BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Tri-Cities own Bryan Horne reached the pinnacle of the Little League level by being selected to be an umpire for the 2017 Little League World Series, but it’s what he’s doing in 2021 that’s breaking history.
This years event will take place, but it will be toned down with fewer fans and no international teams. So the World Series gave the umpires selected for this year an option to either follow through with their duties or defer to next season when it’s fully running. Every umpire that was slated to do this year decided to defer, which left the door open for Horne.
Usually once an umpire participated in the Williamsport event, they are no longer eligible for that responsibility. Instead, they picked from a field of all the umpires that were part of the World Series the past five years, which included Horne. The Blountville resident knows this is a testament to his love for the game and his work ethic.
“I’m willing to think that you were picked for this with those kind of odds and now this year, one of 12 that have done it the last five years,” Horne said. “Of Course it makes you feel good. It’s an honor, it’s an honor. It’s a tribute to all the hours and work that’s been put in.”
The Little League World Series gets underway on August 19 and wraps up 10 days later.
