George Sosnak
American, 1924-1992
Sosnak was an amateur and then minor league umpire in Florida. While living in Florida, he became friendly with the Detroit Tigers, who trained in Lakeland, and especially with their manager, Sparky Anderson. An avid fan, Sosnak hand-painted about 800 baseballs to mark various milestones in National Basebase history. His decorated baseballs were on exhibit in "The Perfect Game, America Looks at Baseball" at the American Folk Art Museum (June 17, 2003 to January 25, 2004)