Allen Brougham: Inspiring the Next Generation
by Everett Conroy
Getting hit by baseball after baseball without flinching, carefully watching over the whole field at once, and quickly running into position after the ball is hit, are things I never knew the significance of until I met Mr. Allen. Allen Brougham, an 84-year old man who spends a lot of his time umpiring kids' baseball games, inspires me to reach for the stars. If he can do it, I can too!
Allen Brougham, well known to the Sykesville Baseball community as "Mr. Allen," has always loved watching baseball, but not so much to see the players, to see the umpires. In his article about how he became an umpire for Sykesville Baseball, "The Great Escape," he wrote how he would go to Orioles games at the old Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, and "watch the umps as much as I would watch the game itself."
Mr. Allen has always been fascinated with "the art of umpiring," as he calls it, and he still is to this day. Mr. Allen is a mentor for me and the rest of the kids that umpire for Sykesville Baseball. Mr. Allen inspires me to be the best umpire I can be. He is at Freedom Park every Saturday in the Spring and Fall, no matter if it is hot, cold, or raining. When it is 95 degrees outside, and all the umpires have to be wearing hot gear under their uniforms, Mr. Allen is, too, even if he isn't umpiring the games.
Mr. Allen is inspiring because he never gets down on you, even if you make the wrong call. He will quietly and calmly talk to you between innings about what you could have done better, but he will never yell at you and say how badly you did.
In addition, at the end of every season, Mr. Allen takes all of the Sykesville Baseball umpires to a Frederick Keys baseball game where we get to talk to the professional umpires. He does this so that we can learn more about how to be an umpire and become better umpires.
Lastly, it is inspiring that an 84-year-old retired man is dedicated so much of his time to help kids be better umpires. Seeing him out there at the baseball fields week after week, whether he is umpiring or just watching and helping kids inspires me to work harder. Not only has Mr. Allen inspired me and helped me to be a better umpire, I feel as though he has also helped me become a better baseball player. He has taught me to see the game differently, which has helped me both behind the plate as an umpire and in front of it as a player. Mr. Allen has shown me that no matter how old you are, you can still be involved in the community and help others. Allen Brougham is a very inspiring man in many different ways.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Everett Conroy, 14, wrote this essay in 2025 while in his third year as a Sykesville Baseball umpire. He was then in the eighth grade at Sykesville Middle School in Carroll County, Maryland.
.