IIt takes a baseball a moment to move from the pitching mound to home plate. In that short span of time, disaster struck a century ago during a game between the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees.
On August 16, 1920, when the two teams were locked in a pennant race, Indian star shortstop Ray Chapman met Yankees pitcher Carl Mays at the Polo Grounds in New York. Mays tried to intimidate thugs by standing inside. This time, Chapman’s high pitch hit the head and the batter fell to the ground. He was eventually taken to St. Lawrence Hospital for surgery, but died. He was 28. Of the tens of millions of fields thrown in Major League Baseball history, this was the only one to kill anyone. Chapman’s death is the subject of a new documentary, War for the diamond, directed by Andy Billman.
Billman says this right after the tragedy: “Many did not know whether Carl Mays should play again.” He calls Chapman “really popular, not just in Cleveland… Carl Mays was not popular. It was important news. “
Chapman’s death was a landmark moment. The Indians found the resilience to defeat the Yankees for the American League pennant and won their first World Series – which it turned out to be quite significant, with Bill Wambsganss of Cleveland becoming the first and so far only triple play without support in the history of the World Series.
“Growing up as a Cleveland Indians fan, I didn’t hear much about the 1920s” [championship]“, Says Billmann. “That’s unusual for the Clevelanders. We boast Jim Brown, Paul Brown [in football] … a lot of bragging rights [Bob] Feller, Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby [who helped the Indians win their second and most recent championship in 1948]. We don’t hear much about 1920 … I didn’t know much about the 1920 team before I started [on the film].“
Hailing from Cleveland, Billman can talk at length about the city’s sports scene and its fans – which he recorded in a previous film, Believeland, for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. His latest project is an ambitious endeavor. The 1920 season is believed to have sparked a rivalry between the Indians and Yankees that is still going strong. While the Yankees generally had the upper hand, the Indians enjoyed a few moments too – including 1948 when they broke the AL color line with Doby and Satchel Paige, and in the 1990s and 2000s when the Indians frequently defeated the Yankees in the Playoffs, like during the infamous “bug game” 2007.
The rivalry includes another tragedy that eerily resembles the one in the film. In 1957, the promising pitcher Herb Score from Cleveland suffered a terrifying eye injury when a ball from Yankee Gil McDougald’s bat struck him in the face. Score survived, but the team failed to overcome his loss or swap of another star, Rocky Colavito – a deal that was supposedly put a curse on the Indians. Billman is also investigating the drama that unfolded in the 1970s when a Cleveland native named George Steinbrenner tried to buy his home team but was turned away and bought the Yankees instead. His family still runs the Yankees to this day.
The project is based on a 1989 book called The Pitch That Killed by Mike Sowell, who came on board as a consultant. Filmmakers found rare footage from that era – including audio from Mays talking about his tough Kentucky childhood and a video of the pitcher’s sidearm being dropped with his torso parallel to the ground.
“[Mays] had a very, very rough one [upbringing]“, Says Billmann. “That was quite normal for the time. He was born in the Midwest in 1891 with a lot of things we don’t grow up with – sudden injury and death. Life expectancy for men was usually 50, not very long. Baseball was a very tough game. Somebody like Carl Mays was, I think, more the norm. ”He compares Mays to Ty Cobb:“ They hated each other. They had similar qualities – to be won at any price. It wasn’t unusual. “
Like Mays, Chapman was born in Kentucky. Unlike Mays, the shortstop was a popular figure in Cleveland and beyond. He married Kathleen Daly, who came from one of the most prominent families in town. After their expected retirement, the couple were ready for a bright future.
“They were founded to be civic, in the news, politically and socially,” explains Billman. “It would be light for success.”
However, one of Cleveland’s other stars, Tris Speaker, became the team’s new manager and convinced his friend Chapman to stay for the 1920 season.
It was a turning point for baseball, which was reflected in the three teams that vied for the AL pennant. There was Cleveland, led by speaker, Chapman, and top pitcher Jim Bagby Jr. There were the Yankees, who were on the rise after getting Babe Ruth into a famous deal with the Red Sox – and so was Mays of Boston all in one had acquired a separate deal. And, controversially, there was the Chicago White Sox, which is widely suspected Throwing the preseason world series – Doubts that would eventually lead to a life ban of eight “Black Sox” players.
In August, the Indians traveled by train for a series with the Yankees that would include the fateful match-up that would kill Chapman.
“It was a hot, humid day,” says Billman. The ball itself was not “bright white” but “cloudy, yellowish … probably traces of abrasion”, as the throwers used dirt or spit to make it less hitable. To add to the difficulties, “Carl Mays had a sling submarine delivery. It didn’t come straight at you. “
Chapman stepped up to the plate. Billman compares him to a modern day star – Ichiro Suzuki, who swings out of the box, swings and runs to get to the first base. Here was the game [back then]The director notes that the teams were playing in the heat of a pennant race, the Yankees and Indians attempting their first AL pennant. In addition, Carl Mays had no problem meeting people. “
Mays’ pitch was too high to play and it hit Chapman. Mays caught the ball apparently thinking Chapman was making contact with his racket and was trying to get the ball out at first base. Mays said afterward that he doesn’t think Chapman ever saw his seat.
Reflecting on the extent of the tragedy, Billman says that “it’s amazing, nothing like this had happened before this pitch. It wasn’t a game that really relied on health and safety. This really saved the owners money. Impact helmets did not appear until the end of the 1950s. “
On archive audio, Mays said, “I didn’t hit Chapman, Chapman hit himself. He ran into the ball, which was over the plate, but head high. That’s how Chapman was met. “
Billman forgives Mays, however. “Did he intentionally kill Ray Chapman?” asks Billmann. “No, definitely not. Did he try to interfere? Absolutely. It’s still part of the game today. “
But what was not part of the game back then was “modern medicine”.
“You are in no hurry [Chapman] to the hospital, ”complains Billman. “Today they would rush him immediately.”
Chapman died the next day as crowds packed his funeral service to comfort his widow.
“When something like this happens, it doesn’t just bother a city, but of course a family as well – in this case [Kathleen] Dalys, ”thinks Billman. “You never really got over it.”
Kathleen Chapman remarried, but less than a decade later, both she and her young daughter were also dead. Regarding reports that she killed herself, Billman says we “will never know”. Their daughter died during a measles epidemic.
“It’s a sad story,” says Billman. “It is really very sad to talk about your late daughter in particular.”
As for Mays, some have questioned his reaction to Ray Chapman’s death.
“I think he felt awful, but he didn’t feel guilty,” says Billman. “The next day he felt like throwing on the hill again … There were clearly more Carl Mayses in 1920 than at the beginning of the 21st century.”
Still, he notes, “After that moment, baseball really changed. If I just do research, you won’t see people like Ty Cobb and Carl Mays anymore. Somehow they disappear as a result of this incident. “
Chapmans Grab Lake View Cemetery remains a place where Clevelanders leave baseball, poetry, and quarters as a token of respect.
“It really is a pilgrimage,” says Billman. “It’s one of the things that says a lot about who he was, what that means, at least among the Clevelanders. I’m not surprised it still happens today since I’m from Cleveland. People are still writing and broadcasting things from 1920 – 100 years. “
