Joe Rossi Hall of Fame

1990 Hall of Fame Inductee Leo Bahl – Aurora Known as “Bozo”, the “Clown Prince” of umpires, Leo Bahl was not only a character but a darn good man in blue. Called one of the true characters of the game in Colorado baseball history, Leo was born on Christmas Day in 1916 and passed away in 2006. A veteran of World War II, Leo was a postal worker for many years in the Aurora area. He officiated many sports from the 1940s through the 1990s. Baseball was his real claim to fame as he was a high school and college umpire. His contemporaries were CDCCA Hall of Famers Julie Carbello, Joe May, Dan Weikle, Joe Rossi, Dave Baker, Bud Schoepflin, Dave Letofsky and fellow 2023 inductee Keith Bailey. Others included Bob Blaser, Ken Furman, Wiley Chance, Bob Westoff, Al Raglin and Bob Finney, among others. Leo was known as a big-game official for many years having worked nearly every “big” game in the Denver metro area, including numerous CHSAA state championship games and summer legion state tournaments. He was a favorite of Mert Letofsky and the Aurora Legion program and fellow hall of famer Irv Brown considered him a regular as the University of Colorado. He also was a mainstay at Colorado School of Mines and considered head coach Jim Darden one of his dearest friends. Leo also was a longtime All-Star Wrestling official and was known to take some of his wrestling antics onto the baseball field.