Laurence Henry "Dutch" Rennert, Jr. is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1973 to 1992. He was considered one of the game's most colorful characters, best known for his animated and loud strike calls; similar to the NFL's colorful referee Red Cashion. A 1983 New York Times poll resulted in his selection as the NL's best umpire. He wore uniform number 16 throughout his career. Reaching the major leagues after umpiring in the Pacific Coast League from 1965 to 1973, Rennert umpired in six National League Championship Series, two All-Star Games, and three World Series; he was behind the plate when the Oakland Athletics clinched the 1989 World Series title. He was also the home plate umpire on August 3, 1989 when the Cincinnati Reds set a major league record with 16 hits in the first inning of an 18-2 home victory over the Houston Astros, and the first base umpire that ejected Cincinnati manager Lou Piniella in August 1990, causing Piniella to pull the first base bag from its mooring and fling it into right field twice. After retiring, he headed a group of instructors which held baseball clinics in Paris and Munich in January 1993. [More at Wikipedia]

June 12th, 1934 in Oshkosh  /  Died:   Jun 17th, 2018