Marseilles umpire David Elliott retires after 25 years of service

Longtime sports announcer Red Barber once said, “Whenever an umpire is in a tight situation and there’s a close pitch, he’s going to get a squawk no matter how he calls it.”

While that might be the case, there is no squawk about how much David Elliott has meant to not only the Marseilles community but also the Illinois Valley as an umpire over the past 25 years.

Recently Elliott called his final game back where it all started.

“I started umpiring Little League baseball in Marseilles because, well to be honest, they couldn’t get anybody to do it,” Elliott said. “Then later I also started umping softball.

“I had a chance to do some more games this year in Seneca, but I turned them down because I wanted my last game to be here in Marseilles.”

After a few seasons at just the youth level, Elliott received some good advice from an old friend.

“A very good friend of mine, who has since sadly passed away, Jack Thompson, who was the softball coach at Marquette for many years, said to me one day that I needed to also start umpiring at the high school level,” said Elliott, who says he would umpire 100 or more games a year. “He assured me I was good enough to do it, so I did.

“From there I had a go-to person in Homer Daniels for softball and in baseball it was Jim Knauf. There is no way to remember every possible rule or situation, but those two were always a call away to give me answers to question or explanations. I can never thank them both enough.”

The life of an umpire can have its ups and downs. Every call is met with half cheers and half groans from the stands. But for Elliott the interactions with players and coaches are what made it a job that kept him coming back.

“There was nothing better than showing up to a game and having one of the kids run up to me and say, ‘You’re my favorite umpire’ or a coach say, “Oh, I’m glad we’ve got you today,’ Elliott said. “It made me feel like I was doing something right.

“I’ve always tried to help the kids along the way, as in if I saw them having trouble with something in the game I’d give them my advice. Not so much at the high school level, but the at the youth level these kids are still learning, so while I’m not the coach, I feel like if I can give a tip of two here and there that’s what I should do.”

Elloitt said stepping away from umpiring was a tough decision, but he has plans to help fill the void.

“I used to look forward to the days I had to umpire a game, but my knees aren’t as strong as they used to be I just found myself not looking forward to it as I once did,” he said. “I knew then it was time to stop.

“I’ve enjoyed every single second that I’ve had the chance to umpire, and I’ve always put 100% into it. But I have grandkids that love to golf, and I’ve missed way too many opportunities to do that with them. I’m not missing those anymore.”