Orioles catcher Tom Gastall dies as the plane he is piloting crashes into the Chesapeake Bay. The 24 year-old backup backstop, who signed a $40,000 contract as a “bonus baby” with Baltimore after being drafted by the NFL’s Detroit Lions, was the captain of the Boston University’s basketball and baseball teams in his senior year and played quarterback for the Terriers’ football team.

This Day In Baseball

On September 19, 1956 — Orioles catcher Tom Gastall dies as the plane he is piloting crashes into the Chesapeake Bay. The 24 year-old backup backstop, who signed a $40,000 contract as a “bonus baby” with Baltimore after being drafted by the NFL’s Detroit Lions, was the captain of the Boston University’s basketball and baseball teams in his senior year and played quarterback for the Terriers’ football team.

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Sources:
Baseball Reference September 19
National Pastime September 19
Retro Sheet
Hall of Fame
SABR Games Project
Replay The Game