John Boozer

John Morgan Boozer (July 6, 1938 – January 24, 1986) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies (1962–64 and 1966–69).

Boozer has the distinction of being one of only four Major League Baseball players to be ejected from a game for violation of the spitball rule (the others were Nels Potter in 1944, Phil Regan later in 1968, and Gaylord Perry in 1982).

[1] The ejection occurred on May 2, 1968, when Boozer, having entered the game for the Phillies in relief of Woody Fryman, with his team trailing 3–0 to the host New York Mets, repeatedly touched his fingers to his mouth during warm-ups for the bottom of the seventh inning.

Home-plate umpire Ed Vargo gave Boozer two warnings, calling a ball to batter Bud Harrelson three times — the last resulting in the pitcher’s ejection, along with the ejection of Phillies manager Gene Mauch.

[2] Boozer attended Wofford College and also played in the Puerto Rico Baseball Winter League in 1961, 1962, and 1963 with the Ponce Lions.