Stephen Reynolds of Jayton, Texas, was presented with the Chuck McAllister Umpire Award during the 2024 Junior League Baseball World Series in Taylor, Michigan, earlier this month.
The award is named for the late McAllister, a Taylor resident who was the first director of umpires for the World Series and served until his sudden death in 1999. In his memory each year, one member of the umpire crew who best exemplifies the qualities and characters of McAllister receives the recognition.
Reynolds, who umpired his first Little League baseball game 30 years ago when an umpire didn’t show up for a game, said he has reached his goal of calling balls and strikes in a world series.
“I love working with kids and that’s why I started umpiring,” he said. “All I have to say is this is a dream come true. I was told this (Junior League World Series in Taylor) was the place I needed to come — that this was the best World Series…. Tell your fellow umpires to come here.”
The McAllister Award was presented by lifelong JLWS volunteer Jeff Pizzo and Chuck’s widow, Shirley McAllister. Fellow umpires joined in the fun. Reynolds also was congratulated by and posed in a photo with Jeff and Sam Pizzo and Greg and Dan Bzura, the only two directors the World Series has ever had.
Reynolds’ experiences behind the plate are many. He umpired high school baseball from 2003 to 2009. He became umpire- in-chief in his home district 38 in 2014. He has helped with the Texas West state tournament since 2015. He called the Junior League Baseball Southwest Regional in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2017, the Southwest Regional the next year in Albuquerque and the Senior Baseball Southwest Regional in Seguin, Texas, in 2022. He became an intermediate umpire supervisor and educator in 2023. At the Junior League World Series, he even called a game on his 61st birthday.
“In spite of all the complaints you get from fans,” he said, “it’s still the best seat in the house.”
Reynolds and his wife of 31 years, Johnna, are the parents of two adult children, Garrett and Jaylee. He is the county executive director in Dickens and Kent counties for the USDA Farm Service Agency, where he has worked for 35 years, administering all farm programs passed by Congress.
As a passion project, Reynolds and his wife joined forces with several others to create “Texas 1A Fan,” which covers all sports and other activities for 1A schools across Texas. In his spare time, he is a deacon at First Baptist Church in Jayton.
