William J. Klem (February 22, 1874 - September 1, 1951), known as the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941. He had the longest career of any major league umpire (37 years), and was also the oldest umpire in history at age 67. Klem was widely respected for bringing dignity and professionalism to umpiring, as well as for his high skill and good judgment. Klem was also an innovative umpire; he was the first to use arm signals while working behind home plate, and the first to wear the chest protector inside of the shirt – a move which he successfully campaigned to have adopted throughout the NL.

He worked a record 18 World Series: 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934 and 1940. No other umpire has worked in more than ten Series. Of the 16 major league teams in existence during his career, all but one – the St. Louis Browns, who would not win a pennant until 1944 – appeared in a World Series that he officiated; the only other teams which did not win a championship with Klem on the field were the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, neither of which won a title during Klem's lifetime, and the Detroit Tigers. He was also one of the umpires for the first All-Star Game in 1933, and worked behind the plate for the second half of the game; he later umpired in the 1938 All-Star Game as well.

He called balls and strikes in five no-hitters, an NL record later tied by Harry Wendelstedt . He was also the home plate umpire on September 16, 1924, when Jim Bottomley of the St. Louis Cardinals had a record 12 runs batted in.

Klem and Tommy Connolly were the first two umpires inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. They are also the only two umpires to have worked in five decades.

External link

• Baseball Hall of Fame biography
• BaseballLibrary.com - biography and career highlights