Bill Valentine

William Terry Valentine, Jr. (November 21, 1932 – April 26, 2015) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1963 to 1968. Valentine was an umpire in the 1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In his career, he umpired 947 Major League games.

Early life Valentine was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to William Valentine Sr., a railroad worker, and Margaret Kremer Valentine. Valentine grew up a short distance from Travelers Field, the home stadium of the Arkansas Travelers minor league team. Valentine worked odd jobs at the stadium, including sorting soft drink bottles before games, retrieving seat cushions after games, and shagging foul balls and returning them during games.

Career Valentine spent several years in the lower minors, but was promoted to the Double-A Texas League in 1954. After seven seasons in the Texas League, Valentine was promoted to the Pacific Coast League in 1960, and was hired to the American League staff two seasons later in 1963.