Gorman Robert M. - Death at the ballpark: more than 2,000 game-related fatalities of players, other personnel and spectators in amateur and professional baseball, 1862-2014

Second Edition

Robert M. Gorman and David Weeks

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-2258-3

2015 Robert M. Gorman and David Weeks. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the cover: Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, 1919 (Library of Congress)

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

To Bill Kirwin, mentor and friend
your encouragement and support will never be forgotten.
Robert M. Gorman

To my good friend Dr. T. R. Machen,
who taught me long ago that you can accomplish
almost anything with a little ingenuity and perseverance.
Also, to my two children, Sarah and Alden, who ensure
that I never have a boring day.
David Weeks

And to all the victims and their survivors.
We hope that we have dealt with your tragedy in a respectful manner.

While in the great game of baseball the pitcher is officially given the win (or the loss), the success of his team is clearly not due to his efforts alone. He has eight other teammates on the field with him, and their skill on defense and ability at bat has as much, if not more, impact on the outcome than what the man on the mound does. The same can be said about researching and writing a book. Authors, like pitchers, are ultimately responsible for the results, but they do not do it alone.

We would like to begin by thanking all those librarians out there who generously supplied us the microfilm and other resources we needed to complete our project. They are the silent partners of the research process and we are truly fortunate to have them. Most especially we thank Michaela Volkmar and Carrie Volk, formerly heads of the interlibrary loan department at Dacus Library, Winthrop University, who, assisted by Ann Thomas, went to extraordinary lengthsincluding cajoling, begging, and beseeching libraries around the countryto secure the materials we needed. In addition, Ms. Volk was invaluable in taking our rather poor PDFs and microfilmed and photocopied illustrations and turning them into something usable for this book.

We are deeply indebted to Dr. Stephen D. Boren, M. D., assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, and Dr. R. Norman Taylor, M. D., of Rock Hill, South Carolina, who served as expert advisors concerning matters medical, particularly those cases covered in chapter 9. They helped clarify many of the fine points of medicine and provided additional insight and understanding as to the nature of illness and disease.

There are some 2,000 incidents covered in this book, more than twice the number in the first edition. Many of these additional fatalities came to our attention as the result of the herculean efforts of Ed Morton, who scoured old newspapers in search of baseball-related deaths. Chuck McGill, too, sent us dozens of fatalities he had uncovered as the result of his research. We greatly appreciate all of their endeavors on behalf of our project.

We are beholden to Dr. Jason Silverman, teacher, scholar and racquetball player extraordinaire, who spent countless hours proofreading the final product of our labors. His suggestions have made this a much better work. Our thanks, too, to Peter Morris, author of the award-winning A Game of Inches, and Trey Strecker, editor of Nine: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, for their invaluable critical comments on the draft manuscript.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the loving support of our wives, Jane Gorman and Laura Weeks. They were there for us day in and day out as we dwelled in the land of death.

Any errors or omissions in this study are those of the authors alone. We encourage readers to contact us via email (gormanr@comporium.net or weeksd@winthrop.edu) or at the Dacus Library, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733, concerning corrections or additional information.

Two thousand game-related fatalities are chronicled in this edition of our book. When we began this project nearly 15 years ago, we had no inkling that we would find so many deaths associated with the National Pastime. And the sad fact is that there are probably many more fatalities omitted from this study because hundreds of local, smalltown newspapers are still unavailable for searching.

Each of these deaths was a tragedy to the loved ones of the deceased. That fact must be kept in mind when reading about the incidents that follow. It is easy to play the numbers game, to minimize the significance of these fatalities by pointing out that many millions of players, field personnel, and fans have participated in the game over the centuries. But to the mothers, fathers, siblings, children, spouses, and friends of those killed, there is nothing insignificant about their loss. Each death matters.

This study looks at deaths only. Unaccounted for are injuries to players and fans, many of which are catastrophic. Baseball has taken many steps to address the issue of player safety. Players now have access to all sorts of safety equipment, including helmets, chest protectors, arm, leg and ankle guards, face masks, and even heart guards. Over the years, rules have been changed to reduce on-field injuries, such as the recent adoption of MLBs rule 7.13 which states a runner attempting to score may not deviate from his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate). But very little has been done to protect fans beyond netting behind home plate and warnings on the back of tickets and announcements over public address systems.

Organized baseball has no idea how many fans are injured each year. Each major and minor league team has a medical aid station at their respective ballparks, so injury statistics are available should management wish to study this issue. For some reason, however, the office of the Commissioner of Baseball has chosen not to do so. Journalist David Glovin, whose 2014 study is discussed in Chapter 12, has calculated that 1,750 fans are injured by foul balls at major league games each year. How many more foul-ball injuries occur at minor league and amateur games is unknown, as is the number of fans harmed by bats or thrown balls entering the stands.

After immersing ourselves in the dark side of the game for so many years, we cannot help but view fan safety in a different light. We both love baseball, but more must be done to protect the fans. We therefore recommend that the following measures be taken:

1.Screening should be extended to the ends of the dugouts on both the first and third base sides of the field. We know some fans will object to such a step, feeling that it reduces the chance of catching a foul ball or impedes their view of the game, but the safety of all spectators should be of primary importance. The game has changed significantly over the years and many of those attending contests today are not really cognizant of the dangers inherent in sitting close to the field. Most venues now have netting in front of the dugouts to protect players, so why not extend this same protection to those in the stands?