The Death of Ray Chapman

In the top of the fifth inning at the Polo Grounds on August 16, 1920, Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman crowded the plate against New York Yankees submarine pitcher Carl Mays. Mays's pitch struck Chapman in the head with a crack loud enough that Mays fielded the ball and threw to first, believing it had hit the bat. Chapman collapsed and was carried from the field. He died at a New York hospital early the next morning, the only player in Major League Baseball history to die from an injury sustained during a game.

Cleveland went on to win the game 4–3 and, weeks later, the pennant and the World Series behind rookie shortstop Joe Sewell, who replaced Chapman in the lineup. Mays, though cleared of intentional wrongdoing, was booed by opposing crowds for the rest of his career.

Chapman's death is often cited as a turning point in the campaign to keep cleaner, more visible baseballs in play during games, and in the slow, decades-long push toward batting helmets, which were not required in the majors until 1971.