Bob Emslie

Robert Daniel Emslie (January 27, 1859 – April 26, 1943) was a Canadian pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who went on to set numerous records for longevity as an umpire. Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Emslie had a brief professional playing career with the Baltimore and Philadelphia clubs in the American Association.

His professional umpiring career began in 1888, and after spending a couple of seasons in the minor leagues, he was promoted to the major leagues as an umpire in 1890. Emslie was nicknamed "Wig" due to his premature receding hairline, which was a result of the stress of umpiring games single-handedly in the rough-and-tumble 1890s; he was derisively called "Blind Bob" by the New York Giants following his role in the infamous "Merkle's Boner" play during the National League pennant race. The play involved a force out when a Giants player stopped running to second base upon seeing that the game's winning run would score.

When "Merkle's boner" occurred, Emslie had already worked more major league games than any umpire in MLB history, then later served as the National League's chief of umpires upon retiring from active umpiring. He retired to St. Thomas, Ontario and died there on Monday, April 26, 1943. In 1946 he was included in the Honor Rolls of Baseball and in 1986 he was named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Playing career Emslie began his professional career playing for several semi-professional teams in Ontario until signing on with the Camden, New Jersey team of an early version of the Interstate League for the season. He pitched for them until middle of the season when he joined the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association.

He also officiated on July 13, 1896, when Ed Delahanty become only the second player to hit four home runs in one game.

By the end of the season, he began to work the bases almost exclusively instead of calling games from behind the plate. Notably, Emslie and O'Day were the two most experienced umpires in Major League Baseball history at that point, with Emslie having worked nearly 2,500 games and O'Day nearly 1,700. Later, Emslie showed up at a Giants' practice with a rifle, placed a dime on the pitching mound and shot it from behind home plate, sending the coin spinning into the outfield. Reportedly, McGraw never again challenged his eyesight.

Other activities Emslie was also president of the Canadian Grand International Trap Shoot, notably in charge of a large meet in St. Thomas, Ontario in December 1916.

Post-career He retired to St. Thomas, Ontario, where he coached youth baseball and enjoyed curling, bowling, and golf. Emslie Field in St. Thomas is named in his honor.