[...]... consulted the player files and other sources available in the A Bartlett Giamatti Research Center at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and acquired primary source materials such as death certificates when needed and available Finally, online indexes and databases such as ProQuest Historical Newspapers, NewspaperARCHIVE.com, The Baseball Index, Academic Search Premier, Academic... decided to include a separate listing for black baseball fatalities because of the historical interest in the game as played in a segregated America This category includes Negro League teams (existing from about 1920 to the early 1960s) as well as all African American teams — professional, semi -professional, and amateur — that played before the demise of the Negro Leagues The amateur level includes semipro... stepped in against Wolverines pitcher Kurt “Casey” Hageman, a four-year veteran of the minor leagues 1 Beaning Fatalities 15 This was not the first time that day the two had faced each other In fact, Hageman was the starting pitcher in the first game as well and had given up the home run to Pinkney in the first inning of that game Hageman was removed in the second inning of that first contest after allowing... Beaning Fatalities 11 Even after the beaning death of major leaguer Ray Chapman in 1920, batting helmets remained primitive and unpopular In 1937, the Des Moines (IA) Demons of the Class A Western League used polo helmets in a May 30 game against the Cedar Rapids (IA) Raiders Players and managers found the helmets “too heavy and cumbersome” and they were not used again after that one game Some major... baseball-related, but upon further investigation turned out to be incorrect or entirely fictional Within each chapter we grouped fatalities by level of play: major league, minor league, black baseball, and amateur Major league fatalities are those that occurred at the highest level of organized professional baseball, while minor league fatalities would be at the level just below that of the major leagues... members of the organization’s advisory board.30 Jesse “Jake” Batterton, 19, was an outstanding prospect in the St Louis Cardinals organization In 1933 he was playing second base for the Springfield (MO) Cardinals in the Class A Western League In the top half of the second inning of the second game of a July 2 doubleheader against the Omaha (NE) Packers, Batterton came up for his first at- bat On the mound was... has the sad distinction of being the first professional player killed by a pitch Whitney, 27-year-old star catcher and leading hitter for the first-place 14 I — Players Burlington (IA) Pathfinders of the Class D Iowa State League, was in his first season of professional ball after several years of playing in semipro leagues in Montana A native of Winchendon, MA, the young player was a favorite among teammates... contended The fact that only one man has been killed by a pitched ball in the long history of big league baseball testifies that bean balls are not an extreme hazard The bean ball is a misnomer, anyway What the pitchers throw is a brush-off ball, rarely aimed at the head and comparatively harmless when it hits any other part of the anatomy.” What Povich apparently did not know was that beanings at one... dangerous of the two sports, at least at the high school and college levels.10 In the pages that follow, we look at fatalities among baseball players, field personnel, and fans in the United States We analyze the causes, discuss what steps were taken to reduce fatalities (there are far fewer today than there were a century ago), and describe how the number and type of fatalities have changed over time We also... teammates and fans “His work while fielding as a catcher was easily superior to any other catcher in the league,” eulogized the local newspaper “His presence at bat was always a signal for applause from the stands He was never afraid of working too hard, and went after every ball that came his way.”19 Whitney was struck in the head during a Sunday afternoon game on June 24, 1906, in Waterloo, IA He was . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Death at the Ballpark This page intentionally left blank Death at the Ballpark A Comprehensive Study of Game-Related Fatalities. Pitched-Ball Fatalities 29 3—Thrown Ball Fatalities 36 4—Bat and Batted-Ball Fatalities 41 5—Collision Fatalities 54 6—Health-Related Fatalities 62 7—Fatalities