Bruce Froemming, who served as a major league umpire for 37 seasons and called the third-most games in major league history, died on Wednesday. He was 86 years old. Froemming’s son Steven said the longtime umpire died of a brain bleed following a fall at his Wisconsin home on Tuesday night.
Rest in Peace Bruce Froemming
One of just 3 umpires to work 5,000+ Major League games pic.twitter.com/aJoZMdpYCQ
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) February 27, 2026
Bruce Froemming, MLB Umpire from 1971 to 2007, Has Died at 86
Froemming had a brief semi-pro baseball career as a player in the 1950s and became a professional umpire in 1958 at age 18. After 13 years in the minor leagues, he became a National League umpire in the 1971 season. One of the early notable moments of Froemming’s career came in 1972, when he was behind the plate. Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas was one strike away from a perfect game after getting ahead 1-2 on the 27th batter. The count went full, and Pappas delivered a pitch that Froemming ruled to be off the outside corner. Although Pappas finished the no-hitter, the moment remained a point of debate for years after.
Today in 1972: Cubs’ Milt Pappas is 1 out from perfect game, but walks a batter & always felt he was robbed..he’d get the no hitter however: pic.twitter.com/ZfEj7zD9CM
— Stirrups Now! (@uniformcritic) September 2, 2024
As a result of his long career, there was no shortage of interesting and historic moments with Froemming on the field. Two of the more memorable brawls in history, those started by Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose in 1973, and Alex Rodriguez and Jason Varitek in 2004, took place in games Froemming worked. He also ejected New York Yankees manager Billy Martin from the last game of the 1976 World Series. He worked a major-league record 11 no-hitters, including Dennis Martinez‘s perfect game in 1981 for the Montreal Expos, when he was stationed at first base. Froemming was only behind the plate for two of those no-nos: the aforementioned near-perfecto by Pappas and José Jiménez‘s no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999.
A-Rod and Jason Varitek brawl, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/wANj4l7Ruo
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) July 20, 2020
A Long Legacy
By the time Froemming retired after the 2007 season, he worked 5,163 games. At the time, that total ranked second all-time behind Bill Klem (5,373). Both figures were eventually bested by Joe West, who got to 5,460 by the end of his career in 2021. A crew chief from 1988 until his retirement, Froemming also called 111 postseason games and took part in five World Series (1976, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1995).
Main Photo Credit: © Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images
