Doug Harvey

One of the most respected umpires of his time, Harvey says of his profession: “Umpires are necessary evils. That’s just the nature of the beast. For years people have looked on umpiring as a job they could get any postman to do.” He first got the urge to become an umpire while watching Don Larsen‘s perfect game in the 1956 WS on TV. In a 1978 game, Harvey collected three scuffed baseballs, then ejected Dodger pitcher Don Sutton for apparently doctoring the balls. The league decided not to penalize Sutton after he threatened to sue the NL if he was suspended.