Lindy Umpire Marks 50-Year Career

Jim Guise, a long-time Lindenhurst resident, finally put a punctuation mark on 50 years of umpiring, by umpiring the first inning of a recent St. Anthony's home game win against St. Dominic.

Guise umpired third base to make his 50 years official, but before the game began former St. Anthony’s Head Coach Rob Wilcox presented him with a plaque recognizing his achievements. He graciously accepted his award.

"It's an honor to be here, and to have been umpiring for as long as I have," said Guise, who .

He began umpiring in 1961 on the St. Francis Prep Varsity Baseball team. He umpired while in the Army from 1965-1967, and has gone on to umpire for CYO baseball, the Lindenhurst National Little League and independent leagues.

Guise is also the former president of the Western Suffolk Baseball Umpires Association.

"I'm fortunate to be alive today to be with my wife, Eileen, and my family, and be healthy enough to still be active with baseball," , referring to the fact he suffered a massive stroke 11 years ago, which could’ve put him out of commission for good. It’s also why he was only supposed to umpire one base for a single inning.

Currently, he’s an assigner for the Catholic High School Baseball League.

St. Anthony's defeated St. Dominic 3-2 at the May 12 game, with the winning run by Justin Whalley, who hit a two-out, walk-off single, allowing Ryan D'Alessandro to score in the eighth overtime inning.

Though St. Dominic came close to getting the winning run in OT with one of their players approaching second base. After hitting the ball flat St. Anthony's Catcher Mike D'Acunti picked it up and threw the runner out.

Wilcox, a  alumnus and teacher who's in his first year coaching the  team, was full of praise after the game, but still kept things in perspective: "We went out and played hard, but it's important for us to keep our cool and stay focused…We're starting to prove people wrong, and as long as we are in control, we'll come out on top."

However, a few days after the game, . No word as to the reason for his departure from the school, which cited the confidentiality of personnel matters. And Wilcox did not return calls seeking comment.

Assistant Coach John Phelan, 51, has been elevated to interim head coach and Mike Amendola bumped up from junior varsity assistant to varsity assistant.