The Press Democrat from Santa Rosa, California • 19

oC3 C3EV, pacto" ddo Bowing to a long tradition In Japan, umps are breed apart A it, No black marks for women in blue TNI PRIM DIMOCMT, TUISMV, MARCH 1 1 MP Santa Rosa's top female umps earn respect PO FILE PHOTO According to Marshall Brant of Santa Rosa, umpires in Japan were guilty of blatant bias against foreigners when he played there. By RALPH I.EEF Sports Editor aseball umpires are the I a same whether they are l-i-J calling games in the United States, Korea, Cuba or the Dominican Republic, right? Wrong says Marshall Brant, a sales representative (or an auto dealership in Santa Rosa who played professional baseball in Japan after playing for the Mets, Yankees and A's. The former Santa Rosa Junior College standout, 32, recalls watching in horror as a Japanese player pushed the home-plate umpire around after being called out on strikes. The umpire bowed as the angry player stalked back to the dugout. And Brant tells the story of hitting consecutive home runs in Japan only to be called out on strikes his third time up on pitches that were not even close.

As Brant returned to the Nappon Ham Fighters' dugout, the first-base umpire, in a low voice, said, "Nail that sticks up gets hammered down." The message was clear, says Brant. "He was telling me, 'You've done well enough; we're trying to even up the It was the umpire's way of explaining that the pitcher had lost enough face." Brant has a lot of stories from his two years in the Japanese big leagues, but one of the most startling, to him, involved a dispute between a manager and the six-man umpiring crew. A call was changed in favor of the Fighters, and the opposing manager marched to the batter's box and stood "like a little sumo wrestler" Brant said, pleading his case with the six umpires, who remained near the pitcher's mound. "This went on for a long time," said Brant. "I kept going back and (manager) Jackie Moore start out of the dugout to talk to me, I'm so mad at that fat guy for missing the call at second base that I wheeled and fired the ball at him.

I threw my best fastball, and the ump had to skip rope to get out of the way." Magrini got the thumb, naturally. That was no Japanese umpire on second base. Later, as he was cooling off in the locker room, he got word that he faced a 30-day suspension and it would probably mean missing the first month of the 1968 season. Magrini swallowed his pride and immediately after the game went to the umpire and apologized not for missing him, but for taking aim and firing. He eventually had to pay a fine, but the suspension was drooDed.

By RALPH LEEF Sports Editor Gina Haehl is a non-traditionalist who hears a lot of the traditional sexist remarks. She works as an installer for Pacific Bell, and one of her favorite hobbies is umpiring Santa Rosa softball games. "People will answer the door and yell, 'The telephone man, er, woman is Or they'll quiz me about how long I've been doing the job," Haehl said. When she's on the softball diamond, she'll get the usual: "Well, what did you expect from a woman?" Or, "She's pretty good for a woman." And then there is that brilliant line: "Why don't you go back to the kitchen?" Haehl and Sharon Tachick are the two most prominent women officials in the 200-member Northern Coast Officials' Association of Santa Rosa. Prominent and respected, according to Steve Boga, the association's chief instructor and evaluator.

Boga calls Tachick and Haehl the "elite" of the women officials he has worked with. Haehl became interested in umpiring during the days when Billy Martin was kicking dirt on the boys in blue as manager of the A's. "I coached softball and was a yeller, too," she said. "I'd find myself yelling at umpires about my rules interpretations. I would get into heated arguments with them.

Finally, I decided to look at it from their perspective." Haehl says now that she has more respect and appreciation for a good official especially those who hustle and make an effort to know the rules. Haehl isn't confined to umpiring only women's softball games. She's a veteran of men's recreational softball, too. "I'm pretty well-respected," she said without conceit. "I really enjoy it.

I have fun. A lot of people get intimidated. But I know the rules and I hustle. I don't go into a game questioning my own ability." The most important part of officiating, according to Haehl, is selling a call with a loud, strong voice. And that can be tough for a woman working men's games.

"I think there's the preconceived notion among players and coaches that they can intimidate a woman," Boga said. "I think, especially at the recreation level, there are closet and not-so-closet sexists who are going to be prejudiced toward women." "Voice is very important. You have to sell your calls," Haehl said. "If you're meek and quiet about it, certainly they will question the calls. You must be aggressive.

You want them to know you're calling what you saw." Tachick, who works for Pro Data Corporation of Rohnert Park, agrees with her counterpart. "You have to be firm, loud and aggressive," she said. "I might be shy outwardly, but get me in the ming the buckle. The umpire looked it over and then stuffed it into his pocket. "Hey, that's mine," said Briggs.

"Naw, anything thrown onto the field is the property of the umpires," Froemming shot back. It was this type of arrogant demeanor that Briggs despised, so after the game he marched into the umpire's dressing room and approached Froemming, who had a towel wrapped around his waist and was shaving. "Where's the buckle?" said the determined Briggs. "It's up there," Froemming pointed to the top of his locker. "Think it's worth anything?" Having spent a lot of time in the southwest, Briggs took a close look at the stone and determined it was a poor imitation but good enough for this ump.

"Here, you can have it," said Briggs, tossing the buckle to back to Froemming. Kelvin Chapman One of the funniest moments for Chapman, a former New York Mets infielder, was the day Eric Gregg, a 300-plus pound National League umpire, tore his pants as he bent down to call balls and strikes. It's something that happens to every umpire sooner or later, but not everyone does it before 50,000 spectators. "It was in about the second inning in a tense series between the Mets and Cardinals, in St. Louis," said Chapman, 31, who manages an athletic-footwear store in Ukiah.

"I remember (Dwight) Gooden was pitching against (Joaquin) Andujar. Everyone was tight until Gregg blew out the back of his pants. That kind of broke the tension." Players on both teams had fun teasing Gregg that night. "He had to go in and get a pair of sweat pants to finish out the game. It was hilarious," Chapman Tachick game and I'm a whole different person." Veteran umpire Jim Corbett said Haehl and Tachick are as capable as any man doing the same job.

But Corbett feels more comfortable when they officiate only women's games. "I've seen female officials get brutalized in softball trying to do men's games," he said. "But if they stay in their own element, it's OK. They have to be tough. They need a strong personality to handle men's softball because the guys are either real polite or real jerks." Tachick, 31, who officiates basketball, volleyball and fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball, said men are showing more respect for her ability to officiate than they did when she broke in more than a decade ago in Wisconsin.

"I find that a lot of times men's games are easier (to officiate) because they tend to be more precise in their actions and reac- If you earn their respect, you stay in the game." SHARON TACHICK tions. I find that it brings out the best in me. I tend to be more precise in my calls." Tachick said she was asked to umpire a Guanella Bros, men's major fast-pitch game but declined. She's not alone. A lot of very good male umpires have turned down' the same offer.

The men's major fast-pitch' games are extremely difficult to officiate. It's "amateur" softball, but don't tell that to the partici-. pants or the spectators. The highly competitive, fast-paced game can pivot on one call. There is no room for error.

"It wasn't that I didn't think I was ready for it. It's just something I want to leave alone," Tachick said. "I was probably in my prime about four or five years ago, and now I find I'm leveling out. I could do as many men's games as I wanted, but right now I'm going through a stage. Last year I limited myself to co-ed (softball) games." It has been a long time since Tachick has heard any sexist remarks from men about being a woman official.

"I think men expect more from a woman, therefore they get more," she said. "I don't let them down. If you earn their respect, you stay in the game." IMPORT STEEL RADIAL 155-12 21.95 155-13. ....26.95 145-13. ....25.95 185-70-14.

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I I Semi-metallic pads and addi-1 I tional parts and service extra, DUNLOP GT QUALIFIER 50 60 70's Pncassokmour manufacturer won't Hwuiiopnnil Mo Domastc I frnponad cars, vans A trucks HB86lhrut3B5 itftt Tfo Haehl forth to the dugout to ask the interpreter what was going on. I remember asking why the manager didn't leave and I was told that the person with the utmost power and respect are the managers much more than the umpire. "After about 15 or 20 minutes we had all been laughing (with great restraint so as not to cause anyone to lose face) the head umpire went behind the plate to where the press box is (ground level in Japan) and started to speak into a microphone to the crowd of about 15,000." Brant was so baffled by this time that he rushed back to the interpreter to find out what the umpire was saying. He was told that the umpire was apologizing to the manager and to the fans and promising that he was going to try to do a better job. The manager lost his argument, but the apology from the chief umpire allowed him to save face and return to the dugout after a slight bow and tip of his hat.

Pete Magrini A temper flare-up at an umpire nearly cost Magrini a month's suspension. Magrini had an eight-game winning streak for the Boston Red Sox's Triple-A affiliate in Toronto in 1967 going into the last day of the season against a New York Yankees farm club. The first two Yankees batters bunted their way on, taking advantage of Magrini's poor fielding. The third batter hit a grounder to second base that looked like a sure double play, but the umpire called the runner safe at second. "Now I've got the bases loaded and no outs.

I'm fuming," says Magrini. "The next hitter lofts a flyball to Al Yates in center field, and Al misjudges the ball. The ball falls in and three runs score. Now I'm really fuming, and when I see But Jackie Culbertson of Santa Rosa, in a letter to the Press Democrat, wrote that Bell should not have been put in that position. "It compromises the 'good of the game' for both teams.

I have to think that there was at least one other official in the county that did not have a conflict of interest," Culbertson wrote. Should Bell have excused himself from such a match, or should the Santa Rosa Soccer Referees Association he works for have assigned him to another contest? Van Gelis Bolias, who schedules officials for soccer in Sonoma County, said he was not aware of Bell's association with the Montgomery athlete and admitted there is no hard-and-fast rule that would keep a relative from doing such a game. "Maybe Rob felt he was going to do the right job so he didn't tell me," said Bolias, who has been in the county only a year. Bolias and Schrock both said they trust Bell completely even if he has a relative participating. "With Rob, I'd feel comfortable if he was officiating a game that his wife was playing in," said Schrock.

"He's honest" Bolias said Bell is so good at what he does that he was one of the two county officials asked to work the high school Tournament of Champions. Ironically, Bell worked a TOC match that Newman won. He said he heard no complaints after that match. In fact, Newman coach Doug Kirk said, "If anything, he (Bell) gave us a break in the TOC" But Kirk continues to question the decision to allow Bell to referee the crucial NBL match. "I don't think it's fair to put a person in that position," said the DanBriggs The former Sonoma High School standout, who spent time with the Angels, Padres, Cubs and Yankees organizations, recalls major league umpires having an aloof attitude.

"It was sort of like, 'Hey, I'll make the call and you go sit down and shut your said Briggs, 35, who owns a health club in Columbus, Ohio. "I can live with that if he's making the right call, but not if he's a terrible ump and he maintains an arrogant demeanor. Nobody has the right to abuse a privilege, and I feel it's a privilege to be in that position." Briggs says his funniest story dealing with an umpire concerned Bruce Froemming. Briggs was playing left field in Busch Stadium, and a belt buckle landed about 10 feet away. Briggs said it was big enough that if it had of hit him on the head, it could have killed him.

The buckle had a large turquoise stone. Briggs slipped it into his pocket, figuring that if it was real turquoise it was going to be his. But when Briggs headed back toward he dugout after the final out was recorded, he showed Froem coach. "I think he (Bell) is a good official. I don't think he has anything against Newman, but I wouldn't want to be in that position." Everyone sees a game differently.

And even a guy who is honest even to extremes can get in trouble. Ed Gary, the scheduler for the 56-member North Bay Officials Association, which handles high school football, knows how Bell must be feeling after getting caught up in a similar situation. Gary, then a teacher at Petaluma Junior High, was asked at the last minute to help officiate a Petaluma High School basketball game when one of the scheduled officials was unable to do the game. "I did the game, but after it was over the Petaluma coach chewed my butt out," said Gary. "He said I made an overt attempt not to be biased." In other words, Gary was accused of reverse nepotism, or overcompensation trying so hard to be fair to the visiting team that he, in effect, overpenalized the Petaluma team.

Gary said the NBOA tries to avoid having officials do any games in which relatives or family members participate. Tony Patch, who schedules baseball officials for several Bay Area colleges and works some games himself, said nepotism is an ethical question officials must face, but he wonders how far down the ancestral line one should go. "My daughter is playing fast-pitch softball for San Francisco State, and I refuse to work those games," Patch said. "We had a guy who had a stepson playing in a game, and he asked to do that game so he could see him play. When it XH-MICHELIN STEEL RADIAL WHITEWALLS P18580-13 59.95 P2C675-15 68.95 W75R-14 59.95 R157SH571.95 P19575R-14 62.95 P22575R-15 74.95 20575R-14 66.95 PBTSHS 76.95 P21575R-14 69.95 Michtlin or Dunlop STEEL RADIALS 155-12 34.95 145.13 35.95 155-13 37.95 40.95 175-14 48.95 185-14 51.95 165-15 46.95 17570-13 50.95 18570-13 53.95 18570-14 55.95 19570-14 64.95 GLASS BELTED WHITEWALLS 16580-13 28.95 17580-13 29.95 8575-14 30.95 19575-14 32.95 20575-14 34.95 21575-15 36.95 22575-15 38.95 23575-15 40.95 STEEL RADIAL 205-75-15 165-80-13 195-75-14 205-75-14 225-75-14 215-75-15 225-75-15 235-75-15 APPUFRQCIN EOnUT I VW mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm PO FILE PHOTO Kelvin Chapman, now working in Ukiah, remembers the time umpire Eric Gregg's pants split wide open.

Family Continued from Page Cl make such a call but rather the fact that Bell was even allowed to referee the key game. Bell, you see, is the uncle of one of Montgomery's star players, Scott Bell, who scored two of the three goals in the game. This case serves to illustrate not so much that officials may be playing favorites, but that circumstances could make it appear that way. As longtime Santa Rosa basketball and baseball referee Steve Boga said when told of the soccer controversy: "It's not so important what is, but what people believe is." Although no one has outright accused Bell one of the most highly respected soccer officials in Sonoma County of favoring Montgomery, the fact that he did the game left him wide open for criticism. Not only did his nephew play for the Vikings, but his daughter plays for the Montgomery girls' soccer team, his brother, Steve, is the Montgomery varsity assistant basketball coach, and Bell is a Montgomery graduate.

Bell says he would not officiate any of his daughter's games but can't understand why anyone would criticize him for doing a game his nephew was involved in. He calls such criticism "sour grapes." "If I feel I'll be biased, I won't do it," said Bell, who has been officiating soccer for more than 10 years. "It boils down to a referee's integrity. I just can't fathom charges that I would have favored Montgomery in that game." I STRUT CARTRIDGE Tires INSTALLED 6995 l'l I Gat Struts Add $30 1 1 c. r4 "ervLinu Mac1 was pointed out to him that it might not be such a good idea, he agreed that there might be the possibility of overreacting." Verle Sorgen, supervisor of Pacific-10 football officials and a longtime high school basketball official, declined to referee any events involving Redwood High, where his two sons played basketball, or at Drake High, where he is a teacher.

"I wouldn't worry about making a call that would favor my son or work against him," said Sorgen. "But in the eyes of other people, knowing that relationship, I think they would be looking for it. And any official's prime asset is the confidence he engenders in the coaches and the players. That's going to get him more mileage toward a smoothly running game than anything else." Jerry Klonsky, scheduler for the 201-member Northern Coast Officials Association based in Santa Rosa, said there is no rule set down in writing covering nepotism. He subscribes to the "common sense" rule of thumb.

Klonsky had a case this year where a coach decided he did not want an official working his game against Montgomery because he had been an athlete at Montgomery 12 years before. "That was really far-out," said Klonsky. "You can reach a point where my mother was a cheerleader for Santa Rosa in 1936 should I still work the Santa Rosa games?" Still, it's a dilemma that can become far-reaching for supervisors and officials alike. How do you define bias? Only the individual official really knows for sure, but a lot of other people are willing to offer their opinion. mudT rvand trucktires 10x15 69.95 700-14 42.95 1x15 79.95 700-15T 42.95 115 84.95 750-16 49.95 0015TT 53.95 H78-15 57.95 67.95 47.95 H.S-15 64.95 80016.5 51.95 875-165 67.95 59.95 950-165 74.95 62.95 99.95 89.95 Radials Dunlop Elite Seventy Dunlop SP 4 Dunlop Sensor FRONT END ALIGNMENT '1 895.