WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.740 I want you to imagine something with me for a 00:00:01.740 --> 00:00:05.599 second. Think about your current job. OK. Or 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:07.200 maybe the career you've been chasing your entire 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:11.099 adult life. Yeah. Imagine you have been absolutely 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:14.380 grinding away at it. Right. Not just for a year 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:19.440 or two out of college, but for 13 long grueling 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:21.719 years. That is a massive chunk of your life. 00:00:21.940 --> 00:00:24.280 Exactly. You have sacrificed relationships. You 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:26.800 have traveled endlessly. You've dealt with meager 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:30.539 pay, terrible bosses, constant uncertainty, all 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:33.219 just to reach the absolute pinnacle of your chosen 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:35.259 profession. And you're just exhausted by the 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:37.759 time you get there. Completely. But finally. 00:00:38.140 --> 00:00:40.820 It happens. You make it, you are there. The dream 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:43.359 comes true. You are standing on the biggest stage 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:45.439 imaginable in your field. You take a breath, 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:47.500 you look around, and then almost immediately 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:50.479 you end up completely pivoting to an entirely 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:53.119 different career trajectory. Which just sounds 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:56.119 so counterintuitive. It does. And the catalyst 00:00:56.119 --> 00:00:58.820 for this massive life change. A coworker you 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:01.579 barely even knew happened to get a heat stroke 00:01:01.579 --> 00:01:05.340 on a random Tuesday afternoon. It sounds completely 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.079 absurd when you frame it like that. I mean, it 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:09.280 sounds like the inciting incident of a surreal 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.799 comedy movie. It really does. It feels scripted. 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:14.640 But it is actually the real life story of one 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:16.680 of the most fascinating figures in sports history. 00:01:17.579 --> 00:01:20.859 Welcome to The Deep Dive. Today, we are immersing 00:01:20.859 --> 00:01:23.200 ourselves in the life and career of John Bertrand 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:25.790 Conlin. universally known to history as Jocko 00:01:25.790 --> 00:01:28.469 Conlin. Jocko Conlin, exactly. And our mission 00:01:28.469 --> 00:01:30.430 today, looking through all these incredible sources 00:01:30.430 --> 00:01:33.150 and historical accounts, is to explore how a 00:01:33.150 --> 00:01:36.530 mixture of sheer serendipity, unshakable integrity, 00:01:36.969 --> 00:01:40.290 and a massive undeniable personality can forge 00:01:40.290 --> 00:01:43.030 a legendary career out of thin air. Right. We 00:01:43.030 --> 00:01:45.170 are going to look at this unexpected career pivot 00:01:45.170 --> 00:01:47.489 as an absolute master class and how something 00:01:47.489 --> 00:01:50.829 totally unquantifiable can change everything, 00:01:51.269 --> 00:01:53.010 specifically what we're calling a reputation 00:01:53.010 --> 00:01:56.109 for honesty. A reputation for honesty. It's such 00:01:56.109 --> 00:01:58.370 a powerful concept. It can literally change the 00:01:58.370 --> 00:02:01.409 entire trajectory of a life. We're talking about 00:02:01.409 --> 00:02:04.629 the unlikely Hall of Fame journey of a major 00:02:04.629 --> 00:02:07.870 league baseball umpire who literally shaped sports 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:12.110 history. And. It really is a remarkable narrative. 00:02:12.370 --> 00:02:14.569 When you look at the arc of his life, what becomes 00:02:14.569 --> 00:02:18.210 immediately apparent is that Jocko Collin's story 00:02:18.210 --> 00:02:20.949 is not just a baseball story. No, not at all. 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:23.810 It is a fundamental study in human character. 00:02:24.090 --> 00:02:27.830 It's about what happens when decades of quiet 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:32.000 unseen preparation meet an utterly bizarre, chaotic 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.500 opportunity. The heat stroke. Right, the heat 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:37.580 stroke. But to truly understand the umpire that 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:40.240 Jocko Collin eventually became and that immense 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:42.560 unquestioned authority he wielded on the field 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:44.780 for decades. We can't start at the heat stroke. 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:47.039 No, we really can't. We first have to understand 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:49.520 the grueling, unforgiving path he took just to 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:51.460 get onto a major league field in the first place, 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:53.759 because the environment he grew up in and the 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:56.020 specific hardships he faced are the essential 00:02:56.020 --> 00:02:58.080 context for the man who would eventually the 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:00.300 rules of the game. So let's rewind the clock, 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:02.520 because his early life feels like something straight 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.360 out of an Upton Sinclair novel. Oh, absolutely. 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:08.620 Jaco Conlin was born on December 6, 1899 in Chicago, 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:11.060 Illinois. Let's just sit with that date and location 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:13.939 for a moment. 1899 in Chicago. The dawn of the 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:17.740 20th century in a booming, industrial, chaotic 00:03:17.740 --> 00:03:20.659 city. And he was one of nine children. Nine. 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:24.479 Nine kids. That alone is a lot to handle. But... 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:28.099 tragedy struck the family incredibly early. His 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:31.000 father was a Chicago police officer, and he died 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.379 when Conlon was just three years old. Right. 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:35.520 And we need to unpack the reality of that. Yeah. 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:37.520 Because it's easy to read that fact on a page 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.080 and just move on to the baseball stuff. But consider 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:43.639 what growing up fatherless as one of nine children 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:46.180 in turn of the century Chicago actually does 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:48.240 to a person's psychological development. It'd 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.780 have to be profound. It completely reshapes their 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:53.430 baseline resilience. The loss of a parent at 00:03:53.430 --> 00:03:55.710 age three, especially the primary breadwinner, 00:03:55.830 --> 00:03:58.930 in an era long, long before modern social safety 00:03:58.930 --> 00:04:00.650 nets. Like social security or life insurance. 00:04:00.849 --> 00:04:03.250 Exactly. Those things weren't commonplace. So 00:04:03.250 --> 00:04:05.530 it means that survival itself becomes the daily 00:04:05.530 --> 00:04:08.090 objective. It's not about thriving at that point. 00:04:08.150 --> 00:04:09.990 It's about making sure there is enough food on 00:04:09.990 --> 00:04:12.370 the table for nine kids and a widowed mother. 00:04:12.789 --> 00:04:16.029 Precisely. It instills a very specific kind of 00:04:16.029 --> 00:04:19.230 toughness. You learn from a shockingly young 00:04:19.230 --> 00:04:21.550 age that nothing is going to be handed to you. 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:24.500 The world is indifferent to your struggle. You 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:26.579 have to fight for your place in it, and you learn 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:29.339 quickly that fairness is not a given. Fairness 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:31.879 is something you often have to demand or create 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:34.100 for yourself. Which is a perfect mindset for 00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:36.879 an umpire, honestly. It really is. We also see 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.300 in the records that he attended De La Salle Institute 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:43.000 in Chicago, which was and is a prominent Catholic 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.180 school. Right. That suggests he was immersed 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:47.980 in an environment that likely prioritized intense 00:04:47.980 --> 00:04:50.939 discipline, strict rules, and structure. For 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:54.220 a kid coming from the potential chaos of a massive 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.220 grieving household in a rough city, that kind 00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:00.000 of strict institutional structure often becomes 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.019 a surrogate for the order a parent might have 00:05:02.019 --> 00:05:04.199 provided. It absolutely does. It shapes how you 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:06.139 view authority. You definitely don't just coast 00:05:06.139 --> 00:05:08.000 through a childhood like that. You build armor. 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.680 You build calluses. And Jaco absolutely needed 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:14.199 that armor because his professional baseball 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.560 career was not a fairy tale of instant success. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:18.939 Not even close. He started playing professionally 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:24.250 in 1920. And from there, he spent 13 years as 00:05:24.250 --> 00:05:26.910 a minor league player. 13 years. Now, I really 00:05:26.910 --> 00:05:28.930 want to emphasize that timeline for you, the 00:05:28.930 --> 00:05:31.930 listener. 13 years. If you were out there right 00:05:31.930 --> 00:05:34.649 now feeling stuck in middle management or feeling 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:36.949 like your big break in your industry is taking 00:05:36.949 --> 00:05:39.790 way too long, just sit with the psychological 00:05:39.790 --> 00:05:43.829 weight of 13 years. From 1920 to 1933. He was 00:05:43.829 --> 00:05:46.290 riding the buses and trains of the minor leagues. 00:05:46.569 --> 00:05:48.930 And while his statistics from that era are a 00:05:48.930 --> 00:05:51.430 bit fragmented in the historical record, we know 00:05:51.430 --> 00:05:53.949 he played for a wild assortment of teams. The 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:56.720 names are in Oh, they are fantastic. We are talking 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.040 about the Wichita Izzy's, the Izzy's, and the 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:01.920 Wichita Jobbers in the Western League until 1923. 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:03.860 Then he goes to the International League with 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:07.110 the Rochester Tribe from 1924 to 1926. Then the 00:06:07.110 --> 00:06:11.329 Newark Bears from 1927 to 1929. He is just bouncing 00:06:11.329 --> 00:06:13.829 all over the country. Then the American Association 00:06:13.829 --> 00:06:16.329 with the Toledo Mudhens. A classic baseball team 00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:18.430 name. And back to the International League with 00:06:18.430 --> 00:06:22.170 the Montreal Royals in 1931 and 1932. Just hearing 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:25.490 those names, the Izzy's, the Jobbers, the Mudhens, 00:06:25.970 --> 00:06:29.269 it paints such a vivid, almost comical picture 00:06:29.269 --> 00:06:31.990 of the minor league grind. It sounds quaint now, 00:06:31.990 --> 00:06:35.860 sure, but the reality was brutal. The sheer willpower 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:38.600 required not to quit during that stretch is staggering. 00:06:39.209 --> 00:06:42.129 The minor leagues in the 1920s and early 1930s 00:06:42.129 --> 00:06:45.050 were absolutely nothing like the highly sanitized, 00:06:45.189 --> 00:06:47.990 well -funded, scientifically driven developmental 00:06:47.990 --> 00:06:50.250 systems we see in modern professional sports. 00:06:50.610 --> 00:06:53.310 Today, minor leaguers have nutritionists, sleep 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:55.350 specialists, state -of -the -art training facilities. 00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:59.490 Exactly. In 1924, the travel was grueling, mostly 00:06:59.490 --> 00:07:02.009 by non -air -conditioned trains, crisscrossing 00:07:02.009 --> 00:07:04.050 the country for days at a time. Sleeping and 00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.250 sitting up, probably. The pay was incredibly 00:07:06.250 --> 00:07:08.430 low, barely enough to live on in the off season. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.300 The fields and locker rooms were often dilapidated. 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:14.379 To endure that lifestyle for 13 years requires 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:16.819 a level of dedication to your craft that borders 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:19.279 on the obsessive. It's a crucible. It really 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:21.620 is. Every single spring training, you are fighting 00:07:21.620 --> 00:07:24.399 off younger, faster, cheaper players trying to 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:26.160 take your job. because there's always someone 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:29.160 younger. Always. You are dealing with injuries 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:33.100 with essentially zero modern medical bear. And 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:35.959 in the back of your mind, every single day, you 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:38.000 are wondering if the call to the major leagues 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:40.699 is ever going to come or if you are just going 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:44.000 to age out of the game in total obscurity. But 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.160 Colin persisted. He didn't quit. And in doing 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.800 so, he built a reputation during those years, 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:52.579 not necessarily as the most talented player on 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:55.129 the field, but as a certain type of man. Which 00:07:55.129 --> 00:07:57.730 brings up a story from his Toledo Mud Hens days 00:07:57.730 --> 00:08:00.829 that completely encapsulates exactly the type 00:08:00.829 --> 00:08:03.769 of man he was. Oh, I love this story. Let's unpack 00:08:03.769 --> 00:08:05.910 this. His manager at the time was none other 00:08:05.910 --> 00:08:08.529 than the legendary Casey Stengel. Now, Stengel 00:08:08.529 --> 00:08:10.410 would go on to be one of the most famous managers 00:08:10.410 --> 00:08:13.110 in baseball history, winning a slew of World 00:08:13.110 --> 00:08:15.569 Series with the Yankees later on. But at this 00:08:15.569 --> 00:08:17.850 point, He's grinding in the minors, too. Right. 00:08:17.949 --> 00:08:19.350 They're both just trying to make it. And there 00:08:19.350 --> 00:08:21.750 was a specific game where Jaco broke his leg 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:24.449 while sliding into third base. Now, a normal 00:08:24.449 --> 00:08:26.850 human being would writhe in agony. You would 00:08:26.850 --> 00:08:29.089 scream for the trainer. You would wait for a 00:08:29.089 --> 00:08:31.990 stretcher. That is the standard response to a 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:35.389 fractured bone. Yes. But not Jaco Conlin. According 00:08:35.389 --> 00:08:37.710 to Stengel, Jaco managed to score a run on the 00:08:37.710 --> 00:08:40.870 play, crossing home plate before telling a single 00:08:40.870 --> 00:08:43.470 soul that he was hurt. He literally ran home 00:08:43.470 --> 00:08:45.860 on a broken leg. Which is physically astounding. 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:48.519 It is insane. And it gets even better because 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:50.299 there were financial stakes attached. Always 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:52.740 follow the money. Stengel had apparently promised 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:56.419 Jocko a $1 ,000 bonus if he could finish the 00:08:56.419 --> 00:09:00.100 season with a .300 batting average. Now, to put 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:02.940 that in perspective for non baseball fans, hitting 00:09:02.940 --> 00:09:05.799 .300 means you are getting a hit three out of 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.279 every 10 times you step to the plate. You are 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:11.659 failing seven out of 10 times, yet hitting .300 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:13.940 is considered the gold standard of an excellent 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:16.659 hitter. It is incredibly hard to do. Well, because 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:19.000 of the broken leg, Chaco's season was cut short, 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:22.639 obviously, and he finished hitting .292. Just 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:25.580 shy of the goal. So close. But Stengel was so 00:09:25.580 --> 00:09:28.240 moved by what he had seen that he gave him half 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.399 the bonus anyway. $500. I look at that and I 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:34.299 just see pure unadulterated grit. Right. The 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:36.899 guy was an absolute warrior. Well, let's be careful 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:39.639 not to just romanticize this as sheer cinematic 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:42.460 bravery. OK, fair. We have to look at the context 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:45.940 of the era. The year is roughly 1932. This is 00:09:45.940 --> 00:09:48.019 the absolute height of the Great Depression. 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:50.960 Minor league baseball players had absolutely 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:54.840 zero job security. None. No guaranteed contracts, 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:58.000 no injured reserve lists that paid your full 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.059 salary while you recovered on a beach somewhere. 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:02.759 I would argue he probably hid the broken leg 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.720 and kept running because if he didn't play, he 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:07.419 didn't get paid. Wow. And he likely had a family 00:10:07.419 --> 00:10:10.929 to feed back home. It was survival just as much 00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:13.789 as it was grit. Showing weakness in that era 00:10:13.789 --> 00:10:16.529 of sports often meant losing your livelihood 00:10:16.529 --> 00:10:19.389 entirely. That is a really fair point. The fear 00:10:19.389 --> 00:10:21.909 of losing your spot was probably a stronger painkiller 00:10:21.909 --> 00:10:23.690 than anything a doctor could have given him in 00:10:23.690 --> 00:10:26.429 1932. Exactly. But it also raises an interesting 00:10:26.429 --> 00:10:29.769 point about Stengel's reaction. Why did Stengel 00:10:29.769 --> 00:10:32.409 pay out half of a performance bonus when the 00:10:32.409 --> 00:10:35.950 mathematical metric, the .300 average, wasn't 00:10:35.950 --> 00:10:38.379 met? Managers in the Great Depression weren't 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:40.820 exactly throwing money around for fun. Definitely 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:44.399 not. It wasn't an act of charity. It was a recognition 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:47.580 of a deeply ingrained value that went way beyond 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.600 the stat sheet. Stengel's reward wasn't really 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:53.440 for the .292 batting average. It was an acknowledgement 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:55.799 of the survival instinct. Yeah, that makes sense. 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:58.419 It was for the unbelievable toughness of scoring 00:10:58.419 --> 00:11:01.080 a run on a fractured bone and not complaining 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:03.879 about it until the job was absolutely done. In 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:07.120 a grueling 13 -year minor league career, you 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:10.360 simply don't survive on talent alone. You survive 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:13.539 on reliability. And this specific incident firmly 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:15.860 established Conlon's defining traits in the eyes 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:19.259 of his peers. He was tough. and he was honest. 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:21.299 He wasn't trying to trick anyone, he was just 00:11:21.299 --> 00:11:24.340 doing his job to the absolute limit of his physical 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:27.529 capability. Stengel saw that. respected it, and 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:29.669 rewarded it. And that reputation for honesty 00:11:29.669 --> 00:11:31.549 and toughness becomes the critical foundation 00:11:31.549 --> 00:11:34.470 for the rest of his life. Because as we transition 00:11:34.470 --> 00:11:36.850 into the next phase of his career, this hard 00:11:36.850 --> 00:11:38.590 -earned reputation is about to pay off in the 00:11:38.590 --> 00:11:41.309 most bizarre, unexpected way possible. It is 00:11:41.309 --> 00:11:43.409 the kind of serendipity you just cannot plan 00:11:43.409 --> 00:11:46.169 for no matter how hard you try. After those 13 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:49.519 long years of bus rides and broken bones, Jaco 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:52.279 finally makes his major league debut on July 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:56.460 6th, 1934. He was 34 years old, which is ancient 00:11:56.460 --> 00:11:58.840 for baseball rookie, basically a dinosaur in 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:01.399 sports years. He steps onto the field as a center 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:04.279 fielder for his hometown team, the Chicago White 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:07.639 Sox. He bats left, he throws left. And look, 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:10.299 let's be Totally clear here, based on the sources, 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:12.840 he wasn't exactly setting the league on fire. 00:12:13.100 --> 00:12:15.419 No, his numbers were pretty pedestrian. His career 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:18.639 major league statistics show a .263 batting average, 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:22.100 31 runs batted in, and five stolen bases. Right. 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:24.779 To give that some context, a .263 average is 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:27.600 decent, it's respectable, but it is the definition 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:30.179 of an average, easily replaceable player. His 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:32.100 final appearance as a player was on September 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:36.100 29th, 1935. So his entire major league playing 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:38.519 career lasted just over a single year. A blip. 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:40.639 A total blip. But right in the middle of that 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.299 brief stint, the pivot happens. And it is a turning 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:45.940 point that perfectly illustrates how fragile 00:12:45.940 --> 00:12:48.340 and unpredictable career trajectories can be. 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:51.299 We often think of careers as these linear ladders 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:54.360 we climb, you know. But Jaco's story shows us 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:57.440 it's often more like a pinball machine. So true. 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:00.779 We arrive at a specific game in the summer of 00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:04.360 1935. Conlin's Chicago White Sox are playing 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:07.320 the St. Louis Browns. It is a blisteringly hot 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.419 day in the Midwest. Unbearably hot. So hot, in 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:12.620 fact, that the home plate umpire, a man named 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:15.980 Red Ormsby, falls ill due to the heat. He suffers 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:18.600 a severe heat stroke and absolutely cannot continue 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:20.980 working. To understand the gravity of the situation, 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:23.220 we have to establish the historical mechanics 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:25.600 of baseball in the 1930s. Right. Because if you 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:27.639 watch a game today, you have four umpires on 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.080 the field. One at every base. In the playoffs, 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:32.279 they add two more down the foul lines. Plus, 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:34.000 there are replay officials sitting in a high 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.600 -tech bunker in New York monitoring every single 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:39.220 angle on dozens of screens. If an umpire gets 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:41.639 hurt today, they just seamlessly rotate the crew 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:44.440 and bring in a backup. Exactly. There is a massive 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.899 contingency plan in place today. But in 1935, 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:51.200 a typical regular season major league game was 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:54.039 covered by only two umpires. Just two. Two men. 00:13:54.299 --> 00:13:57.220 One stood behind home plate calling balls and 00:13:57.220 --> 00:13:58.720 strikes and the other stood out on the bases 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:01.639 calling outs and safes. Just two men managing 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.759 a sprawling field and 22 active players. So if 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:06.779 one of those two umpires goes down... The game 00:14:06.779 --> 00:14:10.320 is immediately paralyzed. You cannot geometrically 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.759 or practically officiate a professional baseball 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:15.580 game with a single umpire. One man cannot see 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:17.940 a pitch cross the plate and simultaneously see 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:20.080 if a runner's foot be to throw to second base. 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:23.120 It's impossible. So to keep this official major 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.340 league game from being canceled or delayed, they 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:28.179 needed a substitute immediately. And their solution, 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:30.039 which was actually built into the protocols of 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:32.679 the era, was to press an active player from the 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.720 roster into service as an umpire. Which is just 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:38.759 wild to think about today. Imagine an NFL referee 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:41.039 pulling a hamstring in the middle of a crucial 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:43.720 drive. So they just jog over to the sideline, 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:46.159 ask a backup wide receiver to put on a striped 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:48.679 shirt, hand them a whistle and tell them to start 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:51.220 calling. holding penalties on his own team. It 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:53.960 would be absolute chaos. The conflict of interest 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:56.799 is off the charts. It sounds totally absurd to 00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:59.179 our modern sensibilities. It would trigger a 00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:01.340 million lawsuits and betting scandals today. 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.740 But it highlights the in -sealer, almost neighborhood 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:07.220 -like community nature of the sport at that time. 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:09.580 They didn't have a farm system of umpires waiting 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:12.279 in the wings nearby. They had to use who was 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:14.200 in the building. But they couldn't just pick 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:17.000 any player. They couldn't pick the team prankster 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.710 or the guy known for bending the rules. The records 00:15:19.710 --> 00:15:21.970 are very specific here. They needed a player 00:15:21.970 --> 00:15:24.509 with an established reputation for honesty. And 00:15:24.509 --> 00:15:27.149 who do they ask? Out of all the men in both dugouts, 00:15:27.789 --> 00:15:30.649 they point to Jaco Conlon. I really want you 00:15:30.649 --> 00:15:33.649 listening to this right now to internalize this 00:15:33.649 --> 00:15:36.570 moment. Yes. Think about your own workplace right 00:15:36.570 --> 00:15:40.129 now. If your industry experienced a sudden unexpected 00:15:40.129 --> 00:15:42.730 crisis today, Right in the middle of a massive 00:15:42.730 --> 00:15:46.669 project, do you have the unassailable reputation 00:15:46.669 --> 00:15:49.269 for honesty required for your peers and more 00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:52.690 importantly, your actual competitors to unanimously 00:15:52.690 --> 00:15:55.049 agree to hand you the reins? Because that is 00:15:55.049 --> 00:15:57.610 exactly what happened to Jaco. He was an active 00:15:57.610 --> 00:16:00.029 roster player on the White Sox and he was being 00:16:00.029 --> 00:16:02.710 asked to officiate a game involving his own teammates 00:16:02.710 --> 00:16:05.769 and their direct opponents, the St. Louis Browns. 00:16:06.090 --> 00:16:08.429 The psychological weight of that moment is immense. 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:12.100 Put yourself in his cleats. He is an active player 00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:15.019 clinging to the tail end of his career. He relies 00:16:15.019 --> 00:16:17.159 on his White Sox teammates for his livelihood, 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:19.740 his social standing, his daily existence on the 00:16:19.740 --> 00:16:21.860 road. Right. If he steps behind the plate and 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:23.840 calls a borderline strike against the St. Louis 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:25.960 Brown, the Brown's dugout might erupt, accusing 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:28.700 him of bias and cheating for his team. But the 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:31.179 flip side is even more dangerous. What if his 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:33.399 own pitcher throws a pitch that is clearly a 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:36.299 ball? Does he call it a ball? If he calls his 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:38.840 own teammate out on a close bang bang play at 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:41.440 first base, he has to face that same teammate 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.860 in the locker room 20 minutes later. He has to 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.000 sit next to him on the train ride to the next 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:50.080 city. A bad call or even a correct call that 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.200 was perceived poorly by his own team could have 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:56.100 completely ruined his playing career and alienated 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:58.759 him from his peers. It was a massive professional 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:01.899 risk. Yet the historical record notes quite simply 00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:05.119 that he took to it well. Took to it well might 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.519 be the understatement of the century. He didn't 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:10.480 just survive the game. He was a revelation. He 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:13.119 took to it so well that the very next year, in 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:16.579 1936, he completely abandoned his lifelong dream 00:17:16.579 --> 00:17:18.880 of being a major league player. He transitioned 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:21.500 entirely from player to umpire. Starting back 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:23.220 down in the minor leagues to officially learn 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:25.859 the new trade. Think about the humility that 00:17:25.859 --> 00:17:29.140 takes. He finally made the majors after 13 years, 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:31.759 played for a year, and then voluntarily went 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:33.920 back to the miners to learn how to officiate. 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:37.220 He realized, or perhaps the lead executives realized 00:17:37.220 --> 00:17:39.559 and told him, that his true calling wasn't hitting 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:42.180 a curve ball. It was enforcing the integrity 00:17:42.180 --> 00:17:45.039 of the game itself. He had the perfect, unflappable 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.420 temperament for it. And that decision launches 00:17:47.420 --> 00:17:50.339 us into the core of our deep dive, the creation 00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:52.799 of the legendary Jocko persona. This is where 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.680 the story shifts from a tale of survival to a 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:58.099 master class in establishing authority. From 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:02.779 1941 to 1965, Jocko Comlin was an absolute fixture 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:05.000 in the National League as an umpire. He retired 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:08.160 after the 1964 season, but was so highly regarded 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:09.980 that he actually came back as a substitute for 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:13.400 17 games in 1965. And his resume during that 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:15.339 quarter century is staggering. He didn't just 00:18:15.339 --> 00:18:18.039 umpire regular games, he was trusted with the 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.839 highest stakes imaginable. He officiated in five 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:26.180 World Series, 1945, 1950, 1954, 1957, and 1961. 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:30.009 He umpired He was specifically selected for the 00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:32.009 intense, high -pressure playoff series to decide 00:18:32.009 --> 00:18:34.890 the National League pennant in 1951, 1959, and 00:18:34.890 --> 00:18:37.630 1962. We're talking about games where entire 00:18:37.630 --> 00:18:40.069 seasons and players' legacies hung on a single 00:18:40.069 --> 00:18:41.990 call. And he had a front row seat to history. 00:18:42.329 --> 00:18:44.529 He was the home plate umpire when Gil Hodges 00:18:44.529 --> 00:18:46.930 of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit four home runs in 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:50.230 a single game on August 31, 1950. Kitting four 00:18:50.230 --> 00:18:52.609 home runs in one game is statistically rarer 00:18:52.609 --> 00:18:55.410 than pitching a perfect game. And Jocko was right 00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:58.529 there again. when the legendary Willie Mays accomplished 00:18:58.529 --> 00:19:02.029 that same incredibly rare feat on April 30th, 00:19:02.069 --> 00:19:06.190 1961. He was literally crouching feet away from 00:19:06.190 --> 00:19:08.990 some of the most iconic superhuman moments in 00:19:08.990 --> 00:19:10.970 sports history. But what I love about this era 00:19:10.970 --> 00:19:13.369 is that Jaco wasn't just a passive observer in 00:19:13.369 --> 00:19:15.589 a dark blue suit blending into the background. 00:19:15.890 --> 00:19:19.150 No, he became an icon himself. He crafted a distinct 00:19:19.150 --> 00:19:21.809 brand decades before personal branding was a 00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:24.640 corporate buzzword. Let's dig into his trademarks 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:26.880 because they are fantastic. First of all, the 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:30.220 attire. Yes. Most umpires of the day wore a regular 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:32.559 standard long dress tie under their suit cuts. 00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:35.700 Not Jaco. He wore a natty perfectly -tied bow 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:38.259 tie for his entire career. The bow tie is actually 00:19:38.259 --> 00:19:40.400 a brilliant psychological tool when you break 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.119 it down. How so? Well, in a profession that strictly 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:46.180 demands uniformity, where the very word umpire 00:19:46.180 --> 00:19:49.359 is supposed to evoke a neutral, faceless, interchangeable 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:52.279 arbiter of the rules, Conlon found a way to assert 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:54.559 his individuality while remaining technically 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.000 within the bounds of professional attire. A bow 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:59.480 tie communicates a certain meticulousness. It's 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:02.940 sharp. It requires effort to tie correctly. Visually, 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:06.980 in a sea of standard long ties, it acts as a 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:09.559 subtle disruption. It says to the players and 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:11.660 managers, I am paying attention to the details 00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:14.759 and I am distinctly myself. You are not dealing 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.500 with a uniform. You are dealing with me. And 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:20.339 it didn't stop at the neckwear. He also distinguished 00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:23.279 himself physically by making his out calls with 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.460 his left hand instead of his right. Remember, 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:28.220 he batted left and threw left as a player, so 00:20:28.220 --> 00:20:30.599 he was naturally left handed. Now that sounds 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.680 like a minor detail, but in the highly standardized 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:36.019 world of umpiring, where every mechanic is drilled 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:38.480 into you, making the most authoritative gesture 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:40.980 in the game. The punch out on strike three or 00:20:40.980 --> 00:20:43.779 the out call at a base with your left hand makes 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:45.660 you stand out immediately to everyone in the 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:47.579 stadium. It's unexpected. It catches the eye. 00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:50.019 It creates a signature move. Every time you made 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:52.960 a call, it was undeniably a Jocko call. Exactly. 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:56.500 But my favorite physical trademark of his has 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:59.549 to be his equipment. He was the absolute last 00:20:59.549 --> 00:21:01.849 National League umpire allowed to wear the outside 00:21:01.849 --> 00:21:03.849 chest protector. Now, for those who don't know 00:21:03.849 --> 00:21:06.369 the history of umpire gear, back in the early 00:21:06.369 --> 00:21:09.710 days, umpires wore this massive, bulky, heavily 00:21:09.710 --> 00:21:12.710 padded shield over their suit coats. It looked 00:21:12.710 --> 00:21:14.450 like they strapped a ribbed mattress to their 00:21:14.450 --> 00:21:17.720 chests. Over time, the league modernized and 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:20.359 umpires transitioned to the inside chest protector, 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:24.000 a hard plastic shell worn discreetly under the 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.319 jacket. It allowed for much better mobility and 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.619 looked far more professional. Every other umpire 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:31.059 in the league, except for a guy named Beans Reardon, 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:34.440 had moved to the sleek inside protector. But 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:38.000 Jaco refused. He kept the big, highly visible, 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:40.869 balloon -like outside shield. And we shouldn't 00:21:40.869 --> 00:21:43.069 dismiss that as just an old man refusing to get 00:21:43.069 --> 00:21:45.589 with the times. If you analyze those physical 00:21:45.589 --> 00:21:47.710 trademarks, the bow tie, the left -handed punch 00:21:47.710 --> 00:21:49.569 out, the bulky outside chest protector, these 00:21:49.569 --> 00:21:51.950 aren't just quirky affectations of a stubborn 00:21:51.950 --> 00:21:55.130 guy. They are tangible tools of authority. Right. 00:21:55.509 --> 00:21:57.849 The outside chest protector, in particular, acts 00:21:57.849 --> 00:22:00.549 as a literal physical barrier between the umpire 00:22:00.549 --> 00:22:03.190 and an angry manager. When a manager comes out 00:22:03.190 --> 00:22:05.150 to scream in an umpire's face, they try to get 00:22:05.150 --> 00:22:07.529 as close as physically possible to intimidate 00:22:07.529 --> 00:22:09.809 them. But if you were wearing a massive match 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:12.700 on your chest, you naturally enforce a buffer 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:15.839 zone. It is a shield. Furthermore, it projects 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:19.559 a larger, wider, more imposing silhouette. By 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:22.420 holding onto these unique traits, Konglin ensured 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:24.960 that when he stepped onto the field, everyone 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:27.400 from the dugouts to the cheap seats knew exactly 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:29.660 who was in charge. He wasn't just an anonymous 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:32.799 umpire. He was Jocko. It's actually hard to wrap 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:35.000 my head around the level of respect he commanded, 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:37.660 which leads to this incredible detail from the 00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:40.420 sources. Because he had been around for so long 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:43.599 and his authority was so deeply unquestioningly 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.400 established, he was never even issued an umpire 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.539 number. Think about that. Every sport uses numbers 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:52.539 to identify officials for accountability. The 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:54.640 league eventually instituted a system issuing 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:56.940 numbers to all umpires, slapping them on the 00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:58.579 right sleeve so the league office could track 00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:01.180 them. But Jaco completely bypassed the system. 00:23:01.390 --> 00:23:04.750 He predated the mandate, and he was so famous 00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:08.029 that he was grandfathered in as just Jocko. How 00:23:08.029 --> 00:23:10.369 does someone achieve that level of untouchable 00:23:10.369 --> 00:23:13.970 status in a highly bureaucratic league? He didn't 00:23:13.970 --> 00:23:16.390 need a number on his sleeve for people to know 00:23:16.390 --> 00:23:19.410 who he was. He was a law unto himself. It is 00:23:19.410 --> 00:23:21.849 a remarkable testament to his presence and the 00:23:21.849 --> 00:23:24.430 sheer weight of his reputation. But of course, 00:23:24.470 --> 00:23:27.140 there's a flip side to this. Having a massive 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:30.240 personality and projecting that level of unyielding, 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:33.240 unquestionable authority means that you are inevitably 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:35.779 going to clash with other massive personalities. 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:38.759 An umpire's job is inherently adversarial. Your 00:23:38.759 --> 00:23:41.980 entire purpose is to constantly tell highly competitive, 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:44.720 aggressive, adrenaline -fueled men that they 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:46.759 are wrong and that they have to sit down. You 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:48.640 are the ultimate buzzkill. And that brings us 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:50.839 to the art of the argument and how Conlon managed 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:53.079 the biggest egos in the game. Oh, the arguments. 00:23:53.140 --> 00:23:54.930 This is where the story gets really fun. Let's 00:23:54.930 --> 00:23:57.210 go back to his old minor league manager, Casey 00:23:57.210 --> 00:24:00.190 Stengel, the man who had once given Jaco that 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:04.029 $500 bonus for his gritty broken leg run. Stengel 00:24:04.029 --> 00:24:06.289 eventually made it back to the majors as a manager, 00:24:06.289 --> 00:24:09.950 and he and Jaco crossed paths frequently. Now, 00:24:09.950 --> 00:24:12.029 you would think there would be a deeply ingrained 00:24:12.029 --> 00:24:15.210 mutual respect there, maybe even a little favoritism. 00:24:15.609 --> 00:24:17.569 But Stelwell later noted something incredibly 00:24:17.569 --> 00:24:20.509 telling about their dynamic. Despite his admiration 00:24:20.509 --> 00:24:23.230 for Conlon, Stengel stated on the record that 00:24:23.230 --> 00:24:26.309 Jaco chased him. meaning ejected him from the 00:24:26.309 --> 00:24:28.730 game more often than he ejected any other manager 00:24:28.730 --> 00:24:31.509 in the entire league. Stengel actually said, 00:24:32.210 --> 00:24:35.069 and as a reward for the $500 bonus I once gave 00:24:35.069 --> 00:24:37.710 him, he used to chase me oftener than anyone, 00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:40.730 than any other manager in the league. But I admired 00:24:40.730 --> 00:24:42.769 him for his courage as a player and an official. 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:45.640 That quote is the ultimate proof of the reputation 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:47.880 for honesty that got him the job during that 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:50.539 heatstroke game in the first place. It highlights 00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:53.500 his supreme impartiality. Because Jocko Conlin 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:56.740 owed Casey Stengel. From a purely human perspective, 00:24:57.099 --> 00:24:59.319 Stengel had been his benefactor, his advocate, 00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:02.380 his manager during the hardest, bleakest years 00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:05.839 of his minor league grind. Human nature and typical 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:08.339 workplace politics would dictate that Conlin 00:25:08.339 --> 00:25:10.680 might give Stengel a favorable call on a close 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:13.440 pitch now and then. Or maybe give him a slightly 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:16.119 longer leash to vent his frustrations during 00:25:16.119 --> 00:25:18.400 an argument before throwing him out. But Colin's 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:21.079 integrity was absolute. Friendship, history, 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:24.019 and past financial favors meant absolutely nothing 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:25.740 when the game was on the line and the rules needed 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:28.059 to be enforced. If Stengel crossed the line, 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:30.839 Stengel got thrown out, period. That level of 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:34.059 ruthless objectivity is exactly why Stengel ultimately 00:25:34.059 --> 00:25:37.980 admired him. True, lasting authority requires 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:41.059 that kind of uncompromising consistency. You 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.640 cannot play favorites and maintain respect. And 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:45.579 speaking of crossing the line, we absolutely 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:47.700 have to talk about the Leo de Rocher incident. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:51.079 Oh, man. If you want a perfect, high -definition 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:53.640 snapshot of the fiery culture of baseball in 00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:56.779 the early 1960s, this is it. Set the scene. The 00:25:56.779 --> 00:26:00.470 date is April 16, 1961. The setting is the massive, 00:26:00.630 --> 00:26:03.910 cavernous Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The 00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:05.910 Dodgers are playing, and the stadium is packed. 00:26:06.289 --> 00:26:08.549 You've got Jocko Conlon, the impeccably dressed, 00:26:08.789 --> 00:26:10.890 bow -tie -wearing, unmovable authority figure. 00:26:11.089 --> 00:26:12.890 And on the other side, you've got manager Leo 00:26:12.890 --> 00:26:15.769 DeRosha. DeRosha was famously nicknamed Leo the 00:26:15.769 --> 00:26:19.170 Lip. He was hot -tempered, combative, and relentless. 00:26:19.710 --> 00:26:22.789 He famously coined the phrase, nice guys finish 00:26:22.789 --> 00:26:25.230 last. They were both known throughout the sport 00:26:25.230 --> 00:26:27.769 as deeply colorful characters who would frequently 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:30.710 clash, while on this specific day they clashed 00:26:30.710 --> 00:26:33.230 hard. And the context of the altercation is important 00:26:33.230 --> 00:26:36.230 here. Derocher had already been formally ejected 00:26:36.230 --> 00:26:38.809 from the game by Conlon over a disputed call. 00:26:39.210 --> 00:26:41.289 The argument was technically over. But instead 00:26:41.289 --> 00:26:43.630 of accepting the ejection and leaving the field 00:26:43.630 --> 00:26:46.869 quietly as the rules dictate, Derocher refuses 00:26:46.869 --> 00:26:50.009 to leave. He stays out on the dirt. He continues 00:26:50.009 --> 00:26:53.009 the argument, getting closer and closer, deliberately 00:26:53.009 --> 00:26:55.630 escalating the situation. Right. He tries to 00:26:55.630 --> 00:26:57.809 do the classic, highly disrespectful manager 00:26:57.809 --> 00:27:00.289 move of kicking dirt onto the umpire's freshly 00:27:00.289 --> 00:27:03.140 polished shoes. It is a gesture of pure infantile 00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:05.900 disrespect. But in his rage, DeRosier slips. 00:27:06.460 --> 00:27:08.380 And instead of just spraying a little dirt, his 00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:10.980 foot actually connects with Codlin's shins. He 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:13.339 physically kicks the umpire. Now let's be clear 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:15.859 about the rules of sports. Striking an official, 00:27:16.059 --> 00:27:18.559 even accidentally during a tantrum, is one of 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:20.779 the most serious offenses in all of professional 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:23.500 sports. It is grounds for massive suspensions, 00:27:23.819 --> 00:27:27.000 hefty fines, and sometimes even bans. You simply 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.519 do not touch a referee or an umpire, ever. Which 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.859 is what makes Collin's reaction so incredibly 00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:35.559 fascinating. A lesser umpire, or perhaps a more 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:38.019 modern corporate trained official, might have 00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:41.140 simply backed away, pointed a finger, signaled 00:27:41.140 --> 00:27:44.140 to stadium security, and submitted a harsh multi 00:27:44.140 --> 00:27:46.640 -page report to the league office demanding Deerosher 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:49.279 be suspended. But Collin wasn't a corporate employee. 00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:52.440 He was raised in the tough, unforgiving streets 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:54.740 of turn -of -the -century Chicago. He ground 00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:57.119 his way through 13 years of minor league bus 00:27:57.119 --> 00:27:59.259 rides where you had to fight for everything you 00:27:59.259 --> 00:28:01.779 had. He was not about to be physically intimidated 00:28:01.779 --> 00:28:03.720 or assaulted in front of tens of thousands of 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:05.859 people without issuing a response. The historical 00:28:05.859 --> 00:28:08.700 record states very plainly, Conlin kicked him 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:10.519 right back. I cannot get over this. I just have 00:28:10.519 --> 00:28:13.059 this vivid, hilarious mental picture of these 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:15.839 two grown men, absolute legends of their profession 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:18.640 in their 60s, standing in the dirt of the LA 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.210 Coliseum, literally having a kicking match. Like 00:28:21.210 --> 00:28:24.230 two angry children fighting over a toy on a playground, 00:28:24.630 --> 00:28:27.250 but with massive professional stakes and thousands 00:28:27.250 --> 00:28:29.650 of people watching. And the absolute best part, 00:28:29.829 --> 00:28:31.769 an alert sports photographer actually captured 00:28:31.769 --> 00:28:34.589 the entire sequence on film and the photos were 00:28:34.589 --> 00:28:36.910 widely circulated in newspapers across the country. 00:28:37.170 --> 00:28:39.569 It became a legendary visual piece of sports 00:28:39.569 --> 00:28:42.829 history. But here is the critical detail. The 00:28:42.829 --> 00:28:46.269 real kicker, no pun intended. Conlon was completely 00:28:46.269 --> 00:28:49.450 unharmed by Gerocha's kicks. He didn't feel a 00:28:49.450 --> 00:28:52.450 thing. Why? Because as a home plate umpire, Jaco 00:28:52.450 --> 00:28:54.910 was wearing thick, heavy -duty shin guards under 00:28:54.910 --> 00:28:57.369 his trousers. It is a brilliant, almost theatrical 00:28:57.369 --> 00:28:59.910 detail. And it perfectly highlights Conlon's 00:28:59.910 --> 00:29:02.009 unique brand of authority. It shows a perfect 00:29:02.009 --> 00:29:05.549 blend of a fiery, unyielding temper and cold, 00:29:05.829 --> 00:29:08.289 calculated pragmatism. He engaged in the physical 00:29:08.289 --> 00:29:10.589 confrontation to defend his honor. his physical 00:29:10.589 --> 00:29:13.490 space, and the authority of his position. But 00:29:13.490 --> 00:29:15.910 he did so fully safe in the knowledge that he 00:29:15.910 --> 00:29:18.349 was literally armored against his opponent. He 00:29:18.349 --> 00:29:20.809 let de Rocher batter his foot against solid padding, 00:29:21.369 --> 00:29:23.650 probably hurting de Rocher's toes in the process, 00:29:23.930 --> 00:29:26.029 and then he returned the favor with interest. 00:29:27.150 --> 00:29:29.869 It is humorous, yes, but it also permanently 00:29:29.869 --> 00:29:32.950 solidifies his mythos. Managers around the league 00:29:32.950 --> 00:29:35.289 saw those photos and realized that Jaco Conlin 00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:38.359 would not back down ever. not verbally and not 00:29:38.359 --> 00:29:41.099 physically. He was immovable. That mythos is 00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:44.160 exactly what elevated him from being just another 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:46.359 guy in a blue suit calling balls and strikes 00:29:46.359 --> 00:29:49.880 to becoming an actual cultural icon. And that 00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:51.680 is what we are looking at in the final section 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:54.940 of our deep dive. His lasting legacy, his impact 00:29:54.940 --> 00:29:57.599 on broader pop culture and his final inning. 00:29:57.720 --> 00:29:59.460 You know you have reached a completely different 00:29:59.460 --> 00:30:01.619 stratosphere of fame when a popular piece of 00:30:01.619 --> 00:30:03.380 media dropped your name without even bothering 00:30:03.380 --> 00:30:05.579 to explain who you are to the audience. There's 00:30:05.579 --> 00:30:09.390 this incredible detail from 1962. The legendary 00:30:09.390 --> 00:30:11.809 entertainer Danny Kay recorded a comedy song 00:30:11.809 --> 00:30:14.809 called The Los Angeles Dodgers, which humorously 00:30:14.809 --> 00:30:17.250 describes a fictitious, chaotic baseball game. 00:30:17.470 --> 00:30:20.049 In the lyrics, Danny Kay mentions Conlin several 00:30:20.049 --> 00:30:22.369 times, but he doesn't call him umpire Conlin 00:30:22.369 --> 00:30:24.829 or explain his role. He just drops his last name, 00:30:25.089 --> 00:30:27.009 assuming the audience will get the joke. That 00:30:27.009 --> 00:30:29.549 is a critical indicator of how deeply he was 00:30:29.549 --> 00:30:32.430 baked into American pop culture. You don't get 00:30:32.430 --> 00:30:35.930 name dropped in a hit song unless literally everyone 00:30:35.930 --> 00:30:39.000 listening knows exactly who you are. The song 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.819 presumes that the average radio listener in 1962 00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:44.700 simply knows the persona of Conlon, and that 00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:47.680 is incredibly rare. Sports officials are generally 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:50.319 designed by the leagues to be invisible. The 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:52.720 old adage in sports officiating is that if the 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:55.119 fans don't notice the referee, the referee is 00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:58.019 doing a great job. But Conlon inverted that paradigm 00:30:58.019 --> 00:31:01.660 completely. He became as recognizable, as discussed, 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:04.039 and as essential to the spectacle and entertainment 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:07.579 of the game as the star players themselves. People 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:09.819 bought tickets knowing Jaco was behind the plate, 00:31:09.980 --> 00:31:12.460 anticipating the show he might put on if a manager 00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:15.279 got out of line. This cultural footprint is further 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:17.960 evidenced by his prominent inclusion in books 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:20.559 written long after his career ended, like Carl 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:24.319 Erskine's 2004 book, Tales from the Dodgers Dugout. 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:27.680 Decades after he retired, players were still 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:30.660 swapping Jaco stories. He finally retired for 00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:33.210 good and moved to Arizona. where he spent his 00:31:33.210 --> 00:31:35.950 later years enjoying a much quieter life playing 00:31:35.950 --> 00:31:39.049 golf. But the game of baseball wasn't done with 00:31:39.049 --> 00:31:43.130 him yet. In 1974, he received the ultimate validation 00:31:43.130 --> 00:31:45.690 for his life's work. Jocko Collin was elected 00:31:45.690 --> 00:31:47.890 to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the 00:31:47.890 --> 00:31:50.009 Veterans Committee. The context of this election 00:31:50.009 --> 00:31:52.950 is amazing. He was only the fourth umpire ever 00:31:52.950 --> 00:31:54.589 chosen for the Hall of Fame in the history of 00:31:54.589 --> 00:31:56.910 the sport, and the very first National League 00:31:56.910 --> 00:31:59.130 umpire to be inducted since the legendary Bill 00:31:59.130 --> 00:32:03.210 Clem way back in 1953. To be recognized not for 00:32:03.210 --> 00:32:05.710 hitting home runs or pitching shutouts, but simply 00:32:05.710 --> 00:32:08.470 for managing the game flawlessly for 24 years 00:32:08.470 --> 00:32:10.849 is a stunning achievement. It is a monumental 00:32:10.849 --> 00:32:13.190 achievement. When he retired, the president of 00:32:13.190 --> 00:32:15.049 the National League at the time, Warren Giles, 00:32:15.509 --> 00:32:17.630 issued a statement praising him with words that 00:32:17.630 --> 00:32:19.630 perfectly encapsulate the long journey we've 00:32:19.630 --> 00:32:22.470 been discussing. Giles said, I know of no one 00:32:22.470 --> 00:32:24.509 who has been more dedicated to his profession, 00:32:24.930 --> 00:32:26.869 more loyal to the game in which he's been such 00:32:26.869 --> 00:32:29.369 a big party, and I hate to see him hang up his 00:32:29.369 --> 00:32:32.109 spikes. Notice the specific words Giles chose 00:32:32.109 --> 00:32:36.269 to use, dedicated, loyal. He didn't just say 00:32:36.269 --> 00:32:38.869 Jaco was accurate or efficient or had a good 00:32:38.869 --> 00:32:41.609 strike zone. He highlighted his moral character. 00:32:41.690 --> 00:32:44.589 It speaks directly to that core foundation, that 00:32:44.589 --> 00:32:46.750 reputation for honesty that we have been tracing 00:32:46.750 --> 00:32:49.369 since he was a bruised minor league player running 00:32:49.369 --> 00:32:52.470 on a broken leg for Casey Stengel. Sadly, his 00:32:52.470 --> 00:32:54.849 health eventually began to fail him, and ironically, 00:32:55.130 --> 00:32:57.390 it happened while doing the very thing he dedicated 00:32:57.390 --> 00:33:00.150 his life to. He suffered an illness while watching 00:33:00.150 --> 00:33:02.930 Game One of the 1974 World Series on television, 00:33:03.390 --> 00:33:05.450 which led to heart surgery. He lived for quite 00:33:05.450 --> 00:33:07.589 a while after that, eventually passing away on 00:33:07.589 --> 00:33:10.730 April 16, 1989, at a hospital in Scottsdale, 00:33:10.730 --> 00:33:13.150 Arizona. He was 89 years old. And interestingly 00:33:13.150 --> 00:33:15.289 enough, the Conlon name and legacy lived on, 00:33:15.509 --> 00:33:17.509 but not just in the sports world. He actually 00:33:17.509 --> 00:33:20.309 left a mark on public service. His son, John 00:33:20.309 --> 00:33:22.849 Bertrand Conlon, went into politics and actually 00:33:22.849 --> 00:33:24.630 served as a U .S. representative from Arizona 00:33:24.630 --> 00:33:27.529 in the 1970s. When you zoom out and look at the 00:33:27.529 --> 00:33:29.910 timeline of his life from beginning to end, there 00:33:29.910 --> 00:33:32.890 is an incredible, almost poetic symmetry to it. 00:33:33.150 --> 00:33:35.490 He is born at the very turn of the century in 00:33:35.490 --> 00:33:39.700 1899. in the gritty streets of Chicago. He grinds 00:33:39.700 --> 00:33:41.319 his way through the uncertainty of the roaring 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:44.279 20s and the devastating economic reality of the 00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:47.039 Great Depression. He accidentally finds his true 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:50.460 calling in the sweltering heat of the mid 1930s. 00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:53.720 He goes on to literally define the rules of engagement 00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:56.140 and the aesthetic of authority during the golden 00:33:56.140 --> 00:33:59.380 era of baseball in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. He 00:33:59.380 --> 00:34:02.359 achieves Hall of Fame immortality in the 1970s, 00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:04.740 watching his own son ascend to the halls of the 00:34:04.740 --> 00:34:07.619 United States Congress. He lived an epic sweeping 00:34:07.619 --> 00:34:10.159 American life. And yet every single success, 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:12.760 every accolade, every moment of fame can be traced 00:34:12.760 --> 00:34:15.280 directly back to that fateful Weltering Day in 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:18.739 1935, when an entire stadium of men looked around 00:34:18.739 --> 00:34:20.800 for someone to lead them, and they chose him 00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:23.019 solely because they trusted his integrity. So 00:34:23.019 --> 00:34:25.159 as we wrap up this deep dive, I want to circle 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:27.380 back to you, the listener. We talked earlier 00:34:27.380 --> 00:34:29.559 about your own hypothetical heat stroke moment, 00:34:30.139 --> 00:34:32.380 that unexpected crisis where the system breaks 00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:34.780 down and opportunity suddenly demands that you 00:34:34.780 --> 00:34:37.619 step into an entirely new, highly visible role. 00:34:37.860 --> 00:34:40.559 If that happened today, right now in your office 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:43.739 or your industry, Would your reputation precede 00:34:43.739 --> 00:34:46.539 you the way Jaco's did? Have you spent your years 00:34:46.539 --> 00:34:49.539 in the minor leagues of your own career? The 00:34:49.539 --> 00:34:52.460 unglamorous, behind -the -scenes grunt work, 00:34:52.780 --> 00:34:55.940 building a solid foundation of undeniable toughness 00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:58.840 and honesty? Do people trust you when the chips 00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:01.360 are down? Because the story of Jaco Conlin proves 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:03.639 that sometimes the greatest successes in life 00:35:03.639 --> 00:35:06.139 don't come from the path you meticulously planned 00:35:06.139 --> 00:35:08.380 out on a vision board? They come from the character 00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:11.019 you built along the way, quietly waiting for 00:35:11.019 --> 00:35:12.679 the moment you were asked to step behind the 00:35:12.679 --> 00:35:15.000 plate and take charge. That is the perfect takeaway. 00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:17.280 And it leads to a final thought I'd like to leave 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:20.239 you to mull over as you go about your week. We 00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:23.219 noted earlier that Jaco Collin achieved the absolute 00:35:23.219 --> 00:35:26.320 highest honor in his field, the Hall of Fame. 00:35:26.619 --> 00:35:29.320 He became a cultural icon. Yet he never even 00:35:29.320 --> 00:35:31.920 possessed an umpire number. He never had a digit 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.480 assigned to him. because his career started before 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:37.000 the league formalized the bureaucracy, and his 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:39.280 physical presence and reputation were so immense 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:41.460 they simply never bothered to force a number 00:35:41.460 --> 00:35:44.659 onto his sleeve. He was undeniably himself. In 00:35:44.659 --> 00:35:47.579 today's hyper -modern corporate world, every 00:35:47.579 --> 00:35:50.960 single employee, student, and citizen is tracked, 00:35:51.280 --> 00:35:53.760 quantified, measured by key performance indicators, 00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:57.420 and reduced to a digital ID number or an algorithmic 00:35:57.420 --> 00:36:00.440 score. Your value is often determined by a spreadsheet. 00:36:00.670 --> 00:36:03.429 So the question is, in a world completely obsessed 00:36:03.429 --> 00:36:05.909 with data, metrics, and numbers, is it still 00:36:05.909 --> 00:36:08.489 possible to achieve immortality purely on the 00:36:08.489 --> 00:36:10.809 unquantifiable strength of your character and 00:36:10.809 --> 00:36:13.460 a simple reputation for honesty? Can you still 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:16.659 be just Jocko in a world of barcodes? It is something 00:36:16.659 --> 00:36:18.619 deeply worth considering as you navigate your 00:36:18.619 --> 00:36:20.840 own professional journey and decide what kind 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:23.019 of legacy you want to leave behind. That is a 00:36:23.019 --> 00:36:25.900 brilliant question to end on, a powerful philosophical 00:36:25.900 --> 00:36:29.000 thought to cap off a truly powerful story. Thank 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:31.179 you so much for joining us on this deep dive 00:36:31.179 --> 00:36:34.179 into the incredible, unlikely Hall of Fame journey 00:36:34.179 --> 00:36:36.800 of Jocko Conlin. Keep building that reputation, 00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:39.440 stay ready for your heat stroke moment, and we 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:41.039 will catch you on the next deep dive.