Death at the Ballpark: More Than 2,000 Game-Related Fatalities of Players, Other Personnel and Spectators in Amateur and Professional Baseball, 1862-2014, 2d ed.

by Robert M. Gorman, David Weeks

Overview

When we think of baseball, we think of sunny days and leisurely outings at the ballpark--rarely do thoughts of death come to mind. Yet during the game's history, hundreds of players, coaches and spectators have died while playing or watching the National Pastime.

In its second edition, this ground-breaking study provides the known details for 150 years of game-related deaths, identifies contributing factors and discusses resulting changes to game rules, protective equipment, crowd control and stadium structures and grounds. Topics covered include pitched and batted-ball fatalities, weather and field condition accidents, structural failures, fatalities from violent or risky behavior and deaths from natural causes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476622583
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	10/30/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	344
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert M. Gorman is a retired university reference librarian with more than 40 years of professional research experience. He lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The late David Weeks was a former research librarian at Winthrop University’s Dacus Library. He and Robert Gorman received the McFarland–SABR Baseball Research Award in 2003 for the article “Foul Play: Fan Fatalities in Twentieth-Century Organized Baseball.” He lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Robert M. Gorman is a retired university reference librarian with more than 40 years of professional research experience. He received the 2009 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award for the book he and David Weeks wrote, Death at the Ballpark (McFarland, 2009; 2d ed. 2015). He lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
The late David Weeks was a former research librarian at Winthrop University's Dacus Library. He and Robert Gorman received the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award in 2003 for the article "Foul Play: Fan Fatalities in Twentieth-Century Organized Baseball." He lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Introduction
I • Players
1—Beaning Fatalities
2—Other ­Pitched-Ball Fatalities
3—Thrown Ball Fatalities
4—Bat and ­Batted-Ball Fatalities
5—Collision Fatalities
6—Health-Related Fatalities
7—Fatalities from Weather and Field Conditions
8—Fatalities from Violence
9—Erroneously Reported Player Fatalities
II • Field Personnel
10—Play, Health and ­Field-Related Fatalities Among Field Personnel
11—Violence Against Field Personnel
III • Fans
12—Action-Related Fatalities Among Fans
13—Fan Fatalities from Falls, Risky Behavior and Violence
14—Health-Related Fatalities Among Fans
15—Weather and ­Field-Related Fatalities Among Fans
Appendix A—Unconfirmed Fatalities
Appendix B—Chronology of All Fatalities
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

an excellent reference resource...a quality reference work and should have a place on the shelves of all historians researching connections between sport, violence, and safety”—Journal of Sport History; “this book belongs in large public library and college or university baseball collections but its distinctive subject matter will be of interest to a wide range of baseball fans as well as many baseball players of all ages and to researchers interested in the sociology of sports”—ARBA; “Reviews of the first edition”: “recommended”—Library Journal; “fascinating anecdotes...exhaustively researched...a fascinating read...a fascinating resource”—Nine; “the definitive account of baseball fatalities”—S.L. Price, Sports Illustrated; “fascinating account”—Charlotte Observer; “fascinating”—Times-News, magicvalley.com; “the definitive account of baseball fatalities”—SI.com; “an excellent reference book and a triumph of difficult research”—Tim Wiles, Director of Research, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

From the Publisher