Ed Vargo
Encyclopedia
Edward Paul Vargo was an American
umpire
in Major League Baseball
who worked in the National League
from 1960 to 1983. He officiated in the World Series
, National League Championship Series
and All-Star Game
four times each, and also worked a number of other historic games. His 3,554 total games ranked ninth in NL history when he retired. During most of his career, Vargo wore uniform number 20.
Vargo, of Hungarian and Ukrainian
descent, was born the youngest son of Alex and Mary Vargo in the Pittsburgh suburb of Butler, Pennsylvania
, where he continued to live throughout his life. In his youth he worked as a batboy and equipment manager with the Butler Yankees of the Class-D Pennsylvania State Association
. After briefly playing as a catcher
in the St. Louis Cardinals
system, he served five years in the Army
, where he began umpiring, and began his professional career in the Georgia-Florida League
(1953–54, 1956), Piedmont League
(1955), Eastern League (1957) and International League
(1957–59). In his second year in the NL, he was rated the neatest umpire in the league in a Sporting News poll of writers, managers and coaches. He married Elizabeth Joan (Betty) Hunter on February 9, 1963; they had four children, sons Edward and David and daughters Karen and Kristin.
Vargo officiated in the World Series in 1965
, 1971
, 1978
and 1983
, serving as crew chief in 1978. He worked the NLCS in 1969
(the first-ever NLCS), 1973
, 1976
and 1980
, and the All-Star Game in 1961 (first game), 1966, 1974 and 1981
.
He officiated in eight no-hitter
s, calling three of them from behind the plate: Don Nottebart
's 4-1 win for the Houston Colt .45s
over the Philadelphia Phillies
on May 17, 1963; Sandy Koufax
's record-tying third no-hitter on June 4, 1964, a 3-0 Los Angeles Dodgers
win over the Phillies; and Koufax's perfect game
on September 9, 1965, a 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs
. Vargo is the only umpire to call no-hitters in three consecutive seasons, and one of only two umpires to call a no-hitter and perfect game by the same pitcher. (Eric Cooper
has since joined him, calling balls and strikes for Mark Buehrle
's two no-hitters; the perfect game
was the latter of the two.) Vargo was also behind the plate on April 4, 1974 when Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth
's record of 714 career home run
s. The jacket he wore for Koufax's perfect game, Aaron's record-tying game and the first World Series night game in 1971 was donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame by amateur umpire Ray Gouley, to whom Vargo had given it, once Gouley learned of its significance.
After retiring from umpiring, Vargo became a National League supervisor until 1997; he was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He died at his home in Butler at age 79, and was buried in Butler County Memorial Park Cemetery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who worked in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
from 1960 to 1983. He officiated in the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
, National League Championship Series
National League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the National League Championship Series is a round in the postseason that determines who wins the National League pennant and advances to Major League Baseball's championship, the World Series, facing the winner of the American League Championship Series. The reigning...
and All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
four times each, and also worked a number of other historic games. His 3,554 total games ranked ninth in NL history when he retired. During most of his career, Vargo wore uniform number 20.
Vargo, of Hungarian and Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
descent, was born the youngest son of Alex and Mary Vargo in the Pittsburgh suburb of Butler, Pennsylvania
Butler, Pennsylvania
The city of Butler is the county seat of Butler County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated north of Pittsburgh. The population was 15,121 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, where he continued to live throughout his life. In his youth he worked as a batboy and equipment manager with the Butler Yankees of the Class-D Pennsylvania State Association
Pennsylvania State Association
Running from 1934 through 1942 the Pennsylvania State Association was a class D league. It was based in the southwestern part of the state. The league was usually full of minor league farm teams. During the nine-year run of the league there were eleven cities, all from Pennsylvania, that...
. After briefly playing as a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
in the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
system, he served five years in the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, where he began umpiring, and began his professional career in the Georgia-Florida League
Georgia-Florida League
The Georgia-Florida League was a minor baseball league that existed from 1935 through 1958 and in 1962–1963...
(1953–54, 1956), Piedmont League
Piedmont League
The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States.- Former :...
(1955), Eastern League (1957) and International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
(1957–59). In his second year in the NL, he was rated the neatest umpire in the league in a Sporting News poll of writers, managers and coaches. He married Elizabeth Joan (Betty) Hunter on February 9, 1963; they had four children, sons Edward and David and daughters Karen and Kristin.
Vargo officiated in the World Series in 1965
1965 World Series
The 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
, 1971
1971 World Series
The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
, 1978
1978 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1978 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWith Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded twenty-game winner Ed Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a...
and 1983
1983 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1983 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandJohn Denver, whose Thank God I'm a Country Boy was played at the seventh-inning stretch of each Orioles home game, sang the National Anthem prior to this game....
, serving as crew chief in 1978. He worked the NLCS in 1969
1969 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 4, 1969 at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Mets struck first in the second off Phil Niekro when Jerry Grote singled in a run and Ken Boswell scored on a passed ball by Braves catcher Bob Didier...
(the first-ever NLCS), 1973
1973 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 6, 1973 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioThe starting pitchers, New York's Tom Seaver and Cincinnati's Jack Billingham, produced a classic pitcher's duel in Game 1. The Mets threatened in the first, loading the bases with one out, but Cleon Jones grounded into a...
, 1976
1976 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 9, 1976 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaReds starter Don Gullett held the Phils to two hits in eight strong innings and helped his own cause with an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run double in the eighth...
and 1980
1980 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 7, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaGame 1 was the most ordinary contest of the series. Starters Ken Forsch and Steve Carlton dueled for the first five innings, with only one run scored by Houston in the third on an RBI single by Gary Woods...
, and the All-Star Game in 1961 (first game), 1966, 1974 and 1981
1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 52nd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on August 9, 1981, at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of...
.
He officiated in eight no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s, calling three of them from behind the plate: Don Nottebart
Don Nottebart
Donald Edward Nottebart was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for five teams from 1960 to 1969. Primarily a reliever, he spent the 1963 to 1965 seasons as a starter with the Houston Colt .45s/Astros, and threw the first no-hitter in franchise history in 1963...
's 4-1 win for the Houston Colt .45s
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
over the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
on May 17, 1963; Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
's record-tying third no-hitter on June 4, 1964, a 3-0 Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
win over the Phillies; and Koufax's perfect game
Sandy Koufax's perfect game
Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched a perfect game in Major League Baseball against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on September 9, 1965. Koufax, by retiring 27 consecutive batters without allowing any to reach base, became the sixth pitcher of the modern era, eighth overall, to...
on September 9, 1965, a 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
. Vargo is the only umpire to call no-hitters in three consecutive seasons, and one of only two umpires to call a no-hitter and perfect game by the same pitcher. (Eric Cooper
Eric Cooper
Eric Richard Cooper , is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked both leagues since 1999.-Biography:...
has since joined him, calling balls and strikes for Mark Buehrle
Mark Buehrle
Mark Alan Buehrle is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He has pitched his entire baseball career for the Chicago White Sox, starting the opening game every season from 2002 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2011....
's two no-hitters; the perfect game
Mark Buehrle's perfect game
Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays by retiring all 27 batters he faced on Thursday, July 23, 2009. This event took place in U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois in front of 28,036 fans in attendance...
was the latter of the two.) Vargo was also behind the plate on April 4, 1974 when Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's record of 714 career home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s. The jacket he wore for Koufax's perfect game, Aaron's record-tying game and the first World Series night game in 1971 was donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame by amateur umpire Ray Gouley, to whom Vargo had given it, once Gouley learned of its significance.
After retiring from umpiring, Vargo became a National League supervisor until 1997; he was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He died at his home in Butler at age 79, and was buried in Butler County Memorial Park Cemetery.
External links
- Retrosheet
- BaseballLibrary - profile and SABR bibliography