William Edward John "Bill" Deegan (born April 13, 1935 in Camden, New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey

The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...

) is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 umpire

Umpire (baseball)

In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...

 who worked in the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

.

Deegan's umpiring career began in the Midwest League

Midwest League

The Midwest League is a Class-A minor league baseball league which operates in the Midwestern United States.-History:Six teams – the Belleville Stags, the Centralia Cubs, the Marion Indians, the Mattoon Indians or East Frankfort White Sox, the Mount Vernon Braves, and the West Frankfort...

 in . He also worked in the Carolina

Carolina League

The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...

 and Southern League

Southern League (baseball)

The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , and shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams...

s prior to becoming a Major League umpire in . In the Majors, he officiated in four American League Championship Series

American League Championship Series

In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...

: 1970

1970 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 3, 1970 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MinnesotaBaltimore only had to use their bullpen once in the series when Dick Hall came on to relieve Mike Cuellar in Game 1. Dave McNally and Jim Palmer both pitched complete games in Games 2 and 3.The Twins...

 (Game One only), 1974

1974 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 5, 1974 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaThe Birds jumped all over the ace of the Oakland staff, Catfish Hunter, pounding him for six runs and eight hits, including three homers in less than five innings. Hunter had a skein of seven straight...

, 1977

1977 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Wednesday, October 5, 1977 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe visiting Royals jumped on the sore-shouldered Don Gullett early and never looked back. Hal McRae hit a two-run homer in the first, Freddie Patek had a two-run double in the second, and John Mayberry a two-run blast in the...

 and 1984

1984 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 2, 1984 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriGame 1 was a blowout in Kansas City, as Jack Morris pitched seven innings and allowed a single run, with Willie Hernandez pitching the final two innings. The Tigers scored eight runs...

. He also umpired in the 1978 All Star Game

1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 49th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 11, 1978 at San Diego Stadium in San Diego, California, home of the...

 and the 1976 World Series

1976 World Series

The 1976 World Series matched the defending champion Cincinnati Reds of the National League against the New York Yankees of the American League, with the Reds sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National...

; he was the home plate umpire for Game Four of the Series, which the defending Champion Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

 won on the strength of Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench

Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...

's two-home run, five-RBI performance to complete a sweep of the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

.

Deegan was home plate umpire for two no-hitter

No-hitter

A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...

s in May, : Jim Colborn

Jim Colborn

James William Colborn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-handed Colborn pitched for the Chicago Cubs , Milwaukee Brewers , Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners ....

's on the 14th and Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...

's on the 30th. He is one of a handful of umpires to have called balls and strikes for two no-hitters in the same season, and one of only three in modern history to do so in the same month, Dick Nallin (May) and Bill Dinneen

Bill Dinneen

William Henry Dinneen, alternately spelled Dineen , was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who followed his 12-year career from 1898 to 1909 with a highly regarded tenure as an American League umpire from 1909 to 1937...

 (September) being the other two.

Midway into the season, Deegan quit for personal reasons. He was working as a salesman in when he realized the Major League umpires were going on strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

 and would be unavailable for the playoffs. He volunteered his services to work in the 1984 ALCS to Dick Butler, the American League supervisor of umpires, and served as home plate umpire for all three games of the Series, which the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 swept over the Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

. The remainder of the crew consisted of local and collegiate umpires.

Deegan also offered his services during two other umpire strikes: on Opening Day

Opening Day

Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...

, at Tiger Stadium (the site of his last Major League umpiring stint prior to this one) for the Yankees-Tigers game, and for six games during the season—the first week of Major League play after the strike of 1994-95 ended. Said Deegan in 1984, “I don’t believe in unions

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

.”