Gorman spent three years pitching in the Giants' organization before enlisting in the army in 1941. Upon his return in 1946, an arm injury curtailed his pitching career, and he turned to umpiring in 1947 in the New England League. He was promoted to the NL in 1951 and quickly became one of its most respected arbiters. In the heat of the 1962 pennant race, Gorman discovered the San Francisco groundskeepers had heavily watered the infield to slow down Dodger base-stealing star Maury Wills. Gorman held up the start of the game for an hour and a half until the basepaths dried out. In the 1968 WS, Gorman was behind the plate when Bob Gibson struck out 17 Tiger batters. After retiring as a field ump, Gorman served as a NL supervisor of umpires. The entertaining after-dinner speaker's autobiography, Three and Two, was published in 1979. (RTM)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » June 11, 1985: Von Hayes becomes the first ML player ever to hit two home runs in the first inning, leading off with a home run, off Tom Gorman, and capping a 9-run outburst with a grand slam, as the Phillies go on to rout the Mets 26–7. Mets relievers Joe Sambito (3 innings) and Calvin Schiraldi (1.1 innings) both give up 10 runs apiece. The 26 runs in one game is a club record and the most in the National League since 1944.