Sport: Baseball
Born: September 13,1920
Died: December 10, 2004
Town: Passaic, New Jersey
Edward Lawrence Sudol was born September 13, 1920 in Passaic, NJ. Ed was a tall, hard-hitting first-baseman for Passaic High School and a childhood friend of future All-Star Frankie Zak. Ed was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 19 and toiled in the minors for more than a dozen seasons. He ascended as high as the International League, playing for the Baltimore Orioles in 1943, when they were a farm team of the Indians. Ed’s best season came three years later, when he batted .343 with 28 homers for the Allentown Cardinals.
In 1941, while playing for the Tarboro Orioles, he got a visit from Zak. The team happened to have lost its shortstop and manager John Whalen asked if Frankie would be willing to fill in. Zak ended up making it to the majors with the Pirates.
In the 1950s, Ed realized that he would never reach the big leagues as a player, so he enrolled in umpiring school and started working minor-league games. In 1957, he was promoted by the National League, where he enjoyed a 21-year career.
Among Ed’s highlights were working three World Series (1965, 1971 and 1977) and three All-Star Games (1961, 1964 and 1974). Ed was behind the plate for Jim Bunning’s 1964 perfect game and Bill Singer’s no-no in 1970. He was also on the crew that worked the 1974 game when Hank Aaron hit his 715th homer.
Ed retired at 57 and lived in Florida until his death from Alzheimer’s disease in 2004.