(One of Imperial Valley’s most famous former residents has passed away)….Hall of Fame Umpire Doug Harvey passed over the weekend.

Born in Southgate in 1930, Harvey moved to Imperial Valley as a youth. He was a three sport star athlete in El Centro. He went onto San Diego State, where he played basketball, baseball and football. He began umpiring at the age of 16, and umpired Little League and other youth leagues before joining the minor league baseball circuit in 1958. He became a major league umpire in 1962. He retired as a National League Umpire in 1992. During his 31 years, Harvey umpired in five World Series, 9 National League Championship Series, and six All Star games. He became only the tenth Major League umpire to be elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Harvey was so commanding at what he did, Major League players called him God. Harvey passed away over the weekend at his home in Visalia, California. The cause of death has been listed as Natural Causes. He was 87.