Eugene Leid Shirk (April 14, 1901[1] – February 17, 1994) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Reading, Pennsylvania for two terms as a Republican.
[3] Shirk graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Franklin & Marshall College in 1924 and won letters in cross country his junior and senior seasons.
He also led the school's baseball team to five division titles and one of his players, Randy Gumpert, was signed to a major league contract.
However, before he could begin his duties, he was drafted into the United States Army Air Corps, where he served as a physical training instructor and weather forecaster during World War II.
[8] However, the city had been the site of multiple federal raids and its incumbent Democratic mayor, John C. Kubacki, was under indictment for extortion.
[5] After taking office, Shirk replaced the city's police chief (who was also under indictment) and launched a crackdown on gambling and prostitution.
[13] Shirk was married to Annadora (Spengler) Vesper, a professor of English and speech at Albright who served on the Reading School Board from 1951 to 1957.