Death at the Ballpark by Robert M. Gorman

Author:Robert M. Gorman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2015-12-17T05:00:00+00:00

Major League—Thrown Balls

Being the nephew and adopted son of Washington Senators legendary owner Clark Griffith may have done more harm than good for young Sherrard “Sherry” Robertson. For one thing, as the apple of his uncle’s eye, he advanced through the minors quickly, perhaps missing an opportunity to round off the rough edges and improve as a fielder and batter as a result. For another, the Washington fans never let him forget it. “A clear case of nepotism,” asserted renowned sports columnist Shirley Povich about Robertson’s 1943 rookie season, and the fans agreed, making the utility infielder “probably the most booed player in Griffith Stadium history.” And while he would go on to a 10-year major league career, mostly with Washington, it was this season in particular that was one of “heartbreak.”140

Robertson appeared in 59 games that year, but only 28 of those were in the field. And in the 27 games he started at third base, he committed eight errors, for a dismal .897 fielding average. Part of the problem was his strong, but erratic, throwing arm. While he had the speed and power to get the ball across the diamond quickly, he had a tendency to overthrow the bag. This would have fatal results near the end of that season.141

On the evening of September 29, 1943, Robertson was covering third in the first game of a twinight doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians at Griffith Stadium. In the top of the ninth, Cleveland’s Ken Keltner hit a routine grounder to Robertson who fielded the ball, then unleashed a hard wild throw to Mickey Vernon covering first. The ball flew past Vernon, streaked into the stands, and struck 32-year-old Civil Aeronautics Administration employee Clarence D. Stagemyer, seated in the front row near the bag, in the head. The unfortunate fan, who at first appeared to be uninjured, simply shook his head a few times. The Senators’ physician checked him over and, fearing a concussion, urged Stagemyer to go to the hospital for further treatment. He did so, but died there early the next day, several hours after being hit. A postmortem revealed the cause of death as a “concussion and fractured skull.”142

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