who umpired 10 no-hitters and three World Series during a big le

Jim McKean http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jersey , ague career from 1973-01, has died. He was 73.Jamie McKean, one of his sons, said McKean died in his sleep early Thursday at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, near his home.Jim McKean had kidney issues and while at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg around Thanksgiving developed a MRSA infection. He had appeared to have recovered from the infection but remained weakened.“I think his heart just gave out,” his son said.A Montreal native, Jim McKean played baseball, football and basketball at Monklands High School, then played professionally in the Canadian Football League. He was a punter and backup quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes in 1964-65, then was traded to Saskatchewan and was a punter for the Roughriders as they won the Grey Cup in 1966.Following a back injury, he returned to college at Concordia. He hoped to become an NHL referee but did not skate well.McKean’s career path changed after he attended an Expos game at Montreal’s Jarry Park with a friend, most likely in the team’s first season in 1969.“His friend was a little drunk and yelled down at one of the umpires on the field, Billy Williams, ‘Hey, my friend wants to be an umpire,'” Jamie McKean recalled. “And so, he said, ‘OK, well, if he’s serious, come down the locker room after the game.’ And so my dad went home and changed like it was an interview and came back and he said he gave me information for the umpire school in Gulfport Chipper Jones Jersey , Florida, down here in St. Pete, and the rest is history.”McKean umpired in the minor leagues from 1970-73, joined the American League staff in 1973 and made his big league debut that September. His 10 no-hitters tied the record shared by Silk O’Loughlin and Paul Pryor, a mark broken when Bruce Froemming worked his 11th with the St. Louis Cardinals’ Bud Smith on the mound in September 2001.All of McKean’s no-hitter were as a base umpire. He was behind the plate when Toronto’s Roy Halladay was hitless through 8 2/3 innings against Detroit on Sept. 27, 1998, then allowed Bobby Higginson’s home run. That was the second big league appearance for Halladay, who was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame this week.McKean umpired All-Star Games in 1980, 1982 and 1993, and the World Series in 1979, 1985 and 1995.“To be honest with you, umpires have to get up for big games, too,” McKean said in 2008. “My premise is, if the umpiring is not good, the games are not good. You can have the two best teams in the world, and if that umpire behind the plate or that umpire on the bases is not good, then it’s not going to be a good game. So that’s where the pressure lies.”McKean worked his last game in 2001. He was on staff for the first half of 2002 and began an umpire supervisor at the All-Star break. He was let go after the 2010 season and became an umpire analyst for ESPN in 2011.“Jim was a highly respected figure in the sport, and we are particularly grateful that he represented our game so well in his native Canada,” Major League Baseball said in a statement.McKean was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.In addition to Jamie, he is survived by another son, Brett. McKean’s wife John Smoltz Jersey , the former Ann Carey, died in 2007.A funeral will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church in St. Petersburg. The date had not been scheduled. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vin Scully joined the widow of Jackie Robinson to honor the player who broke baseball’s color barrier during Robinson’s centennial birthday celebration Monday night.Scully greeted 96-year-old Rachel Robinson with a kiss after being introduced to the crowd, with Scully drawing the loudest cheers in a rare public appearance.He stood behind Rachel with his hands holding her arms during the national anthem at Dodger Stadium. They were joined by Robinson’s daughter, Sharon, and son, David, who linked arms with their mother as they walked on the field.Robinson became the first black player in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Scully began calling the team’s games three years later, and the now-retired Hall of Fame announcer was friendly off the field with the man he called “Jack.”Only 7.7% of current MLB players are black, according to MLB.“If not for Jackie Robinson, I probably wouldn’t be here today playing baseball in the United States,” said Cincinnati Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig, who came from Cuba to chase his pro aspirations. “That’s the reason we respect this day.”Robinson, who died at age 53 in 1972, would have turned 100 on Jan. 31.His No. 42 was worn by every major leaguer Monday. The number was retired around the league in 1997.“For me, it’s a big opportunity and responsibility that I hold very dear to my heart,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “To put this uniform on today and wear that number today, 42, it’s always special.”Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black recalled reading about Robinson as a youngster.“To this day I still read about him,” Black said in San Diego. “What a pioneer. What a great example of a human being and what he meant to our country, and in the bigger picture, what he meant for all of us culturally Matt Kemp Jersey , not only in baseball, but in society.”In Minnesota, Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo started his pregame media session at 3:42 p.m. CDT in honor of Robinson.“That’s probably one of the people in baseball I wish I would’ve met,” he said.At Dodger Stadium, the pregame ceremonies included 42 current and former Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars. Students from Cleveland Elementary, Washington Middle School and John Muir High — all attended by Robinson while growing up in nearby Pasadena — were on hand.Robinson’s No. 42 was cut into the center field grass.The Robinson siblings each tossed out first pitches. David’s was a strike to Roberts, while Sharon’s bounced on its way to catcher Russell Martin.Sharon Robinson works as MLB’s education programming consultant.The Dodgers hosted an invitation-only 100th birthday celebration in the Stadium Club featuring a sneak preview of the Jackie Robinson Museum, set to open in December in New York City.Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and former Dodger Matt Kemp, now with the Reds, came out to home plate to pose with Scully and the Robinson family before the game.Missing from this year’s LA ceremonies was Don Newcombe, the third black pitcher in the major leagues when he was with the Brooklyn and later Los Angeles Dodgers. He and Robinson were among the first four black players named to an All-Star team. Newcombe died in February at age 92.Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson hosted more than 75 kids for a screening of the Robinson biopic “42.”“It’s tough to watch it,” Anderson said. “But it’s brave on his part, for him to be that guy to go through that and just be a leader and basically break the barrier. A guy that I look up to and a guy that motivates me.”The Seattle Mariners visited the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City on a recent road trip.“It takes a special person, a special man to go about it, to take as much backlash as he did and still did that in a professional manner,” Mariners infielder Tim Beckham said. “It speaks a lot about Jackie Robinson.”Major league players made a $100,000 grant to the Jackie Robinson Foundation in honor of his 100th birthday. It helps fund the college scholarship program run by the foundation, which was founded by Rachel Robinson.