Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — Former umpire Steve Palermo has died at age 67, the MLB announced Sunday.
Palermo lived in the Kansas City area and had been ill with cancer. He joined the American League staff in 1977, a year after he broke into the majors. He worked the 1983 World Series, an All-Star Game and several playoffs.
“Steve Palermo was a great umpire, a gifted communicator and a widely respected baseball official, known in our sport for his leadership and courage,” MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement. “He had an exceptional impact on both his fellow Major League umpires and baseball fans, who benefited from his ability to explain the rules of our game.”
But Palermo’s career was cut short. In 1991, he was having a meal at a Dallas restaurant when two waitresses who had just left were mugged. Palermo chased the attackers and was shot.
The injury left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Palermo was told he would never walk again. But after an period of rehabilitation, he made it back to the mound for the 1991 World Series opener at the Metrodome — and threw the first ball.
He later became special assistant to the chairman of the MLB Executive Council. In 2000, he became an umpire supervisor for the league, serving as a liaison between umpires and the Office of the Commissioner, according to MLB.
The Kansas City Royals honored Palermo’s memory in a tweet.
Our thoughts and prayers are with our friend and former MLB umpire, Steve Palermo, who passed away at the age of 67 today. pic.twitter.com/V17kyUvjl8
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2017
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio.