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The Camera's 'Eye' Can Deceive You

July 16, 2018, 8:54 AM ET [10 Comments]
Paul Stewart
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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Every spring and summer, my grandfather Bill Stewart used to trade his NHL referee sweater for a Major League Baseball (specifically, National League) umpire's uniform. I'm very proud of the distinction he holds as the only person in the world to coach a Stanley Cup champion (the first American coach of a Stanley Cup champ), referee four Stanley Cup Final series, umpire four World Series and umpire four MLB All-Star Games, coach minor league baseball, scout for two different MLB teams, and serve as a general manager for the US national hockey team.

Through the benefit of decades of diverse experience, my grandfather gained a lot of wisdom about the importance of proper positioning, for players and for officials alike. He also learned something else: camera angles can lie, whether the deception is accidental or intentional.

Here is a modern-day video explanation of what Grampy often talked about -- and of why one of my mantras is "positioning sells calls" -- in why it is important for an official to take the optimal angle and be right on top of the play. Changing the angle can lead to deceptive visual information. In geometry, it's called a parallax view.



Seventy years ago, during the 1948 World Series, my grandfather was umpiring second base when Braves baserunner Phil Masi may or may not have reached the base ahead of a tag by Indians shortstop Lou Boudreau. Masi was called safe. Boudreau and pitcher Bob Feller argued vehemently but the call stood. The next batter, Tommy Holmes, singled home the winning run.

Newspaper photos of the play seemed to back up Cleveland's argument. Boudreau appears to tag Masi before the runner reached the base. However, to his dying day, my grandfather was unwavering in saying (both publicly and privately) that he was right on top of the play and had the definitive vantage point. He always insisted Masi was safe on a very close tag play and that the camera angle painted an optical illusion in the newspapers.

Was the umpire's "safe" call right or wrong on this particular play? We'll never know. I wasn't born yet. What I can testify from my own years of playing and then officiating that plays that appeared to be clear cut calls from angles off to the side could actually be the wrong call from a straight-on angle. Whenever such plays unfolded, I would think "Grampy was right, as usual."

Side note: Cleveland still went on to win the World Series that year, and has not won since. For years afterwards, Boudreau, Feller and my grandpa made some extra money together on the banquet circuit in and around Cleveland retelling the story and re-debating the call. My grandfather died in 1964 but Boudreau (1917-2001) and Feller (1918-2010) continued to enjoy reliving the 1948 WS, including the famous argument at second base after the safe call.

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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games. Today, Stewart is the director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
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