Former major league umpire Ed Vargo, who played with the Carthage Cardinals minor league baseball team in 1947 died Saturday at age 79.
The information was sent out today by former Carthage resident John Hall, whose well-crafted books have kept the old minor leagues alive in our hearts, if not in reality.
Hall devoted two pages to Vargo in his book, Majoring in the Minors. A feature on Vargo was included in a weekend edition of the Pittsburg:
Mr. Vargo often was part of baseball history.
He was behind the plate for the first night game in World Series history -- Oct. 13, 1971, at Three Rivers Stadium. Mr. May decided that 4-3 game against Baltimore with a run-scoring pinch-hit single in the seventh inning.
Mr. Vargo worked two of Sandy Koufax's no-hitters, including the plate for the left-hander's perfect game against the Chicago Cubs Sept. 9, 1965.
He was the plate umpire when Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's career home run record of 714 in Cincinnati April 4, 1974.
He umpired the final games played at the Polo Grounds and Forbes Field.
He worked in four All-Star games, including the 1974 game at Three Rivers Stadium, four National League Championship Series and four World Series.
Mr. Vargo umpired his first major league game April 12, 1960, at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, debuting at third base.
He also was at third base for his final big league game -- the fifth and final game of the 1983 World Series, Oct. 16 at Philadelphia.
And that career started in Carthage, Mo.
(Pittsburg Post-Gazette photo)
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