mark in 2007, and was also the oldest umpire in history at age 67 until Froemming surpassed that mark as well. Klem was widely respected for bringing dignity and professionalism to umpiring, as well as for his high skill and good judgment. Klem was also an innovative umpire: he was one of the first to wear a modern, somewhat pliable chest protector inside his shirt, a move which he successfully campaigned to have adopted throughout the NL, although Jocko Conlan and Beans Reardon used the outside protector. He was the first to straddle foul lines and stand to the catcher's side for better perspective. Finally, he was the last umpire to work the plate exclusively (traditionally the crew chief always worked the plate; today umpire crews rotate base/plate assignments). Personal life Klem's wife was named Marie. She often traveled with him to games that he worked. They had no children. Death and legacy Klem died on September 16, 1951, at age 77, at Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida. He died of a heart attack after suffering from heart problems for two to three years. He had been hospitalized for over a month when he died. About a week before his death, Klem seemed to know that his death was coming, commenting to his attorney, "This is my last game and I'm going to strike out this time." His wife was his only survivor. Klem and Tom Connolly were the first two umpires inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. They are also the only umpires to have worked in five different decades. In 1946 Klem and Connolly had also been named to the Honor Rolls of Baseball. In 1962, the Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America established the Bill Klem Award to honor outstanding NL umpires. See also List of Major League Baseball umpires Major League Baseball umpiring records References External links Career statistics and umpire information from The Baseball Cube, or Retrosheet Bill Klem at SABR (Baseball BioProject) The Deadball Era 1874 births 1951 deaths National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Rochester, New York Major League Baseball umpires