100 Years Today
-
Ray Chapman was the Omar Vizquel of his time - a talented shortstop loved by the fans of Cleveland. He started with Cleveland in 1912, and was in his ninth season with the Indians when he stepped into the batter's box on August 16th, 1920. It was the top of the 5th inning at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, New York, and the Indians and Yankees were in a dead-heat for the American League pennant, when Chapman entered the batter's box. One hundred years ago today.
The count was one ball, one strike when the submarine fastball from Carl Mays rode high and tight, striking Chapman in the left temple. The sound was so loud, Mays assumed the pitch had hit Chapman's bat and fielded the ball and threw it to first base. Chapman slumped to his knees in the batter's box. He would be rushed to the nearby St. Lawrence Hospital, where an emergency surgery would be performed to remove a 3 and a half inch portion of his skull in an attempt to alleviate the swelling. Sadly, it didn't help. Chapman passed away on August 17th, 1920 at 4:40 am. He was 29 years old, with a pregnant wife.He was and still is the only fatality in Major League Baseball history. The Indians would end up besting the Yankees to win the American League pennant in 1920, and then won the World Series vs Brooklyn, for "Chappie".
-
Chapman's grave, at Cleveland's historic Lake View Cemetery, which sits on the hill overlooking Little Italy.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login