The Only Man Killed by a Pitch

On the afternoon of August 16, 1920, Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman stepped up at the Polo Grounds against Yankees pitcher Carl Mays, a submarine-style thrower known for a fastball that dove in on right-handed hitters late. The ball in play that day was scuffed and darkened the way most balls were then, and in the shadows of a late-inning at bat Chapman never moved. The pitch cracked into his skull with a sound so sharp that Mays thought he had hit the bat and threw the carom to first base. Chapman was helped toward the clubhouse before collapsing, and he died at St. Lawrence Hospital before dawn the next morning without ever regaining consciousness. He remains the only player in major league history to die from an injury suffered on the field.