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We've seen it happen all too often; players that are cut down early in their careers, in their prime, or even when they are approaching the twilight of their careers. The list is lengthy and the reasons for their demise are varied. The causes of death include plane crash, disease, murder, surgical complications, heart attacks, boating accidents, car accidents, and drowning just to name some of them without getting into the specifics. As a result of my research, I have included a source reference at the end of the article so you could see how many ballplayers have met with an untimely end.

I chose seven ballplayers that I felt had an impact on the game either due to their performance or their personalities. They are listed in alphabetical order including the date of their death, position they played, and who they were playing for at the time of their passing.

Ray Chapman (8/17/1920) - Shortstop - Cleveland Naps (later Indians)

Born in Kentucky and raised in Illinois, Chapman broke into the big leagues on August 30th, 1912 with the Cleveland Naps (later Indians). He led the Indians in stolen bases for four seasons and in 1917 his 52 steals would be a record that stood for 63 years until it was broken in 1980. Entering a game against the Yankees on August 16th, 1920 at the Polo Grounds, Chapman was batting .303 and had scored 97 runs so far for the season. However, it would be the last game that he would ever play.

In the top of the fifth inning, late in the afternoon, pitcher Carl Mays of the Yankees struck Chapman in the temple with a submarine pitch. Several eyewitnesses at the time had said that Chapman, who frequently crowded the plate, never moved out of the way as if unable to see the ball. As a result of the sound that the ball made when it hit Chapman, Mays thought that the ball had come off his bat so he fielded the ball and threw it to the first baseman. Chapman was taken off the field by teammates and transported to the hospital where he died at 4:30am the next morning; he never regained consciousness.

Roberto Clemente (12/31/1972) - Right Field - Pittsburgh

Two World Series rings, four NL batting titles, 12 Gold Gloves, and 12 All Star Game appearances do not begin to equate to the indelible mark that this man left on the game of baseball. Brilliant scouting and a stroke of luck enabled the Pirates to steal Clemente from the Dodger's farm club for only $4,000 in 1954 when he was 20 years old.

Though Clemente was oftentimes labeled a hypochondriac, he was never afraid of the scorn from teammates that resulted when a player claimed that they were hurt. A back injury in 1954, an arm injury in 1959, and a bout with malaria in 1965 would maintain that unjustifiable label. Despite all this, he played in 140 or more games in eight straight seasons from 1960-67.

Clemente was considered a hero in his native Puerto Rico due to the charity work that occupied his time every off season. Sadly, it was this charity work that would claim his life. On December 23rd, 1972 the capital city of Managua, Nicaragua was devastated by an earthquake and Clemente responded almost immediately by procuring an airplane to transport relief supplies to the victims. Corrupt officials of the Somoza regime would divert the first three flights, depriving the victims of much needed supplies.

As a result, Clemente decided to accompany the fourth relief flight hoping that his presence would deter corrupt officials from stealing the supplies. A history of mechanical problems coupled with a suspect crew and being overloaded by 5,000 pounds was more than enough to spell doom for the flight. Shortly after the plane's takeoff on New Year's Eve of 1972, the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the Puerto Rican coast. Clemente's body would never be recovered.

Lou Gehrig (1/2/1941) - First Base - New York Yankees

What can you say about a man who claimed he felt like he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth when he knew he was dying? Lou Gehrig was the greatest first baseman ever (in my opinion) and one of the key components of the Yankees storied history. Interestingly enough, Gehrig broke in to the Yankees lineup in mid season of 1923, served as a pinch hitter in only 23 games, and was not a part of the 1923 World Series roster.

Despite being constantly overshadowed by Babe Ruth, Gehrig proved not only how talented he was but how well suited he was for a part of what would become known as Murderer's Row. The 1926 season was considered his breakout year when he batted .313 with 16 home runs and 112 RBI's. In 1927, he batted .373 and had 218 hits including 52 doubles, 20 triples, and 47 home runs. He amassed 117 extra base hits, second only to Ruth's 119 in 1921.

On June 3rd, 1932 Gehrig did the unheard of when he belted 4 home runs against the Athletics, and would have had a fifth were it not for the fact that A's center fielder Al Simmons made a leaping catch to rob Gehrig. As phenomenal as this feat was at the time, it was overshadowed in the newspapers by John McGraw's retirement after 30 years as manager of the New York Giants.

Midway through the 1938 season, Gehrig's performance on the field faltered dramatically inexplicably. By the start of the 1939 season, it was obvious that the Iron Horse was only a shadow of his former self. Once considered a great base runner, he now looked uncoordinated and clumsy on the base paths. April 30th was his 2,130th consecutive game and would be his last; he went hitless as well as struggled to make routine plays at first base. Before the next game on May 2nd, Gehrig approached Joe McCarthy (Yankees manager) and benched himself saying that he just couldn't play anymore and offered no explanation for what was wrong.

Gehrig and his wife Eleanor went to the Mayo Clinic on June 13th and after six days of rigorous testing he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which later would be called Lou Gehrig's disease. He was given less than three years to live. The cause of ALS was unknown at the time but it was described as painless, non-contagious and cruel - the nervous system is destroyed but the mind remains intact.

Gehrig's retirement was announced on June 21st and July 4th was declared Lou Gehrig day at Yankee Stadium. He died at 10:10pm on June 2nd, 1941 at his home in the Bronx exactly sixteen years to the day after replacing Wally Pipp at first base.

Josh Gibson (1/20/1947) - Catcher - Homestead Grays / Pittsburgh Crawfords

The list would not be complete without Josh Gibson, one of the greatest catchers of all time and quite possibly one of the greatest ballplayers to never play in the big leagues. Gibson did three tours with the Homestead Grays (1930-31, 1937-39, and 1942-46), played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932-36) and spent two seasons in the Mexican League at Veracruz (1940-41). Not only was he a talented catcher, but a powerful hitter as well, oftentimes being referred to as "the black Babe Ruth."

Barnstorming against semi-professional teams was the more profitable venue for the Negro Leagues, so very few regular season games were ever scheduled. Unfortunately for Gibson, record and stat keeping at the Negro League level wasn't as exacting as in the major leagues. It is for these reasons that some of Gibson's records and performances are subject to question and scrutiny.

As an example, in 1934 he was credited with 69 home runs while barnstorming and 11 during regular league games. (I don't know about you, but for me 69 + 11 = 80.) The best major league baseball has ever seen was Bonds' 73 homers in 2001. Also, it has been stated that when Gibson's career was over that he had amassed somewhere between 800 and 1,000 home runs. This statistic unfortunately has never been more than speculative.

It is well documented, however, that Gibson's best season was in 1933 when he hit .467 and 55 home runs in only 137 games --- definitely MVP stats by today's standards. The Special Committee on the Negro Leagues had recorded that at one point in his illustrious career that he had hit 224 home runs in 2,375 at bats against the top black teams of the day. That equated to one homer every 10.6 at bats. Not even The Babe's stats were that good.

As talented as Gibson was, he often succumbed to high blood pressure, bouts of alcohol and drug abuse, and fits of depression. Gibson was committed to a mental hospital in 1943 indicating that he was experiencing a mental (and soon to follow physical) slide in his career. He appeared tired and worn out to put it mildly. On January 20th, 1947 Gibson gathered his family around his bed before napping in the early afternoon claiming that he was going to die that day. The family dismissed his statement as pure folly thinking that maybe he had tipped the bottle a bit much earlier in the day.

Later that evening while enjoying a movie in a theater with the family, Gibson suffered a stroke and was taken unconscious to his mother's house where he died a few hours later. He was only 36 years old. His teammate, Jimmy Crutchfield, said that Gibson had died of a broken heart because he never made it into the white major leagues. Jackie Robinson would break into the majors only a few months after Gibson had passed away. It was a sad coincidence in baseball history.

Ken Hubbs (2/13/1964) - Second Base - Chicago Cubs

Hubbs was 19 years old when he first set foot on a major league ball field on September 10th, 1961. But 1962 was the year he made his mark winning Rookie of the Year honors and setting a record of 78 consecutive games without committing an error. He was also the first rookie to ever win the Gold Glove Award as well and batted a record 661 times that year. Despite being the best second baseman in the game of baseball at the time, Hubbs was a poor hitter.

It was well documented that Hubbs had a fear of flying so he decided to overcome his phobia by taking flying lessons. Though his reasoning was sound, it would prove fatal. On February 13th, 1964 Hubbs was with his close friend Dennis Doyle visiting family in Provo, Utah. That had also participated in a charity basketball game for the Church of Latter Day Saints earlier in the day. The pair took off in a Cessna 172 heading back to their homes in Colton, California.

Roughly a minute or two into the flight, and five miles out of Provo, the plane went down in poor weather in an area of Utah Lake that was covered in ice. They had taken off into a heavy snow flurries and temperatures well below zero. After three days of searching, authorities found their bodies frozen in the lake waters. Hubbs was only 22 years old.

Addie Joss (4/14/1911) - Pitcher - Cleveland Naps (later Indians)

Though he occasionally played first base, third base, and center field, Joss made his mark in the majors as a pitcher and was admired by many other ballplayers throughout the league. When Joss joined the Cleveland club on April 26th, 1902, they were called either the Blues or the Bronchos, depending on whose version of the story you are reading. But the name was changed to the Naps in 1905 and then to the Indians in 1915.

In his brief nine years in the majors, Joss' most remarkable stat is that he pitched 234 complete games out of his 260 career starts for an unprecedented 90% completion mark. His final season was filled with arm injuries and he only started in 13 games. Joss' lifetime ERA of 1.88 ranks second only to that of the great Ed Walsh whose 1.82 ERA is still revered as the best in history.

Joss' career was cut short after eight complete seasons and 13 games of a ninth when he was diagnosed with tubercular meningitis, and then died from the illness on April 14th, 1911 only two days after his 31st birthday. An "all star" game was organized for the benefit of Joss' family. Though his career in the majors was a brief one, the Veteran's Committee bent the 10 year career minimum rule because of his ERA, and he was allowed induction into the Hall of Fame.

Thurman Munson (8/2/1979) - Catcher - New York Yankees

Considered by many to be one of the best catchers of all time, Thurman Munson broke into the Yankees lineup on August 8th, 1969 at the age of 22. He played in only 100 minor league games but under his leadership as team captain, the Yanks became world champions in 1977-78. In 1970, Munson was voted Rookie of the Year in the AL and in 1976 won the AL MVP award. Munson is the only Yankee to have ever won both awards.

While the Yankees were going to the World Series in 1976-78, Munson was at the peak of his career. He hit over .300 and had over 100 RBI's three years in a row (1975-77), won the MVP in 1976, batted an unheard of .529 in the Yanks loss to the Reds in the 1976 World Series, and batted .320 in both the 1977 and 1978 fall classics. He also won three Gold Gloves and was a seven-time all star in his brief career.

Originally from Akron, Ohio, Munson often dealt with bouts of homesickness. For this reason, he took up flying figuring he could visit his family in Canton on his off days. On august 2nd, 1979 he was practicing take-off and landing procedures in his new Cessna Citation VSP jet at the Akron-Canton regional airport.

On his third touch-and-go run, he failed to lower the flaps causing the plane to sink, and making it impossible for him to bring the plane under control. The jet clipped a tree, fell short of the runway, and then slammed into a tree stump bursting into flames. Though injured and slightly burned, Munson was trapped in the plane and the asphyxiation that resulted was the actual cause of his death. There were two other passengers on board, however they were pulled to safety and survived. Munson was only 32 years old.

The next day saw the Baltimore Orioles arrive at the stadium for a four game series with New York. In a pre-game ceremony for their deceased captain, eight of Munson's teammates stood at all of the defensive positions on the field. In tribute to Munson, the catcher's box remained empty for the duration of the ceremony. To this day, there is an empty locker to the right of Derek Jeter's in the Yankees clubhouse that bears Munson's number 15.

On a closing note where Munson is concerned, I find it almost idiotic that sportswriters still feel that his career was too brief, and that he was only a "borderline" candidate at best to be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.

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