THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996 TAG: 9604030561
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Blake Cullen just can't bear to watch. Every time ESPN shows the clip of umpire John McSherry collapsing in agony, he turns away.
McSherry, 51, died of a heart attack an hour after collapsing on the Riverfront Stadium turf in Cincinnati Monday on opening day for the Reds and Montreal Expos. The game was canceled because the players and umpires were overcome with grief.
So was Cullen, president of the Hampton Roads Admirals hockey team. For eight years as administrator and supervisor of umpires in the National League, he was McSherry's boss.
And close friend.
``People tend to say nice things about people after they've passed away, but everything good you hear about John is absolutely true,'' Cullen said.
``I don't think anybody had a better personality for umpiring than John did. He was such a great guy.
``It was very hard (for players and managers) to argue with John. If you told him he'd blown a call, he'd look you right in the eye and say, `You might be right.'
``People didn't argue with him because they respected him. They knew he gave it all he had every game.''
Alas, McSherry also was a man with of immense appetite. He was listed at 328 pounds this spring and was often heavier.
Cullen said he checked McSherry into the Duke University eating disorders clinic more than a decade ago.
``I remember telling him, `This is going to cost us $1,500, and they're going to tell you the same thing I'm going to tell you - You've got to work out and watch your intake.' We told him to eat all the grapefruit and salads that he wanted. But he was a chocolate cake and Pepsi guy.
``The problem is, John wrecked his knee. Basically, it gave out because of his weight. Physical activity became extremely difficult for him. He felt he had to rest his knee so that he could work three hours at the ballgame each night.
``The umpiring lifestyle is horrible. You do so much traveling and you work mostly night games, so what do you do? Go out at night, have ribs and sandwiches, then sleep until noon.
``I made him get a (medical) clearance before he went out on the field. Unfortunately, his weight was out of control.''
Cullen says McSherry may have saved him from an embarasing fiasco. Shortly after the 1984 umpires strike, Cullen had a confrontation with a union official in a San Diego locker room. Before it got physical, McSherry got between them and began to ``belly bump'' Cullen into a corner.
``When John McSherry belly-bumped you, you've been belly-bumped,'' Cullen said. ``Well, after he bumped me away, the door opens and (baseball commissioner) Peter Ueberroth walks in with (NBC broadcaster) Bryant Gumble and the Today Show. They came into see the umpires.''
Thanks to McSherry, they didn't see the confrontation.
Cullen said listening to sportscasters talk about instituting training camps and physical requirements for umpires reminds him of conversations he had with National League commissioner Chub Feeney.
``All the things they're talking about today are things Chub Feeney and I talked about, and things that probably should be done,'' Cullen said. ``But things like that always get put on the back burner until something like this happens.''
Cullen said McSherry often called him in Norfolk. He called last spring, as he usually did when checking into the Duke clinic. He was interviewed on an Admirals radio broadcast of a game from Raleigh.
Cullen leaves Thursday to attend McSherry's wake in upstate New York.
``I tried to call the umpires room in Cincinnati but couldn't get through,'' he said. ``I brought up most of that crew. I wanted to talk to them all.'' by CNB