Ed Delahanty's death

[Blackout]

Can some of you who are more informed on the subject of Ed's death in 1903 fill me in?

I know he was drunk and ordered to leave a train and fell off or something and landed in a river

but was there ever thought of foul play being involved? etc?

[pretorius]

Nothing on his death other then what you relate but I wonder if Malamud was borrowing a little from Big Ed in the book The Natural with the boxcar/woman thing?

In any case I remember reading one time that Ed hit the longest home run on record. That he hit a home run into the back of a moving boxcar that travelled a great distance or something of the sort. I barely recall the story as I was like 9 when I read it.

Edit: Well you mademe curious so I looked for a sec and found this account http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/delahanty.html

I also checked my Natural question and apparently malamud was merging alot of people like Ted Williams amd especially an incident involving Eddie Waitkus.

[Brian McKenna]

In June 1903 with his Washington Nationals team on a western trip, Delahanty didn’t show up for a game in Cleveland, probably due to drunkenness. Manager Tom Lofton suspended the outfielder but allowed him to travel with the team. On July 2nd Delahanty became uncontrollable on the train even threatening passengers with a razor. The conductor escorted the drunken slugger off the train at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada as the train was about to cross an international bridge.
The train pulled away and the drunken Delahanty pushed passed a guard and followed it. The draw was open on the bridge. Delahanty’s body was discovered a week later twenty miles down the falls. He had apparently fallen off the bridge and been swept away.

[yest]

In any case I remember reading one time that Ed hit the longest home run on record. That he hit a home run into the back of a moving boxcar that travelled a great distance or something of the sort. I barely recall the story as I was like 9 when I read it.

I think that was one of his brothers who played for Boston

[Buzzaldrin]

The 35-year-old died as the lifetime leader in batting average.

That's not true. At the end of the 1902 season, Willie Keeler's lifetime average was .371 (and Ross Barnes' was .359, but maybe you don't count NA).

[NeverJustAGame]

Mike Sowell is the author of a great book entitled July 2, 1903.The book gives great insight into the life and death of Hall of Fame great Ed Delahanty.

Many believe he was robbed because he was known to keep alot of cash on his person and also while on his last trip was carrying jewelry belonging to his wife.

Some say he might have been killed by the powers that be for he was the bright star that was known to jump teams at the drop of a hat.

Also death from gamblers he might have owed.Not baseball gamblers but horse and dog racing gamblers.

[Brian McKenna]

Many believe he was robbed because he was known to keep alot of cash on his person and also while on his last trip was carrying jewelry belonging to his wife.

Some say he might have been killed by the powers that be for he was the bright star that was known to jump teams at the drop of a hat.

Also death from gamblers he might have owed.Not baseball gamblers but horse and dog racing gamblers.

all complete supposition

[julusnc]

all complete supposition

The entire subject is.Glad you pointed out the obvious

[mordeci]

I find the conspiracy theories extremely far fetched. He was tossed from a train for being drunk and found dead near by. If he was killed by gamblers or MLB thugs, they would have orchestrated the whole thing to be there when and where he was tossed. If there was foul play, then it was a spur of the moment, random crime, not pre-meditated. More likely he just fell off the bridge drunk.

[csh19792001]

Mike Sowell is the author of a great book entitled July 2, 1903.The book gives great insight into the life and death of Hall of Fame great Ed Delahanty.

In the Sowell book it stated that Delahanty was also taking out life insurance policies by the day.

He was depressive that year, perhaps manic, and his drinking binges had never been worse.

It also states, though, that Delahanty had a very valuable diamond ring that was not on his hand when the body was recovered (although oddly, his necktie was still on). His brother in law identified the body.

The night watchman was never indicted or even arrested, as far as I know, however he vacillated and gave several different accounts of the fateful night, which is suspicious at best. Many of the members of Delahanty's family suspected that he was robbed and/or murdered. I can't entirely discount their suspicions.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Based on Kingston's original account, and then later when he made a point to emphasize Delahanty's level of intoxication, I think it's him. Colonel mustard in the libarary with the candlestick

[Buzzaldrin]

The night watchman had Delahanty's hat afterwards. Miss Scarlet in the ballroom with a lead pipe.

[Brian McKenna]

there is a huge difference between 'what is plausible' and 'what is wildass speculation' - there are so many falsehoods and 'accepted truths' about the game that make research very difficult - sportswriters took many, many liberties with the facts and today they are repeated in history books, in encyclopedias, on the internet, at the bar and here on baseball fever - add to this the modern propensity to see conspiracy and foul play in virtually everything and we have a bigger problem

the problem is we completely miss the truth - it usually isn't as grand a story nor does it have that great readability we want so that we have an interesting story to spread - many here on bbf can hear numerous stories that we know to be false - we try to correct them but often there is no use - fans will believe what they want to believe - the bigger the story the better

historians who actually spend hours, days, weeks and years getting to the bottom of stories will eventually publish their findings - however few people (percentage-wise) will even bother to read his/her work - those that do will see things a little more clearly and those that don't won't - in the end few will know or even believe those historians that put the kabosh on another myth

the shortest distance between two points is a straight line - train to bridge to water - where all the gamblers, powers-that-be, jewelry thieves, suspicious eyewitness accounts come from is pure and simple not fact - if that is good enough for some to consider HISTORY then so be it i guess - to me it if gunk mucking up history - it might make for a good conspiracy book but that book would be listed under fiction - sort of the hollywood equivalent of 'based on a true story'

[ElHalo]

the shortest distance between two points is a straight line - train to bridge to water - where all the gamblers, powers-that-be, jewelry thieves, suspicious eyewitness accounts come from is pure and simple not fact - if that is good enough for some to consider HISTORY then so be it i guess - to me it if gunk mucking up history - it might make for a good conspiracy book but that book would be listed under fiction - sort of the hollywood equivalent of 'based on a true story'

You're right of course, but you have to recognize that the simple "train-Bridge-water" explaination is pure fiction also. Occam's Razor doesn't necessarily make something so. The fact is that we have absolutely no idea what happened between the time he got off the train and the time his body washed up, so the truth, for all meaningful purposes, does not exist. Any and all theories, including the one that he just was drunk and fell off the bridge, are pure speculation and fiction.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I don't swear by the following, do not know if it was ever verified.

From the news archives, Atlanta Constitution.

[The day he left Detroit he had taken out an accident policy made payable to his little daughter and he wrote a letter in which he expressed the hope that the train he was taking would run off the track or something would happen to him.]



From the Buffalo News archives
[The body found in the river below the falls was identified as that of Ed Delahanty. The body was mangled, broken fingers and one leg missing. It's believed the missing leg was the result of being struck by the propeller of the Maid of The Mist, docked near where the body was found.]

For those not familiar with the Maid of The Mist. A large ship where one can take a ride and get very close to the falls at Niagara, very close, a spectacular view. Passengers are supplied with rain gear to protect them from the might mist that rises as the water comes over the falls.