Most controversial scandals in MLB history: #8. Umpire Dick Higham receives lifetime ban
The list of individuals that have been banned from baseball is a long one. From players to managers, the list simply goes on and on. Yet, when it comes to umpires, only one name is present on that list, Dick Higham.
To be fair to umpires, it is an incredibly difficult job. Although now, there are electronic balls and strikes, umpires are still expected to go out there every game and make the right call. Seemingly every game, a manager of a ball club will angrily stomp his way onto the field to argue a call, nothing out of the ordinary. However, in the case of Higham, things looked way too fishy.
Then manager of the Detroit Wolverines in William Thompson had a serious issue with the way Higham was calling games against his club. Believing something dubious was going on, Thompson enlisted the help of a private investigator. It wasn’t long until the fears of Thompson were found to be true as Higham was caught fraternizing on several occasions with a well known gambler. It was later revealed that Higham purposely gave the Wolverines the short end of the stick as he was fixing games. Needless to say, Higham was permanently shunned from the league.