» May 9, 1896:
Baltimore's Hughie Jennings knocks down Reds 3B Charlie Irwin before he can catch Bid McPhee's throw. Jennings scores afterward to give the Orioles a controversial 6–5, 10-inning win over Cincinnati. Umpire Bob Emslie is escorted out of the ballpark by Cincinnati police.
» January 8, 1898: National League president Nick Young says he will have the more experienced umpires such as Tom Lynch, Bob Emslie, and Hank O'Day stay behind the plate when he institutes the new 2-umpire system. Previously, the single umpire would move behind the pitcher only with men on base.
» July 4, 1900:
At Cincinnati, in the 3rd inning of game 2, Giants 1B Jack Doyle slugs ump Robert Emslie after being called out on a steal attempt. Fans jump from the stands as the two get into it and players finally separate the two fighters. Two policemen chase the fans back into the stands and then arrest Doyle and take him to the York street station. He'll be fined for the assault. The Reds lose the nitecap, 6–3, after winning the opener, 8–1.
» June 9, 1901: Overflow crowds ringing the outfields of small parks is a frequent occurrence. At Cincinnati on this Sunday afternoon, the first-place Giants lead 15-4 after six innings before 17,000 fans. Ground-rule doubles multiply, and 19 more runs score in the next two 1/2 innings. When the crowd edges onto the infield with two outs in the 9th and the Giants leading 25-13, umpire Bob Emslie forfeits the game to New York, the 2nd of two forfeits this year. The Reds make 18 hits. The Giants register a 20th C. record 31 hits, led by the outfield: Kip Selbach is 6-for-7, and Piano Legs Hickman and George Van Haltren have five hits apiece. The two teams combine for a NL record 36 singles, 22 by New York. Only one Giant will return to the team in 1902: five will go to the AL, and three will retire.
» August 20, 1901: Umpire Bob Emslie becomes ill before the 2nd game of the Superbas-Phils twin bill and Phils P Al Orth and Superbas C Jim McGuire fill in for him. However, it is a close game, and Orth is needed as a PH in the 9th. Doc White then becomes the 2nd umpire as Orth hits a single and scores a run. Brooklyn holds on for a 3-2 win.
» September 20, 1903: In front of a packed house of 25,000+, the Cubs miss taking over second place from the Giants by losing to New York, 6-2. Jack Taylor loses to Joe McGinnity, with umpire Bob Emslie getting blamed for "frequent and inexcusable blunders" (The Chicago Inter Ocean). Pittsburgh leads by nine games.
» May 12, 1904: For his second game in three days, Christy Mathewson is shelled in the first inning, as the Reds tally four runs. Umpire Bob Emslie adds some fireworks of his own, tossing John McGraw for too much lip. The Giants tie it in the 3rd, but the Reds make 13 hits off Matty while the Giants contribute six errors. The Reds win, 13-7.
» May 23, 1904: Chicago's Jake Weimer and Christy Mathewson duel for 11 innings before the game is a called a 1-1 tie. Ump Bob Emslie calls the game at the West Side Grounds so the Giants can catch a train for New York. Matty allows six hits, one less than Weimer.
» August 24, 1904:
In Chicago, Christy Mathewson blanks the Cubs on three hits and the Giants defeat Herb Briggs, 3–0. The 2nd game is called after 10 innings with the score 2–2. Chicago fans show their feelings towards McGraw's Giants by tossing bottles onto the field. RF George Browne is hit on the leg and is almost hit in the head while chasing a fly ball. McGraw tells ump Bob Emslie that he will not allow his team to continue play until all the broken glass is cleared, and by the time that occurs it is too dark to continue play.
» September 23, 1905:
In Chicago, Christy Mathewson and Carl Lundgren hook up in a tight pitchers' duel, decided in Chicago's favor on a mental error by Giants 2B Bill Dahlen. With two on and two out in the 5th inning, Dahlen bobbles a grounder and touches 2B as the runner arrives. Dahlen, thinking that he has the 3rd out, rolls the ball to the mound. But ump Bob Emslie calls the runner safe. Johnny Evers the runner on 3B, alertly scores on the play for the game's only run. The loss stops Matty's win streak at 11 games.
» June 21, 1906: At the Polo Grounds, umpire Bob Emslie tosses John McGraw in the 4th inning, but his fellow ump Hank O'Day goes one better, banishing Joe McGinnity and first sacker Dan McGann in the 5th. Down 4-2, Christy Mathewson relieves for the Giants and shuts out the Pirates over the last four innings. The Giants load the bases in the 9th and Chappie McFarland relieves a tired Sam Leever. A single scores one and with two outs, Doc Marshall singles to score the winning run. Mathewson wins, 5-4.
» May 21, 1907:
Three Finger Brown and Christy Mathewson hook up in a pitching duel, with the Chicago ace emerging the winner, 3-2. Matty's batterymate Roger Bresnahan makes two errors to cause Mathewson to lose his 1st of the year. Mobbed at the Polo Grounds after the loss, umpires Hank O'Day and Bob Emslie require police protection. The crowd is egged on by John McGraw, who will be thrown out of games seven times this year. The next day AL ump Billy Evans needs a police escort after argumentative Hugh Jennings incites a riot. Jennings will be suspended.
» September 23, 1908: Giants P Christy Mathewson and Cubs P Three Finger Brown battle in the most controversial game ever played. The score is 1-1, with two outs in the last of the 9th. The Giants' Harry McCormick is on 3B, and Fred Merkle (19, and making his first start of the year, is subbing for the sore-legged veteran Fred Tenney), on 1B. Al Bridwell singles, scoring McCormick. Halfway to 2B, Merkle turns and heads for the clubhouse in CF. Johnny Evers secures a ball (Joe McGinnity swears he picked up the ball that was in play and threw it into the stands) and touches 2B as the crowd overruns the field. Umpire Hank O'Day at 1B claims he didn't see the play, but that evening he rules the run does not count, and the game ended with a tie score. (Years later, in an interview, Merkle will describe it this way: "When Bridwell shot that long single, I started across the grass for the clubhouse. Matty was near me. When Evers began shouting for the ball, he noticed something was wrong. Matty caught me by the arm and told me to wait a minute. We walked over toward 2B, and Matty spoke to [Bob] Emslie. ‘How about this, Bob, is there any trouble with the score of the play?' ‘It's all right,' said Emslie. ‘You've got the game. I don't see anything wrong with the play.' Matty then took me by the arm and we walked to the clubhouse confident that we had won the game.")
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