The Earl of Baltimore

Earl Weaver exchaning pleasantries with umpire Ron Luciano

Earl Weaver, the pugnacious Hall of Fame manager and bane of every umpire in the American League for 17 seasons, wins the 1,000th game of his career 45 years ago today as the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 at Baltimore's venerable Memorial Stadium.

Weaver wins 1,480 games before retiring after the 1986 season.

His retirement brings countless cheers from every umpire in the game.

“The problem with Earl is that he holds a grudge,” umpire Ron Luciano tells Sports Illustrated in 1982. “Other managers, if they disagree with a call, may holler and shout, but you can still go out for a beer with them after the game. Not Earl. He never forgets.

“Heck,” Luciano says, “he even holds your minor league record against you. Once, a couple of years ago, I made a controversial call at the plate. Earl charged out of the dugout, screaming that that was the same call I’d blown at Elmira in ’66.”