpire John Kibler in Chicago in 1970. They dated for five years and married, but the marriage lasted less than two years. From "The Umpire Strikes Back", Ron says, "The most difficult aspect of an umpire's life is the constant traveling. Umpires are never the home team. For this reason, the divorce rate among umpires is very high. My own brief marriage is part of that statistic."

Answer: He committed suicide

On January 18th, Ron was found dead at age 57 in his garage at his home in Endicott, a victim of suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning. He reportedly suffered from depression for many years, and he was hospitalized for its treatment in early 1994. He was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Johnson City, New York.

It's hard to believe that someone with his marvelous sense of humor would get so depressed that he would choose to take his own life.