Ump Association Uniform Rules

[BJ Moose]

This is a post for information gathering. Please (so that the info may be gathered).. this is NOT a thread for "opinion". (You can always start your own thread). Thank you. End of preface.

If you are in (or better yet admin) of an UMP ASSOCIATION doing HS varsity or similar level baseball.. I would like to hear about your uniform rules. Specifically:

Is there an official uniform that MUST be worn (ex: navy pullover, heather gray, assoc hat).

Do you allow ANY of the variations: Lt. Blue, Red?

Has your association discussed the latest colors, Cream and Black? Bottom line.. I am interested in how many Associations specifically ALLOW umpires to work games in various uniform color schemes, and what is allowed.

NOTE AGAIN: I am not ASKING if you as an individual wore a RED shirt or a BLACK shirt doing a one man Senior LL game for a hotdog and soda.. or if you violated your Assoc uniform rules. I am very curious as to what Associations throughout the U.S. are actually implementing.

[SamNVa]

My association used navy blue pullover shirts with red/white trim, heather grey slacks, and navy or black association hats for baseball; light blue pullover shirts, heather grey slacks and association hats for softball. Last year, softball could use the light blue Elbeco button shirts if both umpires matched, not sure if that will be allowed this year; also not sure if new colors will be allowed next season.

[GarthB]

Moose:

We are required to be uniform in appearance:

H.S.: All umps must adhere to FED requirments regarding slacks. We wear navy mesh tops with association logo and a navy mock turtle underneath. Plain Navy hat. Shoes to have a minimum amount of white.

College: Pretty much the same as above except we wear a red mock turtle neck instead of navy. NCAA logo on hats prohibited starting this year.

Legion/Youth: Same as H.S. EXCEPT, beginning this year we will be allowed to wear light blue mesh shirts on hot afternoons provided both, or all, umps working the game have them. At tournament time we wear the red mock turtle necks instead of navy.

Above all, to repeat, we are required to be UNIFORM in appearance.

Garth

[Tim C]

FED:

Gray Slacks (mix and match - i.e. we do not demand a specific supplier)

Navy Blue Shirt w/Red and White stripe (again, any supplier therefore we often do not match EXACTLY).

Navy Hat: Logo "PBUA" must be worn.

Pullover: Is Navy ANY supplier so this runs wild.

Association allows two man (or 3 man) crews to decide at site if they want to wear non-standard uniform. It is fine as long as the umpires look similar.

Under no situation is a BU allowed to wear a Red Shirt. Red Shirt is a PU issue only.

College:

Hat must have a logo (NCUA).

We have no standard (other than black) for shoes.

There has been no discussion concerning going to the new MLB uniforms.

[Rog]

Association Uniform Requirements:

Professional image all assignments =

a) Navy Blue cap - fitted only/no lettering!
b) Cliff Keen U126 Navy Blue Pullover shirt -
w/embroidered "NYSBUA" logo
c) Red T-shirt/turtleneck
d) Heather Gray slacks
e) Black: belt/socks/shoes = min. white showing
f) Navy Blue/Gray/Black ballbag
g) Black pullover jacket - w/embroidered logo (* note)
*2001 Jacket changes to Navy Blue w/red & white trims

[chris s]

Here goes Moose.
FED Heather gray catalog pants, NO K-Mart/Mervyns specials. Navy blue pullovers,red-white trim w/ number on right sleeve. Navy FITTED new era hats with "PSM" logo.Minimal white on shoes and we just switched last season our pullover jacket trim color from the gray to the red/white(with number). Ball bags(preferably two) must be navy.(we had a guy 2 years ago wearing cowboy boots and a knitted ball bag behind the dish, ack!) As for red shirts or powder blue, acceptable if all umps look same.
PONY Pretty much the same, cept for hat. Must have PONY logo. For the tourneys, we have been using red mock turtle necks as undershirts.

[PeteBooth]

In NY we are required to wear the Heather Grey Pants, Cliff Klein Navy Blue Pollover Shirt with the NY State Emplem on it., Navy Blue undershit or Turtleneck and a Navy Blue Cap.
Certain associations (such as the Westchester Association) also require the BU to wear a Navy Cap with the associations LOGO on it.

Some of us still have the Black undershirts / Turtlenecks and we can wear them when doing the Plate since you can't see the undershirt anyhow when you have the equipment on.

In the cold weather we can also wear the Black Pullover Jacket with the NY State Emblem on the left pocket. There is talk about going to the Navy Coat this year but to my knowledge it has not yet been approved.

Also, it is an "unwritten rule" to make sure your shoes are shined PRIOR TO the start of every game.

As a side note: we can also wear our HS uniforms for summer / fall ball so that we do not have to carry a "zillion" different shirts with different patches.

Pete Booth

[rskinner]

In NH, our association requires heather gray pants and the navy DAZZLE shirt. If a jacket is worn, and it is in most games in NH during our April and May season, we have a navy jacket with red and white trim and our association patch embroidered on the chest. Hats are fitted with NH embroidered on front. No variations.
A navy undershirt is typical but if both members of the crew have red, that is OK.
The executive board has discussed the new pro umiforms but are not ready to make a change.
the NHBUA is contracted by the NHIAA to do all HS ball games. The summer is a different story. You will find most crews will look alike for a game but the next creww may be dressed differently.

[Phil Vivenzio]

I belong to the New Jersey Federation of Baseball Umpires. Our Dress code for Baseball is as follows:

Hat: Dark Blue with no lettering or numbers and fitted.
Shirt: Blue micro mesh no dazzle
Undershirt: Red
Pants: Heather Gray
Belt: Black
Ball Bag Heather Gray or Navy Blue
Sox: Dark Blue
Shoes: Shined and now can have some white but must be predominately black
You should be clean shaven and showered.

I hope that this is what you requested.

Regards
Phil

[PAblue87]

Penssylvania High School is very particular, however most of our umpires do not adhere strictly to them. These are the same guys that complain about not working the playoffs.

Shirt - Navy or Light Blue Pullover with PIAA patch on left sleeve. No other markings on shirt.
Undershirt - Navy or Grey
Jacket - Dark Blue pullover. All Navy, no red.
Pants - Heather Grey
Shoes - All Black, no white
Hats - Navy fitted, gold PIAA logo

College group works PA, WV, and MD
Shirt - Navy, Lt. Blue, or Lt. Blue with red, white & Blue trim. Numbers on Right sleeve.
Undershirt - Red, Navy or Grey
Jacket - Navy pullovere with red white trim, numbers on sleeve
Pants - heather grey
Shoes - Black with white trim(field) Plate shoes
Hats - Our assiciation, or the conference you are working. No more NCAA hats.

Hope this helps

[David Emerling]

Originally posted by BJ Moose

Is there an official uniform that MUST be worn (ex: navy pullover, heather gray, assoc hat).

Do you allow ANY of the variations: Lt. Blue, Red?

Has your association discussed the latest colors, Cream and Black? Bottom line.. I am interested in how many Associations specifically ALLOW umpires to work games in various uniform color schemes, and what is allowed.

NOTE AGAIN: I am not ASKING if you as an individual wore a RED shirt or a BLACK shirt doing a one man Senior LL game for a hotdog and soda.. or if you violated your Assoc uniform rules. I am very curious as to what Associations throughout the U.S. are actually implementing.

I primarily call games in a very active (and large) recreational community. Our association also provides more experienced umpires for the summer competitive leagues.

Every year we have organizational meetings and the issue of standards and acceptable uniforms always comes up.

Many of our umpires are teenagers who are just trying to earn some summer fun money. They are good kids ... many of them are conscientious and eager learners ... but they really are not dedicated to the extent that they are going to go out and purchase an array of high quality and expensive umpire uniforms and equipment.

That being said, we have finally settled on a very pragmatic solution to the annual uniform problem.

We allow our umpires to wear any one of about FOUR acceptable umpire combinations. They constraint is as follows:

1. The pants, in every circumstance must be heather gray.

2. The shirt must be an UMPIRE's shirt. Not a shirt from your closet that comes very close to looking like an umpire's shirt. Essentially, you must buy it out of an umpire's catalog or go to your local sporting good store and buy an umpire's shirt.

3. The hat must be logo-less and be an umpire's hat ... not just a blue hat from your closet. Again, it must be purchased from a catalog or from a sporting good store that sells umpire equipment and uniforms.

The net result is that we basically look pretty sharp! I don't think it is necessarily unprofessional to have the BU in the dark-blue pullover while the PU is wearing the light-blue pullover. Even if one of them were wearing RED ... big deal! Teams accept this and don't generally interpret it as non-standard or unprofessional. They have come to realize that the acceptable umpiring uniforms have evolved and expanded over the years. All you have to do is watch MLB games and see that.

The key, in my opinion, is to stay away from homemade and make-shift uniforms. That's unprofessional!