Don't Kill The Ump: Ed Chappell Makes A Difference From Behind The Batter's Box

Cinnaminson, NJ -- Who was the umpire at your kid’s last baseball game? Most people might not be able to answer that question, but if you live in the Cinnaminson area, the name might just roll off your tongue

“This is World Series baseball,” umpire Ed Chappell told a pair of youth baseball teams from Cinnaminson and Cherry Hill before their game at Cinnaminson Memorial Park Tuesday night. “Let’s have fun.”

He then directed his attention to the first batter, asked him his name, gave him a fist bump and told him to have some fun tonight. This is not unusual.

When this reporter first approached Chappell, or “Umpire Ed,” before the game, the first thing he did was introduce me to his friend Mike, the Cinnaminson catcher.

“No one plays the game with more excitement and enthusiasm,” Chappell said as the kid standing next to him smiled from ear to ear.

This was immediately followed by another player on the same team telling him, “You’re my favorite umpire!”
“He teaches them the game,” said Mike Kulyk, a coach with the Cinnaminson Pirates. “When he calls a strike, he says ‘high’ or ‘inside’ so the kids know how to adjust. He’s more of an educator than an umpire, and he’s so fair.”

He goes out of his way to be fair. Every time a batter makes contact, Chappell will jump up and run out into the field so he can get a clear view of what’s happening. He’s not shy about getting the best view to make the best call, nor is he shy about making sure that call is heard.

“If you sit back there and you don’t move, you’re going to miss something,” Chappell said. “You’re cheating someone. [Umpires] get paid to be here; apply yourself a little bit.”

At 56 years old, Chappell has been an umpire for eight years. Before that, he was at a real crossroads in his life.

Chappell was 46 years old when he got divorced, which sent him spiraling into depression. He filled the emotional void with alcohol, which ultimately led to him getting three DUIs in 90 days. He spent nine months in prison and lost his license for 10 years.

“Everyone faces adversity,” Chappell said. “It’s about how you handle it. I had a choice, and I chose to handle my divorce the wrong way. I was a boy.”

But adversity can also set one down the path of redemption, and to a life calling they may never have known existed.

Before his license was suspended, Chappell was a driver for a grocery store in South Philly. Without being able to drive for 10 years, he was forced to follow a new career path. It’s when he became an umpire.

He was able to ride his bicycle to local games, collect an honest paycheck. It’s also when he truly discovered how much he loves children.

“I can’t hang a picture. I can’t fix anything. I’m good with kids,” Chappell said. “Maybe this is what I’m meant to do.”

During the game, Chappell stopped an at-bat to help the batter tie his shoes.

During one softball game, a catcher who caught her first pop-fly, and she couldn’t wait to tell Chappell. But he wasn’t doing her game, so when he arrived to do the following game, her brother ran up and told him. She was just as excited to relive the moment when he showed up.

He’s had players buy him presents for Father’s Day and his birthday.

And when he was a soccer coach, his influence made an impact on one girl so much that her confidence carried over into her life off the field.

“She was more confident and she felt better in her clothes,” Chappell said.

He never hides anything.

“It was the middle of the winter and one kid saw me riding my bike to a basketball game,” Chappell said. “He asked me why and I told him, ‘I made a mistake. I lost my license, and now I have to ride my bike everywhere.’ And it stuck with him. His mother told me that before he does something, he asks his mother, ‘Will I lose my license if I do this?’”

His own children are also heavily influenced by their father. His son wrote a college application essay, in which he explained how his father’s DUIs inspired him to keep his grades up and make the best out of his life.

“Most kids at the age of 12 would say their role models are someone who had positive achievements such as Michael Jordan or Albert Einstein,” Eddie Chappell, now 22, wrote. “I never said it to anyone at the time, but at 12 years old, my role model was my alcoholic father who was currently in prison for DUIs.”

His son is now in his senior year as an engineering major at Rutgers University.

Eddie, and Chappell’s daughters, 26-year-old Jackie and 19-year-old Leigh Anne, are close with their father, who made sure he was at all their after school events, even though it meant riding his bike or walking there.

"A lot of parents can't make it to track meets, but I was at every single one," Chappell said. " ... I never missed anything."

Though embarrassed by his plight initially, they are proud of him and were happy to be able to help him once they got their licenses.

“I fell through the cracks and they helped me get back up,” Ed Chappell said.

His girlfriend of two years, Rose Winering, is now happy to drive him anywhere he needs, whether it’s Cinnaminson, his hometown Delran or even Shamong.

“I love going everywhere with him,” Rose Winering said. “He’s even better with the girls. They really respond to him.”

They also learned the value of working hard to accomplish their goals. They watched their dad pump gas in the days after his license was suspended to get to the point he is at now.

Chappell is scheduled to get his license back in January, and he has learned a lot from his experience. He now values the little things about life.

At the end of Tuesday night’s game, a 6-5 win for Cinnaminson with the winning run coming in the final inning, Chappell knew who should get the game ball.

He went up to the smallest kid on the Cherry Hill squad and handed the ball to him. The boy smiled as though he just hit the game-winning run in Game 7 of the World Series.

And Chappell returned the smile, just as big.

In the attached image, Ed Chappell watches as two girls play basketball. The image was provided by Rose Winering.