Bruce Neal Froemming (; born September 28, 1939) is Major League Baseball Special Assistant to the Vice President on Umpiring, after having served as an umpire in Major League Baseball. He first umpired in the National League in 1971, and from 2000 to 2007 worked throughout both major leagues. Early in the 2007 season, Froemming tied Bill Klem for the most seasons umpired (Klem's final season, 1941, included only 11 games as a substitute). Previously, on August 16, 2006, Froemming umpired his 5,000th game between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, making him the second umpire to reach that milestone; Klem retired after 5,374 games. Froemming now stands third on the all-time list of games umpired, having been passed when Joe West officiated his 5,164th Major League Baseball game on August 14, 2019. On April 20, 2007, he umpired at first base in the Cleveland Indians-Tampa Bay Devil Rays game, passing Klem to become – at age 67 years 204 days – the man then believed to be the oldest umpire in major league history; Hank O'Day holds the record, retiring at 68 years, 2 months. He worked his final regular-season game at age 68 years 2 days on September 30, 2007, when Froemming received a standing ovation before umpiring his last regular-season game, manning the third base position as the Milwaukee Brewers hosted the San Diego Padres at Miller Park in his native Milwaukee, with much of his family in attendance. Because Froemming was then over age 65, he became eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 instead of having to wait the customary five years. Career After a brief semi-pro playing career, Froemming became the youngest umpire in professional baseball in 1958 at age 18, working his way up through the minor leagues to the Pacific Coast League before joining the NL staff in April 1971. While in the minor leagues, his work had caught the attention of skilled observers such as Hall of Famer Jocko Conlan. Froemming became one of the NL's six crew chiefs in 1988. He also refereed high school basketball games, and was recommended for the NBA by Al McGuire, but declined the opportunity when NL umpire Al Barlick helped him in his advancement to the major leagues. In Froemming's first season, he was on Barlick's crew. In Barlick's first season, 1941, he worked three games