A graduate of Mt. Carmel High School where he ran track and was on the swimming and diving team, Terry Reilly’s umpiring career started in typical fashion – officiating little league and pony league games. However, his career didn’t end there. As he became more skilled and known as an umpire, he moved into the world of “major / minor” umpiring when he began working behind the plate in semi-pro baseball games. His 16″ softball career started when he was watching a game in Blue Island and realized that he could officiate softball games, and the rest is history. He started out officiating in B and C leagues, but got his big break in 1979 when got a chance to umpire a Major 16″ National game in Harvey. That opportunity worked out well and Terry Reilly never looked back during his twenty-three year career. He credits his success in umpiring 16″ softball to his years of umpiring semi-pro baseball where he learned to hustle, to follow the ball, and to develop a good demeanor for the game. From 1976 to 1999 as an ASA umpire, he officiated over five thousand games at leagues in Blue Island, Kelly, Harvey and Clyde Parks. From 1982 to 1999 he was ASA umpire-in-chief of Metro Chicago leagues. He umpired at twelve 16″Major League National Tournaments, calling balls and strikes at more than two hundred games. He was deputy umpire-in-chief at five Major Nationals and was umpire-in-chief for two “A” level Nationals. He also officiated at all tournaments, including district competitions, qualifiers, some state tournaments, three Hawthorne Classics, and several Grant Park Tournaments. He retired after thirty-four years with the Chicago Transit Authority where he was the Director of Emergency Services. He has two children, Tina and Kellie, two grandchildren, and a wonderful girlfriend, Brenda Bryan. He lives in Park Forest, Illinois.
