Ed Sudol

Who was Ed Sudol?

Edward Lawrence Sudol was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the National League from 1957 to 1977. Sudol umpired 3,247 major league games in his 21 year career, wearing uniform number 20 for most of his career. He umpired in three World Series, three League Championship Series and three All-Star Games. Sudol was also the home plate umpire for Jim Bunning's perfect game in 1964. In 1974, he was the second base umpire when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record.

Among the epic games he worked in his career, Sudol also had the distinction of being the home plate umpire for the three longest games in New York Mets history. On September 11, 1974, the St. Louis Cardinals won a marathon night game against the New York Mets, after 7 hours 4 minutes, and 25 innings, also tied for the longest game to a decision in major league history. The Mets went to the plate 103 times, a record in a major league game; the Cards were not far behind with 99 plate appearances. All told, a record 175 official at-bats were recorded, with a major-league record 45 runners stranded. Only a thousand fans were still at Shea Stadium when the game ended at 3:13 a.m. ET. This was the longest game played to a decision without a suspension.