Life After The Call
In the immediate aftermath of the 1985 World Series debacle, Denkinger received many hateful letters (including death threats) from Cardinals fans. Two St. Louis disc jockeys went so far as to reveal Denkinger's telephone number and home address. Denkinger claimed that the letters continued on through 1987 (before Denkinger got into contact with Major League Baseball Security, who in turn contacted the FBI), when the Cardinals were ramping up for another World Series appearance (this time against the Minnesota Twins). The breaking point for Denkinger was when he received a particularly menacing letter (with no return address) in which the writer tells that if he sees Denkinger in person, he would "blow him away" with a .357 Magnum.
Ironically, the strongest part of his career likely followed the 1985 events; two years later, he was behind the plate for the All-Star Game, and he was again named crew chief for the 1988 ALCS, 1991 World Series, and 1992 ALCS. He is one of only four umpires to have been selected as crew chief for the ALCS three times.
More than 20 years after the fateful events in Kansas City in October 1985, Denkinger has regularly appeared at sports memorabilia shows (including ones in St. Louis) willing to autograph photos depicting "The Call." Denkinger even owns a painting featuring himself, Todd Worrell, and Jorge Orta involved in the play, claiming that he keeps it to remind himself that no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. In September 2005, he was a guest speaker at a 20th anniversary dinner celebrating the Cardinals' 1985 team, benefiting the Whitey Herzog Youth Foundation.
Read more about this topic: Don Denkinger
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