Nestor Chylak
Hall of Famer Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | July 30, 1925 Bradford, MA |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 17, 1982 Dunmore, PA |
| Baseball Experience: | Major League |
| Position: | Umpire |
| Rank: | Technical Sergeant |
| Military Unit: | Company M, 424th Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division US Army |
| Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
Nestor L. Chylak, Jr., was born on May 11, 1922, in Olyphant,
Pennsylvania. He graduated from Olyphant High School and studied
engineering at Rutgers University - where he also played baseball -
before entering military service with the Army on December 3, 1942.
Chylak trained as a US Army Ranger at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, before
serving as a technical sergeant in the European Theater with the 424th
Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division. He almost lost his sight on
January 3, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge, when he was struck by
shrapnel from an exploding German shell. He was in the hospital for
eight weeks and doctors didn't know whether he would be able to see
until they removed his bandages ten days after the operation.
Chylak made a full recovery and returned to the front line. He received
the Silver Star and another wound before the war ended in Europe in May
1945.
Following his discharge, he attended St. Thomas University in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, to complete his engineering studies, and turned down the
opportunity to umpire a college game until he learned it paid $25. So
began a four-decade career in umpiring.
In 1947, he began his minor league career in the Class D PONY League. He
moved up to the Canadian-American League in 1949, the Eastern League in
1950, and the International League 1952. Chylak was 30 years old when he
made his major league debut as an American League umpire in 1954. In a
30-year career he umpired six All-Star games, three League Championship
Series and five World Series. "This must be the only job in America that
everybody knows how to do better than the guy who's doing it," he
quipped.
"Nestor is one of the ultra, ultra good umpires," said Johnny Pesky.
"And the players respond to him. He's a good hustler. He always seems to
be at the right place at the right time."
Following a mild stroke, Chylak retired as an active umpire after the
1978 season, and became the American League's assistant supervisor of
umpires.
"I umpired for 25 years and can honestly say I never called one wrong in
my heart," he once recalled. "The way I see it, an umpire must be
perfect on the first day of the season and then get better every day."
Nestor Chylak passed away at his home in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, on
February 17, 1982. He was 59 years old and is buried at Saints Cyril and
Methodius Catholic Cemetery in Peckville, Pennsylvania. He was inducted
in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
"Few have ever been more respected in his field," said Commissioner
Bowie Kuhn. "Everyone looked up to him, and I developed more respect
every time I saw him in a World Series or All-Star Game."
Date Added December 24, 2017
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