Ken Burkhart, 88; Umpire Noted for Disputed Call

Ken Burkhart, a former major league pitcher and umpire who made one of the most disputed calls in World Series history, died Wednesday after an extended hospital stay. He was 88 and had battled emphysema.

Born in Knoxville in 1916, Burkhart was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals after attending a tryout camp in Florida. As a rookie in 1945, he was 18-8, according to Total Baseball, the official encyclopedia of Major League Baseball, with a 2.90 earned run average for the Cardinals.

His pitching career was cut short by an elbow injury, and he finished with a 27-20 record in five seasons with St. Louis and the Cincinnati Reds.

But it was during his 17-year career as an umpire that many baseball fans became familiar with him -- particularly during the 1970 World Series between Cincinnati and the Baltimore Orioles.

During the sixth inning of Game 1 at Cincinnati, Baltimore catcher Elrod Hendricks grabbed Ty Cline’s chopper in front of home plate as Burkhart moved out to rule it a fair ball. Hendricks apparently had planned to throw Clines out at first base but instead whirled around and tried to tag out Bernie Carbo coming in from third.

Caught between the two players, Burkhart was spun to the ground and, with his back to the play, signaled that Carbo was out. Replays showed that Hendricks made the tag with an empty glove -- the ball was in his bare hand -- while Carbo missed the plate.

The play left the score tied at 3. Baltimore went on to win the game 4-3 and the Series in five games.

A generally well-regarded umpire, Burkhart worked six All-Star games and three World Series before retiring in 1973.

He is survived by two daughters and a son.