"I Guess I Forgot to Duck": On-Field Player Fatalities in the Minor Leagues. (Articles)

On August 18, 1920--a day after the death of Cleveland second baseman Ray Chapman at the hands of Yankees pitcher Carl Mays--the New York Tribune had this to say about the dangers of baseball: The extreme rarity of fatal or even of serious accidents in baseball is surprising, when one remembers the vast multitudes who play the game. Consider the number who are drowned while bathing or boating, who meet injury or death while hunting. In the light of such comparisons baseball is singularly free from untoward happenings. Ray Chapman's fate, sad as it is, may be rated as sheer accident. It represents a coincidence not likely to occur again. (1) How true is this statement? Is baseball a relatively safe game with few incidences of on-field fatalities? What does the historical record show? Even the most casual fan is aware of the potential dangers in baseball. A hit batsman, line drives through the box or into the stands, and errant throws are regular occurrences in every baseball game. All fans have seen on-field injuries to players, officials, and fans as a result of these types of incidences, but few are aware of the game's tragic history, especially in its early days. Baseball-related deaths were so common among the general population, in fact, that a Chicago-based statistician used to report annually on fatalities and injuries nationwide. For instance, there were ninety-four reported deaths during 1914 and 1915. The causes for eighty-seven of these fatalities were disclosed: fifty-eight from pitched balls, ten from overexertion, seven from collisions, six from fights during or after the game, five from thrown bats, and one from sliding. (2) In a study of competitive sports in New York City from 1918 through 1950, one researcher found baseball to be the deadliest sport, with forty-three recorded fatalities, twice as many as football or boxing. (3) Even today baseball is the leading cause of sports-related fatalities among children ages five to fourteen. Between 1973 and 1990 the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported seventy deaths, mostly caused by impact trauma to the head or chest. (4) Minor League baseball has experienced more than its share of tragedy. Since 1883--the year most commonly accepted as the beginning of the modern organized Minor League system--at least twenty-six players have died. (5) Causes include the following: thirteen died as a result of beanings or being hit by a pitch, one from a thrown ball, three from collisions, one from a batted ball, five from overexertion or heart attack, and two from other causes. Most of these deaths occurred prior to 1961. Over the past forty years only two player fatalities have occurred. Before discussing why the death rate has decreased, a closer examination of the causes of these fatalities is in order. Being hit by a pitched or thrown ball was the most common cause of fatalities among Minor Leaguers (Table 1). The five most recent incidences occurred during night games, and half involved players in the lower minors (C or D). The first deadly beanings to occur were in 1906. Herbert M. Whitney, catcher for the Burlington Pathfinders of the Iowa State League, was beaned during a game against the Waterloo Microbes on June 24 and died two days later. On August 9 Joe Yeager of the Fall River Indians in a New England League game struck Thomas Burke, left fielder for the Lynn Shoemakers, in the temple. Like Whitney, Burke passed away two days after the incident. Shortly thereafter, while Yeager was taking the mound to pitch, Lynn police arrested him on a charge of manslaughter. The charge was later dropped. (6) Winnipeg, Canada, was the site of two beaning fatalities. In the first inning of a Northern League game on August 27, 1936, Superior Blues second baseman George Tkach faced Winnipeg Maroons pitcher Alex Uffelman. With a 2-strike count, Tkach stepped into the next pitch thinking it would be an outside curve. …

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