Nothing small about this assignment
Local ump nabs Little League’s ‘golden ticket’
The invitation came out of left field.
Bruce Hicks, 68, sat at his kitchen table last December, thumbing through a stack of mail, when he saw the packet from the Little League Baseball World Series.
The longtime Sugar Land resident was chosen as one of 16 volunteer umpires from around the world to officiate at the annual baseball tournament in South Williamsport, Pa.
“I started yelling and jumping up and down,” Hicks said of the unexpected invite. “It truly is the golden ticket for a Little League umpire.”
This week, Hicks will travel to the birthplace of Little League Baseball for the 10-day tournament — where 11- to 13-year-olds from across the globe will compete for the international title.
The application process is rigorous, requiring numerous recommendations and evaluations, and umpires are allowed to volunteer at the world series only once, making the invite, quite literally, a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. He had applied to go to the world series for a number of years but never was chosen. He said organizers typically call umpire candidates with a hint that they have been picked, but he never re-
ceived such a call, making the invitation even more surprising.
Hicks, a public relations executive, unwittingly stumbled into “umping” 22 years ago when his 8-year-old son’s team at the First Colony Little League needed an umpire.
“His coach said, ‘Oh by the way, you’re the team umpire, and there’s a clinic on Sunday,’ ” Hicks recalled. “I quickly learned how little I knew.”
His son — who will turn 30 during next week’s tournament — quit the sport a few years later, but Hicks never stopped. He became enamored with the game’s rules and developed a passion for what he calls the “greatest sport of all time.”
“The old saying is, ‘As an umpire you have the best seat in the house, but you have to stand,’ and that’s so true,” Hicks said.
He loves the purity and innocence of the younger players, the look of complete joy on their faces when they hit a grand slam or pitch a perfect game.
“I want the game to be about the kids; I don’t want the game to be about me,” Hicks said. “I want to be invisible.”
During the regular season, Hicks said, he will umpire around four games a week. During tournament season, however, he’ll call as many games as he can, prompting his wife to call herself a “baseball widow” because he is gone so often.
When he makes the 1,300-mile journey next week, Hicks will bring with him reminders of the support he has received from friends and family. His uniform will feature his son’s own umping number, 68.
He also will carry a memento from his late mentor, Robert Hatter, who was chosen to ump at the
“The old saying is, ‘As an umpire you have the best seat in the house, but you have to stand,’ and that’s so true.” Bruce Hicks
world series in 2006 but died of leukemia before the tournament began.
Hatter’s trading pin — a Little League tradition that features personalized designs for each umpire and team — will be in Hicks’ back pocket while he calls games.
His own personalized trading pin features the state of Texas, with a Texas longhorn dressed as an umpire, his hoof extended in an upward fist, presumably yelling “out.”
“You don’t get to the world series on your own,” Hicks said. “It’s a culmination of decades of hard work and support.”