[greymule]

Peter's correct that in that era, umps didn't call that "step-across-the-plate" interference. As a player, I assumed that if you could make it look like the legitimate follow-through after a swing, you were OK. When I started umping, I was surprised to learn that it was illegal.

I also played NCAA in the late sixties, for a fine coach who later took U of Maine to the college World Series a few times. He was quite knowledgeable about NCAA rules, and in fact helped to write them. I can't imagine him instructing us to break rules on the assumption that the umpires wouldn't enforce them. In fact, he taught the opposite, as he was more afraid that we'd do something legal that umps would rule illegal. I remember, during practice on handling pickoffs, squeeze plays, delayed steals, etc., our coach warned, "Never trust an ump."

Back then a short-lived rule was instituted such that a certain violation during the stretch motion resulted not in a balk but in a ball being called on the batter. One of our pitchers asked whether, to deliver an intentional walk, he should just commit that violation four times and not risk throwing a pitch away. The coach advised against it, since the umpire might call a balk anyway. Once, however, that pitcher did try to be clever and deliver an intentional walk by that method, but he didn't commit the violation "correctly" and was in fact balking. So he kept stepping off and starting over. The umps ignored it (and the other team said nothing). Then he tried to be obvious about it, to the point that the BU asked the shortstop (me), "What's he doing?" I replied that he was trying to get a ball called under rule such-and-such, problem was, he was actually balking. So the ump watched carefully and after the pitcher's next attempt said, "Yeah. You're right. That is a balk." The pitcher eventually gave up and threw four outside pitches.