Hall of Fame

Gary Varsho

  • Class
  • Induction
    2025
  • Sport(s)
    UW-Oshkosh
Induction Video

(Written: July 2025)

Gary Varsho was a member of UW-Oshkosh’s baseball team from 1980-82 and helped the Titans reach the NCAA Division III World Series all three seasons. He secured a spot on the 1981 NCAA Division III All-World Series Team.

UW-Oshkosh won the conference title every year of his career and compiled an 82-21 record. Varsho is tied for fourth on the conference’s all-time list with 80 career stolen bases and had a streak of 56 consecutive steals – a mark that ranks as the third-longest in NCAA Division III history. He owns the conference’s single-game record with five stolen bases against UW-Whitewater on May 1, 1982. Varsho was an all-conference Southern Division first team selection in 1982 after receiving honorable mention in 1981.

He was a fifth-round selection in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago Cubs and collected his first Major League hit with the Chicago Cubs against the San Diego Padres on July 9, 1988. He played in 571 games over eight seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies. Varsho led the National League in pinch hitting in 1988 and was the interim manager of the Philadelphia Phillies for brief stints in 2004 and 2006.

He was inducted into the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2012, Varsho was selected to the WIAC Baseball All-Time Team in conjunction with the conference’s Centennial Celebration.

Varsho earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from UW-Oshkosh. He resides in Chili, Wis., with his wife Kay. They have two daughters Andie and Taylor, a son Daulton, and three grandchildren. Daulton is a member of Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays.