William Jeremiah "Lord" Byron (September 18, 1872 – December 27, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball umpire.Retrosheet Byron was known as the "Singing Umpire", because he would occasionally sing his calls.Baseball Library
Career
Byron began umpiring in the Michigan State League in . He would then work in the South Atlantic League from to . From to , Byron umpired games for the Virginia League, Eastern League, Southern Association, and the International League.Umpire card
Byron made his major league umpiring debut on April 10, for the National League. He would work in the NL from until , umpiring 1,012 games and the 1914 World Series with Bill Dinneen, Bill Klem, and George Hildebrand.1914 World Series information for Lord Byron
He returned to the minor leagues with the Pacific Coast League from to , and then retired from umpiring. Following a game in Sacramento, California on September 20, 1923, Byron and his fellow umpire were chased out of the ballpark by a violent crowd of angry fans. A rock thrown at him hit San Francisco Seals player Archie Yelle in the face.
Whenever a batter complained about being called out on strikes, Byron would recite a poem:
Late life and death
Byron died in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
See also
List of Major League Baseball umpires (disambiguation)
References