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Show UMPIRES DO WELL - , ON FINANCIAL SIDE Some Draw $9,000 and Expenses Ex-penses Per Season. Umpires' salaries have risen along with those of the players in the major leagues in the Jast 20 years. Twenty years ago, the top salary for, the good guesser was $1,500. He paid his own living expenses, but the league was sufficiently generous to buy the railroad tickets. In those days, by the way, a dollar was 100 cents, not SO as in these high and riotous modern times. And while their money went a long way in those days, no umpire was able to retire or buy large blocks of real estate out of his salary. When the campaign had run its course, most of them had to go to work once more until April. Nowadays, the high cost of umpires is a problem in the majors, as well as in the minor leagues. A generation ago, four umpires were sufficient. Their combined salary amounted to If0,000. To this sum, the league had to add $6,000 to $9,000 for traveling expenses. A circuit could get along on an outlay of from $12,000 to $15,-000 $15,-000 per season for umpires. At present, each ( major league has a regular staff of eight umpires and usually carries two extra to provide for emergencies. This change was made necessary by the adoption of tha double umpire system some seasons ago. The average salary is $6,000. Hotel and railroad expenses bring up the average per man to $5,000 for the season. Each league can hardly hope to escape now without a gross umpire expense of $100,000 to $110,000. Recruit umpires, of course, are not paid as i:uch as the regulars. The new man usually starts at $3,500 and is raised year by year as 'his efficiency warrants until his salary reaches the $9,000 level. Such a salary, when It is taken into consideration that he is free from October Oc-tober until April to engage in another gainful occupation, should give the average umpire sufficient funds to keep from turning panhandler wdien the day , comes for him to quit baseball. Put sometimes, on a July afternoon, when there are a lot of close ones to call, and the umpire must fight both the heated atmosphere and the torrid temper of players who dislike to have a decision go against them in a close game, the hard-worked arbiter is wont to believe that the job is not worth keeping at $100,000 bucks per annum. |