On December 24, 1913, former outfielder Louis “Chief” Sockalexis dies from tuberculosis in Burlington, Maine. Sockalexis spent three seasons in the majors and was one of the first, if not the first, Native American to play professionally.
John C. Bender, brother of Philadelphia great Chief Bender, dies the same month he played his final minor league game; it is frequently mistakenly reported as taking place on the baseball diamond for nearly a century.
1911 – Cleveland Naps star pitcher Addie Joss dies unexpectedly in Toledo, Ohio, from meningitis at the age of 31. Beset with arm injuries, Joss made just 13 appearances last season, but his 160 wins and ERA of 1.88, compiled in nine seasons, will earn him a plaque at Cooperstown in 1978.
On December 13, 1910, former major leaguer Dan McGann is found dead in a hotel room in Louisville, Kentucky, having shot himself in the chest. McGann, 39 years old, was apparently distressed over several family tragedies. A first baseman, McGann batted .300 four times and played in the 1905 World Series for John…
On July 28, 1909, National League President Harry Pulliam commits suicide at the New York Athletic Club. The 40-year-old Pulliam, distraught by his performance in office, had recently been granted a leave of absence.
On February 4, 1909, Hall of Fame pitcher John Clarkson dies dies in Belmont, Massachusetts, at the age of 47. Clarkson won 328 games during a 12-year career in the 19th century. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.
1908 – Julia Stahl, widow of Chick Stahl, is found dead in the doorway of a Boston tenement house. Stahl, the Boston Red Sox manager, committed suicide last year during spring training.
1908 – Henry Chadwick dies at age 83 in Brooklyn, New York. A sportswriter and historian, Chadwick was one of the prime movers in the rise of baseball to its unprecedented popularity at the turn of the 20th century. He will be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee in 1938.
1907 – Popular outfielder Chick Stahl, who replaced Jimmy Collins as manager of the Boston Americans at the end of last season, commits suicide while travelling with the team in West Baden Springs, Indiana. After breakfast he returns to his room and drinks four ounces of carbolic acid. He leaves a note: “Boys, I just couldn’t help it. It drove me to it.” Cy Young reluctantly agrees to start the season as Boston’s manager, but there will be three others during the year.
Sports promoter Jim Kennedy, priportedly just 23 years old when he managed the AA Brooklyn Gladiators in 1890, which would make him the youngest manager in ML history if true, dies of a heart attack aboard a commuter train in Brighton Beach, NY
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