A decision by Pelekoudas had a bearing on one of baseball’s most famous records. On August 18, 1965 Hank Aaron hit a home run in Sportsman’s Park, St. Louis. Except he didn’t; Pelekoudas ruled it an illegal hit because Aaron’s left foot touched outside the batter’s box as he reached out for the pitch. As a result, the record for most homers is 755 instead of 756. Pelekoudas was also the first to eject Gaylord Perry from a game for using an illegal greasy substance on the ball. When the umpire retired, he sent Perry a three-pound jar of Vaseline.
