Joe Schratz

Joseph R. Schratz

• School Arizona State University
• High School South Hills Catholic High School

• Born 1945 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

Biographical Information

Joe Schratz umpired a total of 18 major league games, all of them as a replacement umpire because of a strike. In 1976, he worked a couple of games when the vendors at Three Rivers Stadium went on strike on May 21st and a number of other unions joined them in solidarity. The regular umpires refused to cross the picket line, and as a result the league had to call on local amateur umpires to work the game. The umpires were issued a back-to-work order by a Federal judge the next day, but it came too late for them to work the afternoon game, so Schratz worked a second game as a result. His next stint came in 1979, when the umpires went on a prolonged strike at the beginning of the season.

He served in the Marines for four years. He was a college umpire for some time as well.

Related Sites

• Joe Schratz at Retrosheet.org