Raymond Johnson Chapman (1891-1920) spent his career as a shortstop on the Cleveland Indians baseball team. Joining the team in 1912, he was considered one of the fastest men in baseball. He led the league in sacrifice hits for three years, setting a major league record with 67 sacrifices in 1917. In 1,303 baseball games with Cleveland, his batting average was .278.
While playing the New York Yankees in New York on August 16, 1920, Chapman was hit in the head with a ball thrown by pitcher Carl Mays, and died 12 hours later. Chapman is the only major league baseball player to die due to an injury during a game. Dedicating the season to the memory of "Chappie," the Indians won the league and world championship for the first time.
Check out Chapman’s obituary here.
