Books and articles about Chris Pelekoudas

A decision by Pelekoudas had a bearing on one of baseball's most famous records. On August 18, 1965 Hank Aaron hit a home run in Sportsman's Park, St. Louis. Except he didn't; Pelekoudas ruled it an illegal hit because Aaron's left foot touched outside the batter's box as he reached out for the pitch. As a result, the record for most homers is 755 instead of 756. Pelekoudas was also the first to eject Gaylord Perry from a game for using an illegal greasy substance on the ball. When the umpire retired, he sent Perry a three-pound jar of Vaseline. (RTM)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » August 18, 1965: The Braves take first place when Tony Cloninger beats St. Louis, 5–3. Hank Aaron of the Braves hits a home run off Curt Simmons, but has it nullified when umpire Chris Pelekoudas says Aaron stepped out of the batter's box when he made contact. » August 18, 1968: In the opener of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field, umpire Chris Pelekoudas calls three illegal pitches on Cubs P Phil Regan, twice allowing a retired batter to hit again. Pete Rose singles after a called 3rd strike. Pelekoudas can't find any evidence on Regan and bases his calls on "the flight of the ball." The Cubs, who lose both games, 2–1 and 6–3, protest the ump's calls. The next day Warren Giles meets with Cubs' officials and orders Pelekoudas to apologize to the church-going Regan, whom he calls a "fine Christian gentleman." However, at the ML winter meetings, the Rules Committee will further amend the spitball rule to allow an ump to call an illegal pitch based on the flight of the ball.