Ogle came to the Morning Ledger in 1935 and retired in 1975. He covered the Yankees until he retired, and then began a new career in association with the New York club.

After his retirement, he was appointed by the Yankees as director of the franchises Alumni Association. In addition, he ran Old Timers Day in Yankee Stadium and published Pinstripes four times a year, the official Yankees magazine for the organization.

In the 1999 Old Timers game, the Yankees presented him with a plaque, a rare honor for a sportswriter.

A Mass will be offered Thursday in Assumption Church in Pompano, Fla. Local arrangements are by Johnson-McGinley Funeral Home in Wall Township.

Surviving are a son, James Jr.; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

His son, Jim Ogle Jr., who worked in The Star-Ledger sports department between 1965 and 1972, and then for 10 more years at the Daily Journal of Elizabeth, said his dad had "never lost interest in either The Star-Ledger or the Yankees, and was sharp as a kid to the end."

Mr. Ogle, who suffered from a heart condition, died at the Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune. He had been living in Neptune with a niece the last three years.

A tall, amiable, easy-going fan of life, Mr. Ogle came to The Morning Ledger in 1935, the year it was purchased by Samuel I. Newhouse. The Morning Ledger became The Star-Ledger in 1939, when it acquired The Newark Star-Eagle. He retired in 1975.

Mr. Ogle was the complete sports journalist, serving regularly as a makeup man and chief copy editor on the desk. At the close of each year, he would write a review of the year in sports, almost all of it from memory, as only a true fan with nearly total recall could do. His big love was covering the important games of the season, and of these, baseball was closest to his heart. He covered the Yankees until he retired from newspapers, then went to work for the Yankee organization.

He was covering, of course, when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single-season record for home runs with 61. He was, at that time, virtually the only sportswriter Maris trusted to report the drama even-handedly.

Because many fans, and even sportswriters, as Ogle reported, resented Maris' attack on a legend's record, Maris went through most difficult times and often found comfort in his friendship with Ogle. To escape Babe Ruth devotees and hostile writers, Ogle and Maris often would duck into an evening movie. Their friendship led to two Ogle books on the slugger: "Roger Maris at Bat" and "Slugger in Right." Maris would not cooperate with any other writer.

After his retirement, Mr. Ogle was appointed by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner as director of the franchise's Alumni Association. In addition, he ran "Old Timers Day" in Yankee Stadium and published "Pinstripes" four times a year, the official Yankees magazine for the organization.

In the 1999 Old Timers game, the Yankees presented him with a plaque, a rare honor for a sportswriter. He also was named president of the Fort Lauderdale Yankees, a former minor league affiliate, in 1975, so that his association with the Yankees was virtually lifetime. Between 1945 and 1975, Mr. Ogle also was the Yankees beat writer for the Sporting News. He worked at every World Series during that span.

Ogle was on the scene for "the shot heard round the world," Bobby Thomson's home-run that beat the Dodgers and captured the 1951 pennant for the Giants. Another magical moment for him was the only perfect game ever thrown in a World Series, when the Yankees' Don Larsen tamed the Dodgers in the 1956 series.

A graduate of Columbia University, Ogle established the first daily sports column for the school paper, The Spectator. Born in Newark, he lived in Avon-by-the-Sea and Howell before moving to Fort Lauderdale in 1975. He returned to New Jersey three years ago.

A Mass will be offered Thursday in Assumption Church in Pompano, Fla. Local arrangements are by Johnson-McGinley Funeral Home in Wall Township. In addition to his son, he is survived by five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.