Baseball - Youth Baseball
Bob O’Regan, deceased, born in Pittsburgh, February 9, 1914, raised in Cincinnati. Joined the Army in 1942, achieving the rank of Major before leaving the service in 1947. Arrived in San Diego in 1957 to be General Manager of the San Diego Coliseum. Bob was a minor league Umpire, field manager and front office administrator. Employed by the U.S. Postal Service for fifteen years. Served on the Pacific Beach Town Council for twenty years. Major League Scout for the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets and the Minnesota Twins, until his passing in 1994.
Bob established the North Shores Umpire School, in 1958, located at Mission Bay Youth Fields, providing Umpires for the leagues at the Youth Fields (Little League, PONY and Colt), North Shores Little League and Clairemont Hilltoppers Little League. With few exceptions the Umpires were 14-17 years old. Bob trained more than one thousand Umpires before closing his school in 1983.
Bob taught what it meant to be an Umpire, how to manage a game and deal with coaches, professionally. Most importantly, Bob taught young Umpires
how to be men. To broaden the education and experience of young Umpires, he had Major League Baseball Umpires Doug Harvey, John McSherry and Emmett Ashford come and speak to and with them. This exposure left indelible impacts on the lives of many.
Among the alumni of North Shores Umpire School: Mike Winters current MLB Umpire and 2012 San Diego County Sports Officials Hall Of Fame Inductee, former American Association Umpire Tom Blackman, current NCAA Umpire Jim Garman, named the “Best College Umpire in America” by Referee Magazine, current college Umpire Darren Alcalay and Tom Ables, 2011 San Diego County Sports Officials Hall Of Fame Inductee.
Before Bob’s passing on March 7, 1994 and continuing to this day, Bob has been a strong, positive influence in the lives of many men.