The date was August 16, 1920. The late afternoon sun beat down relentlessly on the Polo Grounds as the New York Yankees took on the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland Indians’ shortstop Ray Chapman strode to the plate to face Yankees hurler Carl Mays. Mays stretched and then released a submarine pitch that crashed into the left side of Chapman’s face. Chapman slowly sank to the ground with blood pouring from his left ear. Chapman was rushed to a local hospital, where he died twelve hours later, earning the dubious distinction of being the only player in major league history to die from an injury caused during a major league baseball game.

However, the story didn’t end with Chapman’s death. Previously, pitchers were allowed to scuff up the baseball, rub dirt on it and then doctor it with licorice and tobacco juice. The league then passed a rule requiring an umpire to throw out a new ball when the old one got dirty, and also made the spitball illegal. Chapman's death was also cited when the National League required use of batting helmets in 1956, followed by the American League in 1958.

Following his death Chapman was inducted into the Cleveland Indians’ Hall of Fame. During his eight-year career, Chapman carried a lifetime batting average of .278, set the major league record of 67 sacrifice hits in a season, held the Cleveland stolen base record until 1980, led the league in putouts three times, and once led the league in runs scored.

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