Looks Young, Umpires Like a Vet : Official Honored by College World Series 2nd Time in Row

When the men in blue take the field to umpire the College World Series later this month don’t be surprised if one of the officials doesn’t look much older than the players.

At 32, Jim Garman of San Pedro may be one of the youngest umpires ever to work the College World Series, but he’s already a veteran of 10 years as a professional. And his standing is such that for the second straight season he is one of six officials selected from around the country to work the NCAA championship. The umps are selected from 18 finalists recommended by college coaches.

Compared to most of his peers, Garman is so young that one of his dreams--officiating baseball in the Olympics--will have to wait four more years. Like the office of President, umpiring in the Olympics has an age requirement of 35. He’d like to work in Barcelona in 1992.

“I’ll keep at it for a long time,” he said last week. “The (college) season’s short. I did some international games in ’86. I’d like to stay in that to get in line for Spain.” Meanwhile, Garman isn’t worried about the limelight. He worked a municipal softball game later that evening.

Area coaches say Garman’s youthful demeanor isn’t a factor when he’s officiating. “He’s an outstanding umpire. He’s always in position. He’s in control. He’s businesslike, but you can talk to him. He’s not up-tight,” Loyola Marymount Coach Dave Snow said. “He’s got a lot of confidence. When you know Jim’s working your game, it gives you confidence you’ll get a good day’s work. He certainly deserves to work in Omaha. I think he’ll be a very good representative of umpiring in our area.”

Garman will be working in Omaha with Dale Williams of Signal Hill, a 30-year veteran who will be doing his fifth NCAA championship. A football official as well, Williams has also officiated a Super Bowl. He’s in charge of high school and college officials in Southern California. “We have had a couple guys in their early 30s” umpire the College World Series, Williams said. “But it is relatively young to be selected.” But Williams said Garman’s youth is not a detriment. “He’s a very good umpire. He does a good job,” Williams said.

Garman has been umpiring since he was a teen-ager in San Diego, starting with his father’s church league and moving on to Little League and Pony League.

Garman continued to umpire while attending and playing sports at Cal Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks. At his supervisor’s suggestion, he attended an umpiring school between semesters. He finished fifth in his class and was offered a professional contract.

“Guess there’s something to be said for good ol’ church leagues,” he said with a grin.

After his training at Bill Kinnamon’s umpiring school in the San Fernando Valley, Garman found himself working minor league games at age 22.

From rookie leagues in the Northwest he was promoted to the California League, then to the Texas League. He was also teaching school. “I was lucky. I had a principal who was a fan, so he let me umpire,” Garman explained.

The majors may have been in the future, but along the way Garman made a decision: Full-time umpiring is not a great life, even for those few who make the big leagues. He retired from the professional ranks in 1981 and took a personnel job at Sea World. “Umpires I knew said, ‘Take another job.’ It’s a tough life, especially if you’re a family man.”

So Garman turned to collegiate umpiring as a sideline, working the Western Athletic Conference and other leagues around San Diego.

Four years ago Garman was hired as a placement manager by TRW, so he and wife Maureen moved to San Pedro. And he got a look at big-time college baseball--the Pac-6, Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. and West Coast Athletic Conference. He liked it, and they appear to like him. Last year Garman umpired the Division II regionals at Cal State Dominguez Hills, then the Division I regionals in Texas and the World Series in Omaha.

Along with the honor of working the World Series, Garman said it’s actually easier to work games at that level. “They throw it and catch it where they’re supposed to,” he said. “The lower levels are harder to do.”

It’s not, however, a great boon to the bank account. While college basketball and football officials get well into three figures per ballgame, NCAA umpires get $55 for a regular-season game, $50 for playoff games and $60 for World Series games.

But they enjoy it. Williams said: “What makes the College World Series so different is the others--like the Super Bowl or Rose Bowl--are for one day. The College World Series goes at least 10. It’s a tremendous spectacle. Every day’s a big day. It’s exciting.”

Garman agrees. “I enjoy the games. I like other sports, too,” he said. And he isn’t really bothered by critical fans. Only a trained eye, he suggested, appreciates a good umpire: “It’s hard to be perfect. I like (working) the plate--there’s more action, more control. It’s more challenging. Coaches like (Dave) Snow or the scouts in the stands, they know if you’re doing a good job. It’s really kind of a black art.”

When an umpire is often most visible is when arguing with a coach. Garman said that after his pro experience, dealing with college coaches is easier--and he’s not afraid to toss a player or coach out of the game.

“It helps to have a pro background. . . . The pros really argue a lot (more),” he said. “The college coaches aren’t as bad. There are a couple who get on the umps the most. A good ump should shut that up, draw the line and then you go.”

It’s not that clear-cut at home, where Garman has a young daughter and another child on the way. His day job limits his umpiring to nights and weekends, and he uses up much of his vacation when he’s selected to work NCAA tournaments. But Garman makes the call: “An umpire’s wife or girlfriend has to be pretty understanding.”