Nestor Chylak

Nestor George Chylak Jr.
(sometimes listed as Nester)

• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• School University of Scranton, Rutgers University
• High School Olyphant High School

• Born May 11, 1922 in Olyphant, PA USA
• Died February 17, 1982 in Dunmore, PA USA

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1999

BR page

Biographical Information

"Nestor is one of the ultra, ultra good umpires. And the players respond to him. He's a good hustler. He always seems to be at the right place at the right time." — Johnny Pesky

Neston Chylak was a longtime American League umpire. He began his minor league career in the PONY League in 1947-1948. He moved up to the Canadian-American League in 1949, the Eastern League in 1950-1951, and the International League 1952-1953. His big league career began in 1954 and he remained in blue through the 1978 season. After that, he served as an assistant supervisor of umpires until his death of a heart attack at age 59.

He umpired six All-Star Games, three American League Championship Series and five World Series.

He is perhaps the only umpire who ever managed to look jaunty in his umpire's get-up.

He served in the Army in World War II, and nearly lost his eyesight in the Battle of the Bulge after being struck by shrapnel from an exploding shell. After the war, he umpired in amateur ball and then in the minor leagues before coming to the majors.

He was the umpire who declared a forfeit on the notorious "Ten-Cent Beer Night" in Cleveland, OH in 1974, when the fans got rowdy and stormed the field in the 9th inning.

Nestor married Sue Maria Shemet on January 21, 1956; they had two sons, Robert and William.

"Few have ever been more respected in his field. Everyone looked up to him, and I developed more respect every time I saw him in a World Series or All-Star Game." - Bowie Kuhn

Related Sites

• Nestor Chylak at the SABR Bio Project
• Nestor Chylak on Retrosheet.org
• Sporting News umpire card
• Sports artist Dick Perez has painted a picture of him in his later days: [1]