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{{Short description|American baseball player (1891–1920)}}
{{For-multi|the Australian philatelist|Ray Chapman (philatelist)|the American sport shooter|Ray Chapman (marksman)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Ray Chapman
|image=Ray_Chapman_Baseball.jpg
|position=[[Shortstop]]
|birth_date={{Birth date|1891|1|15}}
|birth_place=[[Beaver Dam, Kentucky]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1920|8|17|1891|1|15}}
|death_place=[[Manhattan, New York]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=August 30
|debutyear=1912
|debutteam=Cleveland Indians
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=August 16
|finalyear=1920
|finalteam=Cleveland Indians
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.278
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=17
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=364
|teams=
*[[Cleveland Indians]] ({{Baseball year|1912}}–{{Baseball year|1920}})
|highlights=
* [[Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame]]
}}

'''Raymond Johnson Chapman''' (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920) was an American [[baseball]] player. He spent his entire career as a [[shortstop]] for the [[Cleveland Indians]] of the [[American League]].

Chapman was hit in the head by a [[pitch (baseball)|pitch]] thrown by pitcher [[Carl Mays]] and died 12 hours later. He is the only person to die directly from an injury received while playing in a [[Major League Baseball]] game.<ref name=plaque/><ref name="Goodman, Rebecca 2005 250">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IJtVP9WnXEC&q=Morrow+Ohio&pg=PA250 | title=This Day in Ohio History | publisher=Emmis Books | year=2005 | access-date=November 21, 2013 |last=Goodman|first=Rebecca | pages=250| isbn=9781578601912 }}</ref> His death led baseball to establish a rule requiring [[Umpire (baseball)|umpires]] to replace the ball whenever it becomes dirty. Chapman's death and sanitary concerns also led to the ban on [[spitball]]s after the 1920 season.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wulf |first=Steve |date=April 13, 1981 |title=Tricks Of The Trade |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1981/04/13/825541/tricks-of-the-trade-loaded-bats-phantom-dps-and-balls-doctored-with-everything-from-flour-to-fly-line-cleaner-may-be-illegit-but-theyre-as-much-a-part-of-the-grand-old-game-as-well-the-spitter |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=April 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Terbush |first=Jon |date=May 3, 2013 |title=Spitballs, nail files, and other ways pitchers cheat |url=http://theweek.com/articles/464750/spitballs-nail-files-other-ways-pitchers-cheat |magazine=The Week |access-date=April 23, 2018 }}</ref> Chapman's death was also one of the examples cited to justify the wearing of [[batting helmet]]s. However, it took over 30 years to adopt the rule that required their use.

==Early life==
Ray Chapman was born to Robert and Blanche Chapman ([[née]] Johnson) in [[Beaver Dam, Kentucky]], and raised in [[Herrin, Illinois]].<ref>{{cite book| last= Gay| first= Timothy M. |title=Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-tumble Life of a Baseball Legend|publisher=University of Nebraska Press| year=2006| page= 174| isbn=0-8032-2206-8}}</ref>

==Career==
Chapman broke into the major leagues in 1912 with the [[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland team]], then known as the Naps.<ref>{{cite book| last= Poremba |first=David Lee |title=The American League: The Early Years| publisher= Arcadia Publishing |year= 2000| page= 125|isbn=0-7385-0710-5}}</ref>

Chapman led the American League in [[Run (baseball statistics)|runs scored]] and [[base on balls|walks]] in 1918. A top-notch [[Bunt (baseball)|bunter]], Chapman is sixth on the all-time list for [[sacrifice hits]] and holds the single season record with 67 in 1917. Only [[Stuffy McInnis]] has more career [[Sacrifice hit|sacrifices]] as a right-handed batter. Chapman was also an excellent shortstop who led the league in assists once. He [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] .300 or better three times, and led the Indians in [[stolen base]]s four times. In 1917, he set a team record of 52 stolen bases, which stood until 1980. He was hitting .303 with 97 runs scored when he died. He was one of the few players whom [[Ty Cobb]] considered a friend.<ref name=history>{{cite book |last1= Goodman|first1=Rebecca |last2= Brunsman| first2= Barrett J. |title=This Day in Ohio History|publisher=Emmis Books|year=2005|page=250|isbn=1578601916}}</ref>

There was conjecture that 1920 was going to be Chapman's last year as a pro baseball player. Shortly before the season began, Chapman married Kathleen Daly, who was the daughter of a prominent Cleveland businessman. Chapman had indicated he was going to retire to devote himself to the family business into which he was marrying, as well as to begin a family.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thedeadballera.com/participants.html| title=The Mays/Chapman Incident: The Participants |website= thedeadballera.com}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Ray Chapman Grave.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|Ray Chapman's grave]]

On August 16, 1920, while at bat, Chapman was struck in the head and killed by a pitch thrown by [[Carl Mays]] during a game against the [[New York Yankees]] at the [[Polo Grounds]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MiwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9 |title=Carl Mays: My Pitch That Killed Chapman Was A Strike! |last=Propert |first=Phyllis |work=Baseball Digest |date=July 1957 |volume=16 |number=6 |issn=0005-609X}}</ref> At the time, pitchers commonly dirtied balls with soil, [[Liquorice|licorice]], and [[tobacco juice]], and otherwise scuffed, sandpapered, scarred, cut, or spiked them, giving a "misshapen, earth-colored ball that traveled through the air erratically, tended to soften in the later innings, and, as it came over the plate, was very hard to see."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Geoffrey C. |last2=Burns |first2=Ken |author-link2=Ken Burns |title=Baseball: An Illustrated History |publisher=Knopf |year=1996 |page=153 |isbn=0-679-76541-7}}</ref> Mays threw with a [[Submarine (baseball)|submarine]] delivery, and it was late afternoon. Eyewitnesses recounted that Chapman did not react to the pitch at all, presumably unable to see it. The sound of the ball striking Chapman's skull was so loud that Mays thought it had hit the end of Chapman's bat; he fielded the ball and threw to first base.<ref name=plaque/>

Home plate umpire [[Tom Connolly (umpire)|Tommy Connolly]], noticing that Chapman was bleeding from his left ear, screamed towards the stands for a doctor. [[Tris Speaker]], who had been on deck, rushed to Chapman, as did several players from each team. Carl Mays merely stood on the mound. Chapman tried to walk, but his knees buckled. As he was helped off the field by his teammates, he mumbled "I'm all right; tell Mays not to worry... ring....Katie's ring," before falling unconscious.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedeadballera.com/incident.html |title=The Mays/Chapman Inicident |access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/s/quiz/5/21.html |title=Classic Box Score: August 16, 1920 |last=Caple |first=Jim |author-link=Jim Caple |date=May 21, 2001 |publisher=[[ESPN Internet Ventures]] |access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> Chapman was taken to St. Lawrence Hospital, a short distance from the Polo Grounds, where he was diagnosed with a depressed [[skull fracture]]. Despite emergency surgery to relieve swelling on his brain, Chapman died at 4:40 a.m. the next day. His pregnant wife Katie, summoned from [[Cleveland]] by phone, arrived at 10:00 a.m. and fainted upon learning he had died.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title= Beaned by a Pitch, Ray Chapman Dies|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 17, 1920|access-date=June 13, 2024}}</ref>

Thousands of mourners attended Chapman's funeral at the [[Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Cleveland, Ohio)|Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist]] in Cleveland<ref name="Goodman, Rebecca 2005 250"/> and he was buried at [[Lake View Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dyer|first=Bob|title=The Top 20 Moments in Cleveland Sports: Tremendous Tales of Heroes and Heartbreaks|location=Cleveland|publisher=Gray & Co.|date=2003|isbn=978-1598510300|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Ss1kgr1u-EC|page=160}}</ref>

Cleveland players wore [[black armband]]s for the remainder of the season.<ref>{{cite book |last=McNeil |first=William |title=The Single-Season Home Run Kings: Ruth, Maris, McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds |publisher=McFarland |year=2002 |pages=24 |isbn=0-7864-1441-3}}</ref> The Indians won the [[1920 World Series]] and dedicated their victory to Chapman.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Vadaj|first1=Rachel|last2=Dakota|first2=Michael|title=100 years ago, Cleveland Indians' Ray Chapman became the only MLB player to die playing the game|url=https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/08/16/years-ago-cleveland-indians-ray-chapman-became-only-mlb-player-die-playing-game/|access-date=January 16, 2022|website=www.cleveland19.com|date=August 16, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Honors==
A bronze plaque was designed in Chapman's memory, funded by donations from fans, was hung at [[League Park]] and was moved to [[Cleveland Stadium]] when the [[Cleveland Guardians|Indians]] moved there in 1946. Sometime in the early 1970s, however, it was removed for unknown reasons.<ref name=plaque>{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2818187|title=Indians uncover lost Chapman plaque|date=March 29, 2007 |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |work=ESPN.com |author=Withers, Tom |access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=League Park: historic home of Cleveland baseball, 1891–1946 |author1=Krsolovic, Ken |author2=Fritz, Bryan |year=2013 |publisher=MacFarland & Company|location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]] |page=58 |isbn=978-0-7864-6826-3}}</ref> In 2007 it was refurbished and made part of Progressive Field's Heritage Park, which includes the [[Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame]] and other exhibits from the team's history. Chapman had been inducted into the team Hall of Fame in 2006, part of the first new induction class since 1972.<ref name=plaque/><ref>{{cite press release |title=Indians Hall of Fame returns |url=http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060711&content_id=1552065&vkey=pr_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211034434/http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060711&content_id=1552065&vkey=pr_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 11, 2015 |date=July 11, 2006 |publisher=[[Cleveland Indians]] |access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Heritage Park |url=http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/history/hof_heritage_park.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810210216/http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/history/hof_heritage_park.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 10, 2014 |publisher=[[Cleveland Indians]] |year=2017 |access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref> A baseball field is dedicated to Ray Chapman in his hometown of [[Beaver Dam, Kentucky]].

[[File:RaymondJohnsonChapmanPlaque.jpg|thumb|center|upright=1.4|Restored Chapman plaque at Heritage Park in [[Progressive Field]]]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
* [[List of baseball players who died during their careers]]
* [[John Dodge (baseball)|John Dodge]], who was killed by a pitched ball during a minor league game
* [[Phillip Hughes]], Australian cricketer killed by a ball during play in 2014

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* The historical novel, ''The Curse of Carl Mays'', by Howard Camerik, also recounts the Chapman-Mays incident.
* The [[Dan Gutman]] novel ''Ray & Me'', tells the story of the Chapman incident with a fictional touch as the main character Joe Stoshack travels back in time to try to prevent his death.
* The book ''The Pitch That Killed'', by [[Mike Sowell]], is a history of the Chapman-Mays tragedy.
* ''Do It for Chappie: The Ray Chapman Tragedy'' by Rick Swaine is a historical novel based on true events involving real-life historical figures.
* Vigil, Vicki Blum (2007). ''Cemeteries of Northeast Ohio: Stones, Symbols & Stories''. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1-59851-025-6}}
* The book ''Love And Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapman'' by Scott H. Longert (2024: Ohio University Press) is a comprehensive biography of Chapman's life.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Baseballstats|mlb=112203|br=c/chapmra01|fangraphs=1002151|brm=chapma001ray|retro=C/Pchapr101}}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html The Death of Ray Chapman] – ''The New York Times'', August 18, 1920

{{Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Ray}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1920 deaths]]
[[Category:Baseball deaths]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Kentucky]]
[[Category:Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Naps players]]
[[Category:Davenport Prodigals players]]
[[Category:Deaths from head injury]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball shortstops]]
[[Category:Sports deaths in New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]

Ray Chapman - Revision history

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