A beloved youth sports umpire died last weekend while working a softball tournament during a South Carolina heat wave.
As reported by NBC affiliate WMBF in Myrtle Beach, the Sumter County Coroner’s Office said 61-year-old Mitchell Huggins died Saturday after being taken to a hospital. Officials said the heat contributed to the 61-year-old’s death.
A beloved youth sports umpire died last weekend while working a softball tournament during a South Carolina heat wave.
As reported by NBC affiliate WMBF in Myrtle Beach, the Sumter County Coroner’s Office said 61-year-old Mitchell Huggins died Saturday after being taken to a hospital. Officials said the heat contributed to the 61-year-old’s death.
According to the National Weather Service, the high temperature on June 21 in Sumter was 92 degrees.Â
Huggins’ sister, Pamela Rufus, said her brother had passed out while officiating the tournament at Sumter's Patriot Park.
She said she first got word of what happened through a phone call from her son.
According to Rufus, she was able to FaceTime with her brother when he regained consciousness, but then he passed out again.
“He was just lifeless,” she said, as reported by WMBF. “He didn’t even look like himself.”
Rufus added that people on the field tried to resuscitate her brother, as players and parents began praying for him. Huggins was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Parents of players in the tournament shared their concerns about why the games were being allowed to be played in such extreme weather conditions.
“We are aware of an unfortunate incident at Patriot Park during a recent softball tournament and we would ask everyone to pray for the family of Mitch Huggins,” a spokesperson with Sumter County said, as reported by WMBF's Lenah Allen and Jordan Gartner reported.
According to Rufus, Huggins did mention that it was hot but that “he was going regardless” and was excited to umpire at another tournament.
“He just did what he did. I don’t think he looked at the temperature,” she said, adding that his death could have been prevented.
“They said he was telling them about it being hot,” Rufus said. “It was just too hot ... the heat was not good for anybody.”
Rufus said her brother died truly doing what he loved, being an umpire for kids, which he had done for more than a decade. Huggins was also passionate about his work with Top Gun Sports, a nonprofit focused on youth sports.
Rufus added she’d like for Huggins’s death to raise awareness about extreme heat and illnesses, WMBF reported. She ultimately wants her brother to be remembered for loving what he did and caring for all the kids he served as an umpire. “He just loved the game,” she said.
