In Memoriam: A History of Athletes Dying on the Field of Play

Image via Complex Original

Age: 29 (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920)
Cause of death: Head trauma after being hit by pitch
Sport: Baseball

Despite baseball's nearly 150 year history, only two players have died from game-related injuries; Mike Powers in 1909 and Ray Chapman in 1920. Chapman was hit by a spitball thrown by Yankees pitcher Carl Mays. It was said that fans in attendance actually thought the sound of the ball hitting his skull was his bat.

After the pitch beaned Chapman in the head he immediately collapsed, he died at a New York City hospital 12 hours later. Though the league did not punish Mays (spitballs were legal at the time), many players blamed him for Chapman's death since he was notorious for throwing the pitch. Chapman's death also started the movement toward requiring batting helmets for players.

Age: 35 (1888–1923)
Cause of death: Heart attack
Sport: Equestrian

In a story right off of 1,000 Ways to Die, jockey Frank Hayes died from a heart attack during a horse race that he actually won. The owner of the winning horse, Sweet Kiss, headed over to congratulate Hayes only to find him slumped over. He had apparently suffered a heart attack during the race. More like the sweet kiss of death, if you ask us. As odd as it gets, Hayes remains the only jockey to win a race after his death.

Age: 24 (March 24, 1930 – December 12, 1954)
Cause of death: Brain bleeding
Sport: Boxing

Ed Sanders was a boxer who competed in the Olympics and later on as a professional. After a traveled career, Sanders' bout with Willie James in 1954 would prove to be his last stand. The two traded heavy blows for the first 10 rounds, and by the 11th Sanders appeared to be losing a step both mentally and physically. It was during this round that James landed a devastating combination of punches that caused Sanders to fall down and lose consciousness. Sanders never got up, and he was pronounced dead after doctors failed to stop the bleeding in his brain.

Age: 26 (September 26, 1934 - October 9, 1960)
Cause of death: Broken neck; spinal cord injuries
Sport: Football

When Howard Glenn joined the AFL's New York Titans in 1960 as a starting offensive guard, his future looked long and bright. However, Glenn suffered a broken neck on October 9 during the first half of a game against the Houston Oilers. He died a few hours later as a result of injuries to his spinal cord. His No. 66 jersey was retired by the team.

Age: 23 (April 26, 1940 - September 8, 1963)
Cause of death: Fractured neck vertebra
Sport: Football

An Olympic sprinter, kick returner, and running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, Stone Johnson suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck during a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. He died 10 days later at the age of 23, and while he was only on the team's active roster during preseason, his jersey number 33 was retired by the organization.

Age: 29 (August 13, 1938 – January 15, 1968)
Cause of death: Brain hemorrhage
Sport: Hockey

The Bill Masterton award is given each year to the player who shows the most perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication in the NHL, but not everyone (we see you, young'ns) knows about the man for whom the trophy is named.

In only his first year in the league with the new look North Stars, Masterton died in a game against the Oakland Seals after being checked by two players and slamming his head onto the ice afterward. Masterton suffered a brain hemorrhage and was pronounced dead two days after the incident. He remains the only player to die from injuries sustained during a game. His death began the movement for mandatory helmets in hockey, which was implemented in the 1979-80 season.

Age: 28 (March 2, 1943 – October 24, 1971)
Cause of death: Heart attack
Sport: Football

Chuck Hughes is the only NFL player to die during a game. After a storied collegiate career, in which he set seven different all-time records including recording 17 interceptions in one game in 1965, Hughes was drafted by the Eagles before finding his way to Detroit.

It was during the final minutes of a game that the wide receiver collapsed while on his way back to the huddle while his team, the Detroit Lions, were playing the Chicago Bears at Tiger Stadium. The game was finished in silence. An autopsy revealed that he died of a heart attack and his family had a history of heart problems. The Lions retired his No. 85 jersey and dedicated their annual Most Improved Player of the Year Award to him.

Age: 28 (July 22, 1951 - July 22, 1979)
Cause of death: Congenital heart failure
Sport: Football

J.V. Cain was in the midst of a prolific six-year career at tight end for the St. Louis Cardinals, and then tragedy struck. During training camp Cain was taking part in drills when suddenly he took a few steps backwards, huddled over, and collapsed. It was later revealed that Cain died from congenital heart failure. If his death wasn't tragic enough in and of itself, it also occurred on his 28th birthday.

Age: 23 (January 8, 1959 – November 17, 1982)
Cause of death: Head trauma
Sport: Boxing

The sport of boxing has a long, sad history of boxers who've lost their lives in the ring, but few are as well-known as Duk Koo Kim. The South Korean boxer held a record of 17-1-1 and was the No. 1 lightweight contender before heading into his championship bout with Ray Mancini.

The 14-round bout was brutal for both boxers with Mancini receiving a torn ear and swollen left eye and Kim suffering severe swelling after several shots from Mancini, including one sequence where he had been hit 39 times in a row. Kim lost by TKO in the 14th round after being sent to the canvas by a right hand from Mancini. Kim fell into a coma after the fight and died from brain injuries four days later. As a result, the WBC made a number of safety changes including reducing the number of round from 15 to 12.

Age: 40 (June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988)
Cause of Death: Heart failure
Sport: Basketball

As one of the most prolific ball handlers in NBA history, Pistol Pete's flare on the court (check out the socks, son!) not only inspired white players like Jason Williams, but players of all races for generations to come. Maravich retired from the game at the age of 33, but still remained active in his years of retirement right up until his death in 1988 during a pick-up game. His passing was attributed to a congenital defect and came only months after he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Age: 23 (February 11, 1967 – March 4, 1990)
Cause of death: Heart muscle disorder; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Sport: Basketball

The Layola Marymount forward was just coming off a season where he was named the WCC Player of the Year and had become only the second player in NCAA history to lead the country in points in boards when tragedy struck. During the WCC tournament quarterfinal against against Portland, he collapsed after dunking an alley-oop from Terrell Lowery. After attempting to get up but being restrained by trainers, Gathers yelled, "I don't want to lay down!" before losing consciousness. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Teammate Bo Kimble and LMU dedicated their run to the Elite Eight in that year's tournament to Gathers.

Age: 27 (November 21, 1965 - July 27, 1993)
Cause of death: Heart muscle disorder; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Sport: Basketball

During a summer practice session in July of 1993, Boston Celtic and NBA All-Star Reggie Lewis collapsed. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Lewis finished his NBA career with an average of 17.6 PPG. Rumors of cocaine use began to spread following his death but an autopsy proved that a heart defect, not drug use, was the cause of his passing. SMH, not every athlete uses drugs people...

Age: 34 (March 21, 1960 – May, 1 1994)
Cause of death: Injuries sustained in a car crash
Sport: Formula One racing

As the three-time Formula One world champion, Ayrton Senna was one of the sport's most well-known racers and considered one of the all-time greats even before his untimely death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. While leading the race on lap six, Senna's car went into a turn at 135 mph before hitting a wall. Senna was removed from his car and found to have suffered significant blood loss and head trauma before being airlifted to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The critically acclaimed documentary based on his life, Senna, was released in 2010.

Age: 37 (February 20, 1959 - May 17, 1996)
Cause of death: Injuries sustained in a car crash
Sport: IndyCar racing

Scott Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, who competed on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, starting in 1981, until his untimely death in 1996. It was during a practice run for that very race that Brayton blew a tire on his backup car. His car went into turn two, spun out, and crashed right into the wall at speeds exceeding 230 mph. He died as a result of injuries sustained during his high-speed impact with the wall.

Age: 49 (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)
Cause Of Death: Injuries sustained in a car crash
Sport: NASCAR

Even with over 25 years in the game and seven Winston Cup championships under his belt, the Intimidator still went hard at the 2001 Daytona 500 where he ultimately lost his life. As Earnhardt was trying to protect the lead of Michael Waltrip and his son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on the final lap, his car crashed into the wall on the final turn at about 150 mph. He was pronounced dead at the hospital hours later. Earnhardt's death led NASCAR to implement the HANS (head and neck support) device in all race cars.

Age: 27 (May 8, 1974 – August 1, 2001)
Cause of death: Heat stroke
Sport: Football

Football training camps are notorious for exhausting conditions which push players to their mental and physical limits. Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer was about to enter his sixth year in the league when died from a heat stroke during training camp. His death led to the NFL implementing new heat stroke prevention guidelines at camps and the creation of the Korey Stringer Institute at UConn.

Age: 28 (May 1, 1975 – June 26, 2003)
Cause of death: Heart muscle disorder; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Sport: Soccer

During the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal between Cameroon and Columbia, Marc Vivien Foe collapsed during the 72nd minute of the match. The Cameroonian footballer later died at the stadium's medical center. Autopsies revealed that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy—the same hereditary heart condition that took the lives of Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis—was the cause of Foe's death.

Age: 24 (July 20, 1979 - January 25, 2004)
Cause of death: Cardiac arrhythmia; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Sport: Soccer

Miklós "Miki" Fehér was a Hungarian striker who finally got his break with Portuguese top outfit Benfica in 2002. It was during a game at league side Vitória de Guimarães that Fehér went into cardiac arrest shortly after coming on as a substitute. He assisted a teammate for the only goal of the match, but he suddenly doubled over in pain during injury time of the match, and soon fell backwards onto the pitch. CPR was performed before he was rushed to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead due to cardiac arrhythmia brought on by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. His No. was retired by the club, and his death sent shock waves throughout the Portuguese sporting world.

Age: 22 (November 26, 1984 – August 28, 2007)
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest; arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
Sport: Soccer

The Sevilla FC midfielder became a fan favorite after scoring a game-winning goal in the club's victory over Schalke in the 2006 UEFA Cup semifinal and netting a penalty kick in their championship win over Espanyol in the 2007 UEFA Cup. Only months later, during Sevilla's first home match of the 2007-08 season Puerta collapsed on the pitch suffering a series of cardiac arrests.

Age: 46 (February 18, 1962 – June 21, 2008)
Cause of death: Injuries sustained in a car accident
Sport: NHRA

Scott Kalitta had over two decades of experience in Funny Car and Top Fuel racing when this violent explosion and crash took his life at the Lucas Oil NHRA Super Nationals. The two-time Top Fuel champion (1994 and 1995) was racing at 300 mph when his engine exploded, damaging the parachutes which typically slow cars at the end of races, sending Kalitta into the wall. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. As a result, Top Fuel Racing shortened the length of their tracks and developed technology to automatically shutdown engines once an engine backfire is sensed.