a memorial patch for umpire nick bremigan

researching black armbands worn by umpires in the 1980's has proven to be a bit difficult (i'm going to post something soon that is my best shot at figuring things out), but when the men in blue wear a specific patch, it makes things easier.  such was the case in 1989, when american league umpires wore a patch with the number 2 on their left sleeves in honor of nick bremigan.  here's the patch on jim mckean's 1990 t&m umpires card

bremiagan was an ump in the american league from 1974 until his death in march of 1989.  he was part of the crew that worked the 1980 world series and the alcs in 1977, 1981 (he was the crew chief), 1983, and 1986.  he also worked the 1985 all-star game, during which he would have been wearing a black armband for bill kunkel (that's part of the upcoming post i mentioned earlier).

bremigan died from a heart attack suffered during spring training - he had worked a game in palm springs the day before he passed.  he was just 43 years old.