Vance Carlson

Vance Carlson was born in 1925 in the unincorporated community of Falun in Saline County.  He entered McPherson College in 1943 but joined the U.S. Air Force after one semester.  He achieved the rank of lieutenant.

Carlson returned to McPherson College, was an All-Kansas Collegiate Athletic  Conference basketball player in 1947 and graduated in 1950.

He signed a professional contract with the New York Yankees and pitched in their system for five years, reaching the AAA level.  

He left baseball after the 1951 season but remained active as a youth coach.  He managed McPherson’s Ban Johnson baseball team to three state championships and one state semi-pro runner-up finish between 1956 and 1959. In 1975, he directed the McPherson American Legion team to a state title.

In 1958, Carlson began officiating Big 8 football games and would remain with the conference for 28 years, officiating a record 270 games. He was on the crew that worked the “Game of the Century” between Oklahoma and Nebraska in 1971. He also worked three national championship games (1971 Orange Bowl, 1978 Cotton Bowl and 1983 Sugar Bowl).

Carlson owned and managed Starlite Lanes and Restaurant in McPherson for 26 years and moved to Hays in his retirement.  Carlson died in Ellis in 2018 at the age of 92.