Umpire Lee Weyer Dies at 51

National League umpire Lee Weyer died of a massive heart attack in a suburb of San Francisco Monday night, the league announced today. Weyer, 51, who lived in Hollywood, was visiting the home of fellow umpire Ed Montague after working Monday’s game between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs. “He was playing basketball with Montague’s children when he complained of shortness of breath. He went inside to make a telephone call and Montague found him on the bedroom floor,” said Hugh Swaney of the San Mateo County coroner’s office.

Weyer, a veteran of 26 years in the National League, was the first-base umpire in Monday’s game. He umpired games in which two of baseball’s most celebrated records were broken. In 1974, he was the third-base umpire when Hank Aaron hit his 715th homer to pass Babe Ruth and was behind the plate in 1985 when Pete Rose singled for his 4,192nd hit, breaking Ty Cobb’s record. Weyer umpired in four All-Star Games, five League Championship Series and four World Series.