When it comes to the game of softball in Macon County, Mr. E.B. Krantz has seen it all. In fact, he's seen nearly all of them from behind home plate. For over fifty years he's been calling balls and strikes for the local youth softball leagues, junior high and high school games, adult leagues, college games, and even the United States Marine Corps. This Saturday at 8:40 a.m., the Macon County Parks and Recreation Association, Inc. will conduct a well-deserved and long overdue dedication ceremony just prior to their annual Girls' Softball Jamboree at what was formerly known only as “the little field” behind Central Elementary School in Lafayette.

Mr. Krantz, affectionately known to hundreds of past and present ballplayers, coaches, and fans only as “E.B.”, was born in 1935. For those of you who can “do the math”, that will answer the first question on many fans lips when they see E.B. stroll onto the infield this year to yell, “Play Ball” once again. He's been married to Mrs. Alta Davis Krantz for forty-nine years now, and their children are Teresa, Sheila, Denise, and Eric. Forty-nine years as an umpire's wife would require the patience of Job. E.B. has been blessed to see his great grandchildren play the game that he's labored in for so long. Mr. Krantz taught in the Macon County School system for forty-two years, and still teaches as a substitute today.

E.B. Krantz began umpiring softball games while Harry S. Truman was still President of the United States, of which there were still only forty-eight; back before Elvis wore blue suede shoes, or Edsels rolled off of the Detroit assembly lines. During the Korean War era, Private 1st Class E.B. Krantz was called upon by his fellow Marines, during a break in their duties, to umpire a friendly game of softball. During the game, a certain Marine Captain took exception to a call that the Private had made concerning a play he was involved in. After the Captain “gently” tried to persuade the rookie umpire to change his call, the Private was applauded by a Marine Colonel in the opposing team's grandstand. The call stood and the rest is history.

In the early 1970's, adult slow-pitch softball caught fire in the Lafayette and middle Tennessee area and E.B. was there to make the calls. He got involved with the newly formed Youth Softball League in 1976, even serving as League President for a year. Alongside volunteers such as Harold Maynard, Bill Speck, Glenn Ray, Harvey George, Linda Toney, H.L. Bergdorf, and many others, E.B. worked to make the Youth League a success for both boys and girls. When the boys division dropped out and the girls switched from slow to fast-pitch in the mid 1990's, E.B. just donned a few more pads, strapped on the shin guards and kept right on going. Since then, he's gained accreditation in so many different umpiring organizations in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia that his resume' reads like alphabet soup. As a T.S.S.A.A. umpire, he's called high school and junior high games; as an N.C.A.A. umpire, he's called college level games; and as an I.S.A., N.S.A., A.S.A., or U.S.S.S.A. umpire (take your pick), he's called many, many recreational league games; and he still does.

The youth of Macon and surrounding counties has been blessed to have E.B. Krantz patrolling our softball fields, non-stop for the last thirty-one years. Since the opening of the Harvey George Memorial Field in 1976, he's been a mainstay at the ballpark. Mr. Krantz, the time has come for this community to acknowledge your many years of dedication by naming the field that you've been umpiring on since it was built in 1982 in your honor. To borrow one of your oh-so familiar lines, “Play Ball!”