Carl Barger

Carl F. Barger (born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, August 18, 1930 - December 9, 1992) was a high-powered Pittsburgh attorney who became the President of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team during from 1987 through the beginning of 1991 and later became the first president of the Florida Marlins on July 8, 1991. However, he died of an aneurysm during MLB's winter meetings in 1992 in Louisville, Kentucky. On April 5, 1993, the day that the Marlins played their first-ever regular-season game, the Marlins retired the number 5 in Barger's memory, as his favorite player was Joe Dimaggio (who wore number 5 in his career); no Marlin has ever worn jersey number 5. The only other person to have his number retired by the Marlins was Jackie Robinson, whose number 42 jersey was retired throughout Major League Baseball to honor his achievement of breaking baseball's color barrier.

Additionally, the Marlins designated the practice areas and fields next to Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Florida as the Carl F. Barger Baseball Complex.

External links

* [http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/fla/history/retired_numbers.jsp Florida Marlins: History: Marlins Retired Numbers]