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Tony Venzon

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Tony Venzon
Born
Antonio Venzon

(1915-06-04)June 4, 1915
Thurber, Texas
DiedSeptember 20, 1971(1971-09-20) (aged 56)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
OccupationUmpire
Years active1957-1971
EmployerNational League
SpouseKay Phillips

Anthony Venzon (June 4, 1915 – September 20, 1971) was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the National League (NL) from 1957 to 1971. Venzon umpired 2,226 major league games. He umpired in three World Series and three All-Star Games.

Biography

Anthony Venzon was born in Thurber, Texas on June 4, 1915. His family later relocated to Pennsylvania and he attended Muhlenberg College.[1] Venzon played in the minor leagues from 1937 to 1940 as an outfielder.[2] He served in World War II and then umpired minor league baseball for seven seasons before being called up to the NL in 1957.[3] NL veteran umpire Artie Gore was dismissed to make room for Venzon and Ken Burkhart.[4]

Venzon umpired 2,226 games between 1957 and 1971. He worked as home plate umpire during four MLB no-hit games between 1960 and 1970.[5] He umpired in the 1963, 1965 and 1970 World Series. He also called the 1959, 1962, and 1969 All-Star Games.[6]

Venzon was home plate umpire when Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates threw a no-hitter vs. the San Diego Padres in the first game of a June 12, 1970 doubleheader. Ellis claimed to be under the influence of the psychedelic drug LSD while pitching.[7]

Venzon died in September 1971 after open heart surgery in Pennsylvania. He had been out of baseball with health problems since that April.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Venzon Dies After Surgery". The Miami News. September 21, 1971. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  2. ^ Baseball-Reference (Minors)
  3. ^ a b "Tony Venzon, Umpire, Dies". The Pittsburgh Press. September 21, 1971. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  4. ^ "National Loop Drops Art Gore". St. Petersburg Times. December 21, 1956. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  5. ^ Gerlach, Larry. "Unrecognized Heroes: No-Hit Umpires". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Retrosheet
  7. ^ [1]


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