Gordon "Gordie" Lee Vogt

Vogt died peacefully at home in Delphos on 31 October 2026, aged 80, after several weeks of care from Putnam County Hospice. No specific cause of death was given in his obituary, published by Weber Funeral Home and the Delphos Herald.

Visitation and a Scripture service were held at Weber Funeral Home in Delphos on Thursday 5 November 2026, with a Funeral Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Lima on Friday 6 November, Father Kent Kaufman officiating, followed by burial with military graveside rites by the Delphos Veterans Council. The family asked for donations to Heartbeat of Lima or St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

Gordon Lee Vogt was born in Lima, Ohio, on 7 October 1946, the son of Ray and Ethel (Lindeman) Vogt. He grew up in Delphos with his brother, John "Jack" Vogt, and graduated from Delphos Jefferson High School in 1964, by which time he was already attracting professional scouts as a pitcher.

In May 1964 Vogt signed a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies organisation and was soon pitching in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1965, his family's obituary records, he was the number one draft pick in professional baseball, selected by the Chicago Cubs and given a major league contract. At barely 18 he found himself in spring training with major leaguers, and he often recalled that his locker was three down from Ernie Banks. He pitched for the Cubs' minor league club in Lodi, California, from 1965 into 1966.

In the autumn of 1966 he was drafted into the US Army and sent to Vietnam, where he served as a military policeman until 1968. While he was away his contract was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates organisation. After his release from the Army he pitched for the Pirates' organisation in winter ball in 1968 and 1969, with teammates who would go on to win the 1971 World Series. Malaria and typhoid fever contracted in Vietnam, however, had left his arm too weak to continue at the professional level.

Returning to Ohio in 1969, he began a career of nearly 40 years at the Ford Motor Company plant in Lima. Baseball stayed central to his life: for more than 20 years he coached Little League, Pony League, Delphos Jefferson Acme, St. John's varsity and Van Wert American Legion teams.

On 12 June 1971 Vogt married Julia Ann Tenwalde. They had three children, James, Joanne and Ryan, and three grandchildren, Kai, Scout and Carson. He helped with the Boy Scouts, taking them on many camping trips, and each year made a two week trip with family and friends to Clear Lake Camp in Iron Bridge, Ontario. He was a member of the St. Charles Borromeo parish community in Lima, whose Bible study friends supported the family in his final weeks.

Vogt's story, a top pitching prospect whose arm was lost not to a baseball injury but to illness contracted while serving in Vietnam, drew attention beyond Ohio after his death. In the Delphos and Lima area he is remembered above all as a coach who spent more than 20 years teaching the game to young players, and as a veteran, autoworker and family man with a great sense of humour.