Chris Pelekoudas

From BR Bullpen

Chris George Pelekoudas

• Height 5' 10", Weight 185 lb.

• Born January 22, 1918 in Chicago, IL USA
• Died November 30, 1984 in Sunnyvale, CA USA

Chris Pelekoudas got his start umpiring in the Eastern Shore League in 1948. He then worked in the Interstate League (1949), Western League (1950-1952), and Pacific Coast League (1953-1959). He moved up to the National League in 1960, where he stayed until 1975. He umpired the 1966 and 1972 World Series and three All-Star Games (1960, 1967, 1975).

In 1968, Pelekoudas decided to try to enforce the rule against spitballs. With Phil Regan on the mound August 18, Pelekoudas ruled three pitches illegal. Once he ruled a foul ball to be a ball, and twice he let batters hit again after making outs. Pelekoudas made his rulings based on the flight of the ball, not on evidence of illegal substance. NL president Warren Giles apparently didn't back his umpire, telling umpires not to penalize pitchers unless they had concrete evidence of foreign substance.

Chris' brother Perry Pelekoudas was a minor league umpire and his son Lee Pelekoudas currently works in the Seattle Mariners front office.