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In this handwritten letter Jocko Conlan recalls the memorable kicking incident with the fiery Leo Durocher in of April, 1961. He also writes about the man who hired him at the start of his umpiring career, his mentor Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem. Toward the end he briefly mentions fellow Cooperstown mediator Billy Evans.

Conlan and Durocher had a long-running feud that boiled over in the fourth inning of a game between the Pirates and the Dodgers for whom Durocher was coaching. Los Angeles first baseman Norm Larker hit a popup that bounced foul along up the line along first. Dodger manager Walt Alston argued with Conlan that Pittsburgh catcher Hal Smith touched the ball before it went foul.

As Alston returned to the dugout, Conlan walked over and ejected Durocher, saying the Dodger coach had tossed a towel onto the field. Durocher stormed toward Conlan to confront him. After kicking dirt onto the umpire, Durocher elevated his game and kicked Conlan on the shin. Incensed but unhurt by the blow by virtue of his shin guards, Conlan returned fire, kicking The Lip.

The two exchanged another round of kicks before Durocher left the field having taken the worst of the exchange.

In this letter Conlan writes, “I’ve had a lot of excitement on the field and enjoyed it. Durocher excitement should never have happened. It was a foul ball and he was there only to show off.”

Further evidence of the ill-will is seen as Conlan closes the topic, “Why talk about him?”

Conlan got his start as an umpire after his playing career ended when the National League offered him a job for the 1941 season. Bill Klem was the supervisor of the NL arbiters at the time. Klem quickly took Conlan under his wing becoming his mentor and friend.

In the letter Conlan writes, “I’m glad you put me in with Klem whom I broke in with. He was the greatest of us all.”

Conlan also mentions Billy Evans, another Cooperstown umpire. “Evans was great and a fine man.”

Conlan enjoyed a 25-year umpiring career, officiating five World Series, six All Star games, and four NL playoffs.

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Here’s a little history on Jocko Conlan. When umpire Red Ormsby was overcome by heat before a hot July game in 1935, Conlan took the field in his White Sox uniform and called his first game. “I can remember thinking that I didn’t want to show any favoritism to my own team,” Conlan would later recall. “But when I called my teammate, Luke Appling, out at first on a close play, I not only had a helluva argument with Appling, but I also had to fight with my own manager.”

Conlan left his playing days behind the following year and by 1941 was part of the National League crew. He went on to a long and illustrious career that gained him baseball immortality.

In 1974 he became the fourth umpire elected to the Hall of Fame, the first since Bill Klem in 1953.

Here Conlan lists his All Time White Sox team. Four Hall of Famers make the cut — pitcher Ted Lyons, catcher Ray Schalk, shortstop Luke Appling, and second baseman Eddie Collins. Interestingly three players associated with throwing the 1919 World Series are also on the list — third baseman Buck Weaver, and outfielders Joe Jackson and Hap Felsch.

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In the collection is this handwritten letter to famed Chicago photographer George Brace in 1970. Conlan writes, “Please send me two 8×10 Kodacolor prints as I want to one for Mr. Giles and keep one.”

Conlan was fond of National League president Warren Giles and the feeling was mutual. When the umpire retired Giles remarked, “I know of no one who has been more dedicated to his profession, more loyal to the game in which he has been such a big party, and I hate to see him hang up his spikes.”

The Hall of Fame umpire died in 1989.