Don Denkinger was considered one of the best head referees of his time. He worked in the American League from 1969 to 1998 and was assigned to four World Series and three All-Star Games.
But when Denkinger died Friday at age 86 in Waterloo, Iowa, he was mostly remembered for his famous failed phone call on baseball’s biggest stage.
In 1985, Denkinger umpired at first base in Game 6 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. On the verge of clinching the championship, the Cardinals led the Royals by three games to two and a 1–0 lead with no one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jorge Orta of the Royals, who started, hit a bouncer to Cardinals first baseman Jack Clark. He turned the ball to the pitcher, Todd Worrell, who covered the bag.
Denkinger called Orta safe, although he was about a step ahead. There was no direct televised replay: Although the technology existed, Major League Baseball didn’t begin using it until 2008.
After what became known as “the call”, the Royals staged a rally climaxed by pinch-hitter Dane Iorg’s single for a 2-1 victory that forced Game 7. Kansas City defeated the presumably dispirited Cardinals, 11-0, the next night to clinch the World Series title.
During the off-season, Denkinger received death threats. His Iowa home was given police protection, and the FBI investigated some of the most disturbing notes he received.
Years later, in 2015, he told Sports Illustrated how he came to make the call that would define his career. “I was in a good position, but Worrell is tall, the throw was high and I couldn’t look at his glove and his feet at the same time. It was a soft throw and there was so much noise from the crowd that I couldn’t hear the ball hitting the glove.”
Donald Anton Denkinger was born on August 28, 1936 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and joined the wrestling team. He served in the military from 1957 to 1959, then began umpiring in the minor leagues in 1960. He worked on the World Series in 1974, 1980, 1985 and 1991.
He was behind the plate for the 1978 Yankees-Boston Red Sox tiebreaking game for the AL pennant. He called balls and strikes for Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, as the Minnesota Twins’ Jack Morris pitched a 10-inning shutout to beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 and Nolan Ryan’s sixth no-hitter in 1990. final game was at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on June 2, 1998. He retired after the season due to a sick right knee.
Denkinger’s daughter Denise Hanson announced his death. His survivors also include his wife, Gayle Price, and two other daughters.
He appeared at sports memorabilia shows, including one in St. Louis, signing photos of “the call” for fans. He kept a framed photograph of “the phone call” at his home, and hung a painting depicting it in a restaurant he owned in Waterloo. Over the years, Herzog reconciled with Denkinger, speaking at a 2005 dinner for the Whitey Herzog Youth Foundation.
“Nobody wants to have the call I made in the World Series,” Denkinger told The Associated Press in 2014. “But I did. And now it’s part of history.”
“I’m not tired of talking about it yet,” he added. ‘I mean, it happened. It’s just that if the same thing happened now, they’d get it right on repeat, and it’d be over.
Denkinger pondered the call for the 2014 World Series between the Royals and the San Francisco Giants, Kansas City’s first such berth since 1985.
“It’s life, and it goes on,” MLB.com quoted him as saying. “Of course I am constantly reminded that I made a mistake. You know what? I was a major league umpire for over 30 years. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes. It’s just blown out of proportion.”