OREGON — The November "Those Were the Days " presentation at the Oregon Depot Museum will feature a 1972 Oregon High School graduate, Larry Young. The presentation will be held on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. This will be the third Saturday instead of the last Saturday and at 3 p.m. instead of 10 a.m.

Young umpired Major League Baseball games for 24 years and he is now entering his 16th year as a supervisor of umpires. His umpiring career started at the age of 13 on the sandlots of his hometown, Oregon. He then progressed to officiating in the Big Ten and the Alaskan League. He turned professional in 1978 and after a five-year stint in the minor leagues, he was promoted to the American League in 1985. When the two leagues combined in 1999, he was promoted again to crew chief, a position he held until an injury forced his retirement in 2007. During his MLB career he umpired two All Star games, six Division series, three league championships and the 1996 and 2003 World Series. Young became an umpire supervisor in 2008. He is an advisor to the World Baseball and Softball Confederation and is the umpire coordinator for the World Baseball Classic. He has conducted clinics for the US Marines, US Air Force, Wounded Warrior Umpire Academy and has instructed in Nicaragua, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Japan, South Africa, Panama, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, Australia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Canada, United States, Mexico, Korea, Italy, England, Cuba, Peru, China, India and Aruba.

Young is a proud recipient of the National Association of Sports Officials Gold Whistle award for community service presented in 2002. Larry was integral in helping establish the Village of Progress, a private not-for-profit corporation that was founded in 1969 to meet the training needs of adults with disabilities. Since 2011, he has served on the VOP board. Since the year 2000, Young co-hosts the annual John Herrmann Golf Outing which has raised over $200,000 for the Village of Progress Foundation. Young also established his own charitable organization, Larry Young and Friends Charities, Inc. He was named Volunteer of the Year by the Special Olympics of Illinois in 1994. He was also the recipient of the JC Penney Golden Rule Award for outstanding community volunteerism, and the Goodwill Abilities Center Distinguished Service Award.

Young has been married to fellow OHS classmate Joan Schmidt Young for 46 years. The couple have two daughters, Jessica and Darcy, and grandsons, Bo and Gus. Larry is a pancreatic cancer survivor and is an advocate for those fighting the disease. Young is a published author of a children’s book entitled “The Ump is a Grump” and proceeds from this book go to UmpsCare Charities. 

For more information about this program or other programs, please contact Roger Cain 815-757-9715, Chris Martin 815-742-8471 or Otto Dick 815-440-0639.