July/Aug 2023 (Volume 15, Issue 4)

 

By Michael Swanger

 

If the measure of a man’s character is determined by how he handles failure, and not by how he handles success, then by all accounts Don Denkinger was a man of good character. 

 

Denkinger, a Cedar Falls native who worked as an American League (AL) umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1969 to 1998, died on May 12 in a Waterloo hospice facility at age 86. He had an exemplary career on the field in which he umpired 3,824 games (31st all-time among MLB umpires) and four World Series (1974, 1980, 1985, 1991). What’s more, he faced decades of criticism — some of which was life-threatening — for a call that he missed during the 1985 World Series with dignity and humility.

 

Donald Anton Denkinger was born on Aug. 28, 1936, in Cedar Falls, the son of Anton and Marie Hay Denkinger. He graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 1954 and attended Wartburg College in Waverly where he wrestled. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1957 to 1959, Denkinger graduated from Al Somers Umpire School and began umpiring professionally in the Alabama-Florida League in 1960. He married Gayle Price on Nov. 24, 1962, in Humboldt. The couple, who lived in Cedar Falls and Arizona, raised three daughters.

 

Denkinger was called up to the major leagues on April 8, 1969, in Kansas City — the same town where he umpired his final game on June 2, 1998, retiring after the season due to an ailing right knee. In 1975 Denkinger became one of the first AL umpires to wear a chest protector inside his uniform. Two years later, Denkinger was promoted to AL crew chief. 

 

During his lengthy career Denkinger also officiated six AL Championship Series (1972, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1988, 1992), serving as crew chief in four of them, as well as the 1981 and 1995 AL Division Series. Notably, he was behind the plate for the legendary 1978 New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox tie-breaking 163rd game for the AL East title in which Bucky Dent homered to send the Bronx Bombers to the World Series. Denkinger also worked the plate in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when the Minnesota Twins edged the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings, 1-0. It was Denkinger who confirmed that the Twins’ Greg Gagne touched home plate to secure one of the most thrilling wins in World Series history. He was one of seven umpires to have worked two perfect games (Len Barker in 1981 and Kenny Rogers in 1994); he called balls and strikes in Nolan Ryan’s sixth no-hitter in 1990; and officiated three All-Star games. 

 

In spite of his impressive resume and genial personality, sadly, some baseball fans remember Denkinger solely for his incorrect call at first base during the 1985 World Series that became known as “The Call.” (Naturally, newspaper reports of Denkinger’s death couldn’t resist reminding them of this part of his legacy with headlines that referenced it. Even in death the man couldn’t escape scrutiny.)

 

The 1985 “I-70 Series” pitted the Kansas City Royals against the St. Louis Cardinals. Denkinger was umpiring first base in Game 6 when the Cardinals, who were leading the game 1-0 and were up 3-2 in the series, were three outs away from winning the championship in Kansas City when fate intervened. The Royals’ Jorge Orta hit a bouncer to lead off the bottom of the ninth to the Cardinals’ first baseman, Jack Clark, who then flipped the ball to pitcher Todd Worrell, who was covering the bag. 

 

Denkinger called Orta safe, though he was out by half a step as television replays showed, sparking a rally by the Royals who won the game 2-1. (Instant replays were not used by MLB officials until 2008.) The call infuriated Cardinals fans, players and manager Whitey Herzog, who to his credit, after the game said, “The umpires didn’t beat us. The Kansas City Royals beat us.” The next day the Royals routed the Cardinals 11-0 in Game 7 to win the title. 

 

During the off-season, Denkinger received death threats, some of which were investigated by the F.B.I. Even his Iowa home was given police protection. 

 

Over the years Herzog invited Denkinger to speak at Cardinals events where he autographed photos of “The Call.” The umpire kept a framed photo of it in his home.

 

“Nobody wants to have the call that I did in the World Series,” Denkinger told the Associated Press in 2014. “But I did. And now it’s part of history.”

 

“I’m not tired of talking about it,” he said. “I mean, it happened. It’s just that if the same thing happened now, they’d get it right on replay, and it’d be over with.”

 

Rest in peace, Don. You’re safe at home. 

 

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