Billy McLean

William H. McLean

• Born December 3, 1835 in Preston, Lancashire, England
• Died February 3, 1927 in Philadelphia, PA USA

Biographical Information

Billy McLean was the umpire in the first game in the history of the National League on April 22, 1876 between the Boston Red Caps and the Philadelphia Athletics. The game was played in Philadelphia's Jefferson Street Grounds. McLean was a veteran umpire from the National Association who went on to umpire 345 games in the National League and American Association, umpiring his last game on August 22, 1890.

McLean and George "Foghorn" Bradley were the most active umpires in the early years of the National League. Until 1884, when he was passed by Kick Kelly, McLean held the career record for games umpired in the major leagues (not counting the National Association, whose umpiring assignments were haphazard and amateurish).

Further Reading

• David Vincent: "A Statistical Look at the Men in Blue", in The Baseball Research Journal, number 36 (2007), SABR, Cleveland, OH, pp. 13-18.

Related Sites

• Billy McLean on Retrosheet.org