My random internet perusings today let me stumble across this gem from mlb.com:
10 bizarre baseball rules you won't believe actually existedAside from the Buzzfeed-y title, I think #6 needs to be reinstated:
6. Umpires in the 19th century had it made
The plight of the umpire is a difficult one: You try tracking a small white ball traveling at ridiculously high speeds, with a stadium full of people and the entire Internet ready to castigate you if you're wrong.
Being an umpire at the turn of the 20th century, though? That actually sounds pretty great: They were chosen from the crowd prior to first pitch -- they were often prominent members of the local community -- and rather than spend all that energy to squat behind the catcher, umpires were given easy chairs in the general vicinity of home plate. And that was just the beginning of the perks. From Ohio's Marion Star newspaper in 1916:
"The old time umpires were accorded the utmost courtesy by the players. They were given easy chairs, placed near the home plate, provided with fans on hot days and their absolute comfort was uppermost in the minds of the players. The umpire always received the choicest bits of food and the largest glass of beer."
Sign us up, please.
Probably slightly apocryphal, but I'd work any game you want if you're also giving me free beer. Who's with me?