Bill Welke
{{short description|American baseball umpire (born 1967)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| number = 3
| name = Bill Welke
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|8|22}}
| birth_place = Coldwater, Michigan, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| image = Bill Welke 2011.jpg
| width =
| caption = Welke in 2011
| debutleague = MLB
| debutyear = June 4, 1999
| highlights = Special Assignments
- All-Star Game (2003, 2016)
- Wild Card Game (2014, 2016, 2020)
- Division Series (2003, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2020)
- League Championship Series (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019)
- World Series (2015)
| hofdate =
| hofvote =
| hofmethod =
| finalyear = August 21, 2022
}}
William Anthony Welke (born August 22, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball umpire. He joined the major league staff in 1999 and worked the World Series in 2015. Welke was promoted to crew chief for the 2022 season, and retired following that season.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-29 |title=Sources: 10 MLB umps retiring, most since '99 |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35341465/sources-10-mlb-umps-retiring-most-99 |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}
Biography
File:Jacob Stallings vs. Josh Bell (52032941126).jpg]]
Welke is the brother of fellow umpire Tim Welke, and is an alumnus of Western Michigan University.{{cite web |title=Bill Welke – 52 |url=http://www.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/umpires/bio.jsp?id=2967 |access-date=2011-08-29 |work=MLB.com |publisher=Major League Baseball}} He graduated from Western Michigan University in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.{{cite web|url= https://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2010/01/052.shtml|title= WMU News
|publisher=WMU|access-date= June 22, 2014}}
Welke previously worked in the Appalachian League (1991), the Midwest League (1992), the Florida State League (1993–1994), the Southern League (1995), the Eastern League (1996), and the International League (1997–1998).
He was an American League umpire in his MLB rookie season in 1999, one year prior to the certification of the World Umpires Association which unified the crews of both major leagues.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-24-sp-59195-story.html "More Than a Third of Umpires Staying," The Associated Press (AP), Saturday, July 24, 1999.] Retrieved October 5, 2022. He has worked the Division Series in 2003, 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2020. He also worked the League Championship Series in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019 as well as the 2015 World Series. He was a part of the crew that worked in the 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.{{cite web |title=Bill Welke |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/W/Pwelkb901.htm |work=Retrosheet.org |publisher=Retrosheet |access-date=2011-08-29}} Bill was named a Crew Chief for the 2022 MLB season.
See also
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/umpires/bio.jsp?id=2967 Major league profile]
- [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/W/Pwelkb901.htm Retrosheet]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welke, Bill}}
Category:American League umpires
Category:People from Coldwater, Michigan
Category:Western Michigan University alumni
Category:Major League Baseball umpires
Category:Sportspeople from Michigan
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