Maurice Reynolds - Born 25 May 1941

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​Maurice “Maurie” Reynolds was considered by many to be a "players umpire" due to his innate understanding of how the game should be played. This rubbed off on the players and he received enormous respect from athletes at all levels. When less experienced umpires were questioned by managers as to why a call had been made; it was a common catchcry for the answer to be "because Reynolds said.” This was usually enough to have the manager accept the call and walk away.

Reynolds represented Western Australia as an umpire at Claxton Shield level on 13 occasions from 1973/1974 up to 1991/1992. He also umpired 161 ABL games and was the crew chief on all of those occasions. Again, his skill level and ability to manage games brought him the highest accolades during this time. Interstate teams enjoyed coming to play in WA as they always knew that they would get a "fair go" from Reynolds.

Due to Reynolds's well-honed umpiring ability, he was selected to represent Australia on four occasions: 1983/84, 1984/85, 1987/88 and 1988/89. These appointments were in Asia and also for international tournaments held in Australia.

After his 27 years of umpiring at the highest level, Reynolds retired in 1994. He had the respect of all on the diamond and was the greatest mentor to umpires in Western Australia. Our great game in WA is richer for his contributions.  

Below is a sample of some of Maurice's achievements:
  • Claxton Shield Representative: 1973-1978, 1980–1992
  • 161 ABL Games Umpired
  • International Umpire: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
  • Umpire of the Year: 1980/81, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1984/85, 1988/89, 1990/91

“Maurie Reynolds was a ‘baseball umpires’ umpire. He was the ultimate professional with a profound love of and respect for baseball in all its formats. Maurie had an easy-going approach to umpiring, always using large doses of common sense and fair play, interspersed with great rule knowledge. I was honoured to have been mentored by Maurie for several years. I was humbled to have been able to ‘grab the baton’ and take on his leadership and development role on his retirement.”
David Gripper