The ‘fistic’ adventures of Mount Vernon umpire Cy Rigler

MOUNT VERNON — Charles “Cy” Rigler was one of the legendary umpires of professional baseball in the first half of the 20th century, one who gradually built a reputation for being the “least thin-skinned” umpire in the business, according to an article by David Cicotello for the Society for American Baseball Research.

The Massillon-born Rigler played baseball and football himself around the turn of the century, but injured his arm severely while executing a slide into second base, ending his career as a player. 

He got his start as a professional umpire in Mount Vernon.

Though a big man — 6-foot, 270 pounds, Rigler moved fast on the field and quickly gained a reputation for making skillful calls. He also took his job quite seriously, getting eye checkups every year to make sure he still had the skill to correctly call foul balls, strikes, and outs.

But that reputation for being genial and good-natured took a while to form, after some early scrapes. 

In 1905, Rigler was umpiring a game in Springfield, Ohio, when he got into a shouting match with a couple of players, Owen Shannon and John Hendricks.

As the argument escalated, Shannon pushed the umpire, who responded with a powerful punch that leveled the baseball player. 

Hendricks didn’t physically intervene, as his hands were full with his sunglasses and his baseball glove, but he got in Rigler’s face, and met the same end.

The secretary of the Springfield team, J.S. Elliot, waited until after the game to file a complaint with the police, who went to the hotel where Rigler was staying and arrested him for assault and battery. 

Elliot said to the newspaper, “I will prosecute that man to the highest court in the land to get justice. His assaults were wholly uncalled for, and the people of Springfield will not stand for any such rowdy actions on the ball field.” 

When further asked, Elliot admitted that Shannon may not be blameless. 

“I am not upholding Shannon, for he has a reputation of being a constant kicker.” 

Charges were later dropped.

By 1906, Rigler was even getting attention from the National League, which hoped to lure the umpire away from the Central League. The president of the NL was even quoted in the news for admiring Rigler.

“When he calls a ball or a strike, you can hear him several blocks away … [A]nd furthermore he will not allow a player to call him a vile name. If a man happens to call him one, he quickly pulls off his mask and face protector and, rushing at the player, lets fly a punch for his jaw. 

“In one Central League club there is a big fellow who Rigler has already whipped seven times this season for calling him names […] Now, ain’t that the kind of umpire you want for some of our scrappy players?”

By the start of the next season, Rigler was signed by the National League, and had begun to influence the game at large with the innovation of using hand signals along with his verbal calls, something all umpires do today. 

In 1915, Rigler had an incident where the coach of the Cincinnati Reds, Charles Herzog, disputed a call and began pushing Rigler. It was reported in the Mount Vernon Democratic Banner as “a fistic encounter.” 

The big man swung his arm back and leveled Herzog with a punch to the nose. Herzog, who of course claimed Rigler’s punch was without provocation, complained that if Rigler didn’t quit the National League, he would. In the end, neither did.

As the years went by, Rigler had fewer and fewer fights, gradually becoming known for being able to defuse situations without resorting to fists. 

“It is a mistake to suppose I am in the game as a fighter,” Rigler once said, but then immediately qualified his statement. “It will be the fault of the player or spectator if I am called upon to exercise physical authority.”

Rigler is still so well remembered that an online auction site put Rigler’s 1915 umpire cap up for bid in 2015, and by the time the bidding was done, it had sold for $722.98. 

By the end of his career, Rigler had officiated in no fewer than 10 World Series, and was regarded as a legend.

And he got his start right here in Mount Vernon.