[8][9] O'Donnell's final game of his officiating career was marred by a controversial ejection of the Houston Rockets' Clyde Drexler during the 1995 NBA Playoffs, which allegedly stemmed from a personal feud between the two at the time.

[2] This incident occurred after O'Donnell refused to shake hands at a pregame meeting with Drexler before the opening tipoff, which was the history during the previous couple of years.

O'Donnell was the home plate umpire for Mickey Mantle's final game when the New York Yankees played the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 28, 1968.

The Senators held a 7–5 lead with two outs in the ninth inning when unruly fans invaded the field, prompting crew chief Jim Honochick to declare the Yankees the victors by a 9–0 count.

Due to the timing of O'Donnell's resignation from the AL, he did not work an event in the Dallas-Fort Worth area until the Dallas Mavericks joined the NBA in October 1980.

Evans went on to work nearly 28 seasons before he was forced out in 1999 by the failed mass resignation strategy of Major League Umpires Association President Richie Phillips, who coincidentally was a friend of O'Donnell's, as both lived in Philadelphia.

Phillips was also the NBA Referee's Association President until he was forced out by Darell Garretson, with whom O'Donnell frequently clashed, in the 1980s.