By Stephen Copeland
Tony Maners has attained his goals. He just took an unconventional route.
After graduating from Danville High School in 1970, Maners, 57, only played one year of college baseball due to eligibility issues at Olivet Nazarene College.
“For a young kid, being the determined guy that I was, that was really the first time I had missed out on a goal I had set for myself,” Maners said.
To stay involved in baseball he began sports broadcasting and umpiring church softball and Little League baseball. He made umpiring his dream.
Though his college playing days were unsuccessful, his success as an umpire is top-of-the-line. This year, Maners was selected to umpire the NCAA Men’s College World Series for the fourth time.
“I’ve been on the field now for my 39th year,” Maners said. “I’ve enjoyed watching every ball game and I have the best seat in the house.”
Maners umpires for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He was named the best umpire in one conference and second in another, thus earning him one of 96 spots on the Regional umpire roster. He was then placed in the top 32 for Super Regional play, and was selected in the top eight for the championship games in Omaha, Neb.
“[As a kid], Tony wanted to play major league baseball,” said Danville graduate and General Manager of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network Wally Leavitt. “That was his lifelong dream. When you are a little kid, you never think someone will make a profession out of athletics. He made it is his passion, made it his dream, and made it come true.”
Following his college graduation, Maners attended two umpiring schools in Florida with hopes of entering Minor League Baseball. He spent two years in Single-A baseball, two years in Double-A, and in 1981, he entered Triple-A.
In Florida, he ran the Orlando Magic’s 24-second shot clock for 17 years, worked in game operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars for four years, and worked behind-the-scenes for the Daytona 500.
Maners earned some publicity in 1981 when he umpired a 33-inning game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings, the longest game in professional baseball history.
He also accomplished his high school dream while umpiring in the minors.
“In high school we came within one game of playing at Bush Stadium [for the state championship final four],” Maners said. “I did fulfill this dream.”
In 1988, Maners went to the Indianapolis Indians’ conference, the American Association, and umpired several games at Bush.
While working in the minors, he was chosen to umpire four all-star games and 14 playoffs.
After spending 12 years in professional baseball, Maners developed a fixated desire to one day umpire in Major League Baseball. To reach that goal, his next step would have been to join the Minor League Supervisors staff. The director, however, passed away and the new director hired another applicant over Maners.
According to Maners, one percent of everyone that attends umpire school makes the majors. Maners felt he would’ve had a better chance of making it under the previous director.
The setback made him return to his roots and depend on his faith.
“After college I got sidetracked,” Maners said. “I started living a life that wasn’t pleasant. That’s like playing Russian roulette. The next heartbeat you could be done and lost forever.”
In 1998, a pastor showed up at his Orlando home and Maners decided he needed to get out of his spiritual rut.
“The whole idea in [my] mind was getting to the big leagues,” Maners said. “I put that ahead of God. I think that’s why He shut the door to the majors. If I would have got there I don’t know if I would have changed.”
Maners still had the “umpiring bug” and in 1989, he began umpiring college baseball. He umpired the NCAA Div. II national championships from 1989-91, the NCAA Div. I College World Series in 2000, 2003, and 2006, and continues to umpire professional baseball in the Frontier League. Last weekend, he began umpiring his fourth College World Series.
“Once I sit down and realize what has happened to me, I realize that I have been very blessed,” Maners said. “I have been calling people safe and out for 39 years. I’m glad that I am living a life that when I meet God, the great umpire, I’m going to be called safe at home on my final play.”
For Maners, missing out on his major league goal led to a major life change.
“That was the humbling factor that caused him to realize his priorities were out of line,” said Darryl Bogatay, the senior pastor at Avon Parkside Church of the Nazarene. “When he put God first, he had the peace that he would be okay no matter where his career went.”
Perhaps he achieved his goal after all.
“Tony Maners is a guy that is in the majors,” said Bogatay. “He is in the big leagues when it comes to representing Christ and serving others.”
