Photo courtesy of the College World Series.
OMAHA— “It was a labor of love,” said Dick Runchey, who coordinated the umpires reunion for all the alumni who ever umped a College World Series game. He added, “We got a lot of help, we got great assistance from the CWS Organizing Committee and the NCAA. We got some sponsors and had a hosted dinner and being recognized before the UCLA and South Carolina game meant the world to the guys.”
Before the UCLA and South Carolina game, the umpires got a tremendous ovation from the full house. This was at the beginning of the national championship series.
There were 41 past CWS umpires on the field before the game at Rosenblatt Stadium. The 2010 CWS is the final session for the old field, as the CWS will move to downtown Omaha and the new TD Ameritrade Park. “It has been a great 40 years at Rosenblatt, the whole community helps,” said Dave Keilitz, Executive Director of the American Baseball Coaches Association.
“We got great sponsor support from Pauli’s Sports, Honig’s Whistle Stop in Ann Arbor, Arbiter Sports, New Balance and Rawlings, we could not have put this on without everyone helping,” continued Runchey.
Keilitz said smiling, “He is a walking billboard, but ‘Runch’ did a great job on this event. He is a Central Michigan grad, 1972, I think. Umpires are supposed to be in the background, this event is different. We honor those who helped elevate the College World Series to what it is today.”
The CWS started in 1947 and was in Kalamazoo for 47 & 48. In 1950, Wichita was the host and then the event moved to Omaha for the next 40 years. Rosenblatt was getting tired and worn. More room and facilities were needed. Next year the NCAA Division I baseball championship will be at the new location.
Honoring the umpires showed how much respect the baseball community has for the men and women in ‘blue’. One of the recognized umpires, Bob Homolka, when asked how he felt getting an ovation before the game said, “Being here is great.”
Runchey, who in an NCAA umpire supervisor, worked the CWS five times. He added, “We as a game crew are another team on the field. How well the umps perform has a lot to do with how the ‘Series’ goes.”
A committee, the NCAA Umpire Improvement Program, educates, evaluates and selects the post-season Division I umpires for the CWS.
This year, the post-season umpires were drawn from a pool of 197 candidates from each of the Division I conferences. A total of 96 umpires are selected for regionals, 32 for super regionals and eight for the College World Series.
Fellow umpire Jim Garman who did his first CWS in 1987 said, “Back then, we had to walk through the snack bar and then down the tunnel to get onto the field. Things have sure changed over the years because this event has gotten so big.”
Each of the umpires received a remembrance plaque with a clear baseball filled with dirt from the Rosenblatt baseball diamond.
(Raymond Rolak is a Michigan based sports broadcaster)