Steve Palermo

Opening day this year found Steve Palermo--who many say is baseball's best umpire--battling his body and his emotions and watching on television as best friend Rich Garcia worked the plate in Detroit. No green fields yet for Palermo, who can now walk unaided for short distances as he recovers from the robber's bullet that paralyzed him last July.

Every day Steve Palermo knows pain and trauma but never recrimination or self-pity. He is a true, honest-to-God hero. Revere the name. His presence creates a feeling of awe within those around him. This is a man of courage and, of course, the kind of character that carries a glorious, even mystical, wonder. To his profound credit and unwavering religious beliefs, Palermo doesn't look to the heavens searching for an answer and asking, "Why me, Lord?"

American League umpire Steve Palermo left the Dallas Rehabilitation Institute, where he had been undergoing therapy for a gunshot wound he sustained while trying to break up a robbery.

Ryne Sandberg, the Chicago Cubs' All-Star second baseman, was activated from the disabled list Thursday night and will be available to play this weekend. Sandberg broke his hand in the Cubs' first exhibition game on March 5. Steve Palermo, an American League umpire who was partially paralyzed in a shooting incident almost two years ago, threw out the first ball before Thursday night's game between the Orioles and the Minnesota Twins at Baltimore.

Umpire Steve Palermo will be inducted as an honorary member into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame tonight, more than a year after a robber's bullet left him partially paralyzed. Others being inducted include: Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox; Billy Martin, the late major league player and manager; Cecil Cooper, a first baseman who played the last 11 years of his 17-year career for the Milwaukee Brewers; and Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second baseman.

A spinal cord specialist said prospects appear good for the recovery of American League umpire Steve Palermo, shot earlier this month while aiding two robbery victims. Palermo underwent tests at the Dallas Rehabilitation Institute, where he was transferred from Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Ryne Sandberg, the Chicago Cubs' All-Star second baseman, was activated from the disabled list Thursday night and will be available to play this weekend. Sandberg broke his hand in the Cubs' first exhibition game on March 5. Steve Palermo, an American League umpire who was partially paralyzed in a shooting incident almost two years ago, threw out the first ball before Thursday night's game between the Orioles and the Minnesota Twins at Baltimore.

American League umpire Steve Palermo, recovering from a shooting last summer that partially paralyzed him, says his rehabilitation is coming along so well that he's able to drive again. "So just be careful when you're on the roads if you come to Kansas City or if you find out I'm in Dallas, because I'm back on the road again and I'm driving as crazy as ever," Palermo said Monday. He said that his car isn't equipped with any special devices.

An Army private was sentenced to 75 years in prison Saturday night for the robbery during which American League umpire Steve Palermo was shot and partially paralyzed. Pvt. Kevin Bivins, 22, was sentenced for the robbery and shooting last July near a Dallas restaurant. "What you did son was terrible," State District Judge John Creuzot told Bivins during sentencing. "You need to realize things like this shake up this whole county. People just don't feel safe when they go out to eat late at night."

Umpire Steve Palermo will be inducted as an honorary member into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame tonight, more than a year after a robber's bullet left him partially paralyzed. Others being inducted include: Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox; Billy Martin, the late major league player and manager; Cecil Cooper, a first baseman who played the last 11 years of his 17-year career for the Milwaukee Brewers; and Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second baseman.

Opening day this year found Steve Palermo--who many say is baseball's best umpire--battling his body and his emotions and watching on television as best friend Rich Garcia worked the plate in Detroit. No green fields yet for Palermo, who can now walk unaided for short distances as he recovers from the robber's bullet that paralyzed him last July.

American League umpire Steve Palermo, recovering from a shooting last summer that partially paralyzed him, says his rehabilitation is coming along so well that he's able to drive again. "So just be careful when you're on the roads if you come to Kansas City or if you find out I'm in Dallas, because I'm back on the road again and I'm driving as crazy as ever," Palermo said Monday. He said that his car isn't equipped with any special devices.

In the early hours of July 7, 1991, umpire Steve Palermo was shot in the back after chasing several men who had attacked two waitresses in the parking lot of a restaurant in Dallas. Today is he recovering after initially being paralyzed from the waist down. His father took the boy to the ballpark and the boy, whose name was Steve Palermo, saw a wonderful place. He could hear their voices. If they moved toward him only a little, he could touch them. This was 1961 at Fenway Park in Boston.

An Army private was sentenced to 75 years in prison Saturday night for the robbery during which American League umpire Steve Palermo was shot and partially paralyzed. Pvt. Kevin Bivins, 22, was sentenced for the robbery and shooting last July near a Dallas restaurant. "What you did son was terrible," State District Judge John Creuzot told Bivins during sentencing. "You need to realize things like this shake up this whole county. People just don't feel safe when they go out to eat late at night."

American League umpire Steve Palermo left the Dallas Rehabilitation Institute, where he had been undergoing therapy for a gunshot wound he sustained while trying to break up a robbery.

While this year's postseason heroes were warming up on the Metrodome field Saturday, a different sort of hero was on the sidelines weeping. "For me to give this game up is one thing," umpire Steve Palermo said. "But to have somebody try to take it away from me . . . that doesn't sit too well with me." Palermo, who threw out the first pitch in an emotional ceremony, would have probably been involved in the game as an umpire but for the morning of July 7.