Sat 9/28 @ 2PM
Ray Chapman had it made. Baseball didn’t pay enough to make a living back in the 1910s, but the Cleveland Indians shortstop, son of an Illinois coalminer had already broken the shackles of familial poverty, snagging an executive day job and marrying one of Cleveland’s richest women. But a freak accident ended it all in an instant when in 1920 at the age of 29, he became the first baseball player ever to die from an injury received in a major-league baseball game when he was hit in the head by a pitch. He is buried at Lake View Cemetery.
That’s where local baseball historian will be talking about his new book Love and Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapmanat Wade Chapel. Come hear the story and then visit the gravesite, where many fans leave baseballs and other memorabilia.
It’s free and open to all. Books will be available for purchase courtesy of Mac’s Backs.