On August 16, 1920, a routine game at New York’s Polo Grounds turned into baseball’s darkest day.
The Yankees’ Carl Mays, a pitcher known for his submarine-style delivery, threw a fastball high and inside. Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman barely had time to react. The dirty, shadowed ball struck him directly in the temple.
The sharp sound made Mays think the ball had hit Chapman’s bat. He calmly fielded it and threw to first—only then realizing Chapman had collapsed. Blood dripped from his ear as teammates and doctors rushed to help.
Chapman briefly regained consciousness. With heartbreaking grace, he whispered to his teammates: “Tell Mays not to worry… Ring Katie.” Katie was his young wife, expecting their first child. Chapman had planned to retire at season’s end to start family life.
He never made it home. Hours later, at St. Lawrence Hospital, Ray Chapman passed away. He remains the only player in Major League history to die from an on-field injury.
Mays was devastated, saying later, “I would give anything to undo what happened. Chapman was a splendid fellow.” Though he kept pitching—and even helped the Yankees win a World Series—he carried the tragedy with him for the rest of his life.
Chapman’s death exposed just how dangerous baseball was in that era. Players faced blazing fastballs with no helmets—only cloth caps. It would take decades before batting helmets became mandatory in 1971.
Today, helmets are a given. But once, they weren’t. The game changed only after it was too late for Ray Chapman.
To his memory—a splendid fellow, gone far too soon.