{{short description|American baseball umpire (1878–1958)}} {{Infobox person |name = Ollie Chill |image = Ollie Chill.jpg |caption = |birth_name = Oliver Perry Chill |birth_date = {{Birth date|1878|8|2}} |birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |death_date = {{Death date and age|1958|5|5|1878|8|2}} |death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. |body_discovered = |death_cause = |resting_place = |resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} --> |nationality = |citizenship = |other_names = |known_for = |education = |alma_mater = |employer = American League |occupation = Umpire |years_active = 1914-1916, 1920-1922 |height = |title = |term = |predecessor = |successor = |party = |opponents = |boards = |spouse = |partner = |children = |parents = |relations = |callsign = |signature = |website = |footnotes = }} '''Oliver Perry Chill''' (August 2, 1878 – May 5, 1958) was an American Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1914 to 1916 and from 1919 to 1922. Chill umpired in the 1921 World Series. In his career, he umpired 1,028 Major League games.<ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/C/Pchilo901.htm Retrosheet]</ref> Off the field, Chill was involved in a 1923 fight that led to the shooting death of one man. Though Chill was acquitted of the man's murder and a shooter came forward, he was removed from the American League umpiring staff.

==Umpiring career== On May 15, 1914, Chill was attacked after a game at the Polo Grounds by New York Yankees fans who were upset by calls that Chill had made that game.<ref name=Attacked>{{cite news|title=FRENZIED YANKEE FANS MOB UMPIRE; Chill Menaced by Crowd as He Leaves Field, but Police Disperse Them.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/05/16/archives/frenzied-yankee-fans-mob-umpire-chill-menaced-by-crowd-as-he-leaves.html|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 May 1914}}</ref> Chill was eventually ushered to the umpires' room by police.<ref name="Attacked"/>

In January 1923, Chill was one of several men questioned in the death of Edward J. McGregor, a man found shot in his apartment in Cleveland after a drunken party.<ref name="Spokane">{{cite news|title=Drunken Brawl Ends Tragically|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hMhXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZPQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4983%2C2242988|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=15 January 1923}}</ref> When police broke into the apartment after reports of a shooting, they found Chill under a bed, with the other men each in separate rooms.<ref name="Spokane"/> He was acquitted of the murder later that month, when another man admitted to shooting McGregor after attempting to intervene in a fight between McGregor and Chill only for McGregor to fire twice at him.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chill Cleared of Slaying|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/01/16/archives/chill-cleared-of-slaying-veteran-umpire-is-freed-when-man-confesses.html|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 January 1923}}</ref> Nevertheless, Chill was dismissed from the American League by league president Ban Johnson following the incident.<ref name="Telegraph-Herald"/>

In 1926, Chill was dismissed as an umpire from the American Association for registering at a Kansas City hotel where he had been given specific orders not to stay.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hickey Discusses Ollie Chill's Dismissal|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_mVXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g0QNAAAAIBAJ&dq=ollie%20chill%20umpire&pg=3221%2C3017568|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=The Toledo News-Bee|date=26 July 1926}}</ref> In 1927, Chill filed suit against the league for $200,000 in damages, claiming he had been slandered.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chill Demands Slander Balm|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O2NQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PA8EAAAAIBAJ&dq=ollie%20chill%20umpire&pg=3135%2C2737769|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=The Milwaukee Sentinel|date= 5 January 1927}}</ref> Chill dropped the suit in November of that year after an out-of-court settlement.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ball Suit Settled|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fn0uAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AYwFAAAAIBAJ&dq=ollie%20chill%20umpire&pg=6300%2C3845827|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=The Montreal Gazette|date=24 November 1927}}</ref>

==Personal life== Prior to his umpiring career, Chill boxed under the name "Jack Ryan."<ref name=Telegraph-Herald>{{cite news|title=Chill Through As Big League Umpire|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kxtIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=j80MAAAAIBAJ&dq=ollie%20chill%20umpire&pg=6120%2C74531|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph-Herald|date=15 January 1923}}</ref> He also ran a wholesale fish house specializing in Florida stone crab in Pass-a-Grille, Florida.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chill To Fight Stonecrab Law|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k28LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5VMDAAAAIBAJ&dq=ollie%20chill%20umpire&pg=4860%2C213288|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=The Evening Independent|date=22 August 1917}}</ref>

In 1933, Chill was named as one of Minnesota's official boxing referees after retiring from umpiring in baseball's International League the year before.<ref>{{cite news|title=Umpire Ollie Chill Now Boxing Referee|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p80xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ceIFAAAAIBAJ&dq=ollie%20chill%20umpire&pg=3871%2C2405030|accessdate=7 June 2012|newspaper=Reading Eagle|date=15 April 1933}}</ref>

== See also == {{Portal|Baseball}} * List of Major League Baseball umpires (disambiguation)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{Boxrec|id=758637}} * [http://retrosheet.org/TSNUmpireCards/Chill-Oliver.jpg The Sporting News Umpire Card]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chill, Ollie}} Category:1878 births Category:1958 deaths Category:Major League Baseball umpires Category:Baseball people from California Category:Sportspeople from Indianapolis