{{Short description|American baseball umpire (1918-2002)}} {{Infobox person | name = Ed Runge | image = Ed Runge.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|05|12}} | birth_place = Buffalo, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|07|25|1918|05|12}} | death_place = San Diego, California, U.S. | occupation = MLB umpire }} '''Edward Paul Runge''' (May 12, 1918 – July 25, 2002) was an American professional baseball umpire. He worked in Major League Baseball between 1954 and 1970. During his career, he officiated three World Series and five All-Star games.
==Early life== He was born in Buffalo, New York and lived in Buffalo, San Diego, California, and St. Catharines, Ontario during his childhood.
==Umpiring career== Runge's first professional umpiring experience came in the Big State League in Texas in 1947. He was promoted to the Pacific Coast League in 1949. He became a Major League umpire in 1954, working in the American League. He retired in 1970. After his retirement, Runge said of umpiring, "It's the only occupation where a man has to be perfect his first day on the job and then improve over the years."
===Notable games=== He was part of the crew that called Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. As the right field umpire, Runge made a critical foul ball call in the fourth inning on a potential home run hit by Duke Snider.<ref name=ESPN>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/obit/s/2002/0726/1410595.html |title=Patriarch of three-generation family of umps dies |access-date=2009-08-20 |last=Associated Press |date=2002-07-26 |publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures}}</ref>
He also was the home plate umpire for Dave Morehead's no-hitter on September 16, 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1965/B09160BOS1965.htm|title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Red Sox 2, Cleveland Indians 0}}</ref>
==Personal life== In 1960, Runge testified in court against two Washington men who were accused of attempting to extort money from Runge and fellow umpire Bill McKinley. After Runge and McKinley entered a hotel room with two females, the two men entered the room. The men photographed McKinley and Runge in the company of the women and then held the photograph for blackmail.<ref>{{cite news| title =AL Umpire Testifies in Extortion Plot| newspaper =Schenectady Gazette | date =September 7, 1960 | url =https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19600907&id=N2gtAAAAIBAJ&pg=3888,915245 | access-date =November 2, 2012}}</ref>
He is the father of Paul Runge and grandfather of Brian Runge, both of whom became umpires in the Major Leagues.
==Later life and death== In retirement, Runge served as a community liaison and speaker for the San Diego Padres. Runge died in San Diego in 2002.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/30/sports/ed-runge-87-veteran-umpire-who-was-partial-to-pitchers.html |title=Ed Runge, 87, Veteran Umpire Who Was Partial to Pitchers |access-date=2009-08-20 |last=Litsky |first=Frank |date=2002-07-30 |work=New York Times}}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Baseball}} * List of Major League Baseball umpires (disambiguation)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/R/Prunge901.htm Retrosheet.org]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Runge, Ed}} Category:1918 births Category:2002 deaths Category:American League umpires Category:Major League Baseball umpires Category:Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York
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