Smedley, Bob

You know what they say about umpires, “You can’t live with them, and you can’t play without them.” Bob Smedley, residing currently in Morehead, KY, was and is one of those umpires that players, coaches, and teams alike “love to hate”, but he did his job so well that even the worst umpire critics learned to respect him, and Bob Smedley has been rewarded accordingly.

He advanced from League ball in 1977 at Columbus, Georgia to working at such softball hotbeds as Owensboro, KY; Chattanooga, TN; Jacksonville, FL; and Salinas, KS. His 27 years as a slow pitch ump for ASA is a lifetime achievement, and he encores that with 16 years of service for the NCAA, 13 seasons as a youth umpire, and 8 in the KHSAA (Kentucky High School Athletic Association).

In order to move up the umpiring ranks in the softball world, Smedley had to prove he was one of the best in the country to be able to work at national events. His merit is substantiated by his 20 plus national appearances including two men’s slow pitch nationals in 2003 at the ASA and NSA sites; one men’s fastpitch ASA National in 2010; and over 20 national invites for youth fastpitch. He was fortunate enough to work the 2011 championship game for the 18A Youth and then at the USSSA Worlds from 2003 to 2006, he umped each championship game.

Add NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals from Division II colleges, ASA, NSA, and Pony Associations, Mr. Smedley’s umpiring resume becomes fuller than a hot dog eating champ, Joey Chestnut, on the Fourth of July.

That’s a lot of balls and strikes in a 40-year span, and it’s men like Mr. Smedley that we need more of in today’s softball arena.