The only known, active military fatality, ever to have actually occurred...on a baseball field!
Edwin P. Webb
Date and Place of Birth: circa 1872, Superior,
Wisconsin
Date and Place of Death: June 2, 1918, Indianapolis,
Indiana
Baseball Experience: None
Position: N/A
Rank: Captain
Military Unit: 821st Aero Repair Squadron
Area Served: United States
(BaseballsGreatestSacrifice.com has carved out a special
niche on the internet as being the premiere website dedicated to all
baseball players who lost their lives while serving with the armed
forces. The following short story weaves together baseball, the
military, and an iconic motor speedway; all culminating in a fascinating
and ironic “twist-of-fate” for this website).
In
1918, just fifteen years after the Wright brothers took flight, the
fledging aviation industry was booming. In years prior, with the advent
of American involvement in WW I expected, the development of aircraft,
engines and armament had grown exponentially. Despite those
advancements, however, an appearance by a pilot with his “aeroplane” was
still quite a novelty in small town America. Large crowds would often
gather in remote fields and pastures just to catch a glimpse of this
wondrous, new-fangled invention. With dashing and fearless young men at
the controls, these new airplanes would quickly become a clever
marketing tool.
The range of a top military airplane at the time (a Curtiss JN-4, or
“Jenny), was about 200 miles. This meant that resources needed to be
spread out in order to service and refuel airplanes as they hop scotched
across the country. In 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had been
established, but races were interrupted between 1917 and 1918 when the
U.S. was gearing up for war in Europe. The Speedway infield was
converted to an aviation repair and refuelling depot and the 821st Aero
Repair Squadron took up residence there for the duration of the war.
Since baseball was the recreational game of choice of the day, most
military posts sponsored a team of their own, often playing local
exhibitions that raised monies for the war effort. The 821st Aero team
had some athletic ability and was taken quite seriously by the local
competition. They fielded a decent team that was led by Lou North who
had pitched briefly with the St Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers a
few years prior.
In early June of 1918, a series of games were planned between the 821st
Aero team the Indianapolis ABC’s, a local independent team that would
later become a charter member of the Negro National League in 1920. The
ABC’s (named after their sponsor, the American Brewing Company),
featured future Hall-of-Famer Oscar Charleston and top quality players
with names like “Dizzy” Dismukes and “String Bean” Williams. The games
were expected to be hard fought, and the June 1 Saturday game was a
well-played, 4 -1 victory by the ABC’s. A revenge match was scheduled
for the next day, but the big draw would be a flying exhibition put on
by the 821st Aero Repair Squadron. Huge crowds were anticipated, with
many soldiers from the Speedway expected in attendance.
On Sunday, June 2, the weather was warm with clear skies. More than 2000
fans were jammed into Washington Park, each not only expecting a good
ballgame, but anticipating a great, pre-game aerial flyover. Back at the
Speedway, the pilot, base commander Major Guy L. Gearhart and the 821st
Squadron commander and post adjutant, Captain Edwin P. Webb, readied
their recently repaired, duel-controlled Curtiss aircraft for takeoff.
Their goal was to complete a flyover above the ball field with Captain
Webb dropping baseballs with streamers down onto the diamond, thus
demonstrating the new bombing tactics that were then being deployed in
the skies over France. At around 3:15pm, the plane approached the
fringes of the playing field.
Both teams were on the field participating in pre-game rituals and
warm-ups when the hum of the plane’s engine was first noticed.
Approximately 500 feet up in the air, the plane began circling the field
and several baseballs were dropped. Then, without warning, the engine
began to cough and sputter and the airplane violently lurched downward
into a tight, nosedive spiral. Those on the field ran for cover as the
plane ripped into the soft grass and dirt just behind second base and
skidded to a stop twenty yards after impact. Players, soldiers, and
police ran to the wreckage and pulled both men from the smouldering
remains. Major Gearhart (who was 39 years old at the time of the crash),
suffered a severe concussion, a fractured jaw and gaping wound to his
chin. Captain Webb (age 46), was not as lucky. He was pulled from the
plane, lifeless. He had been killed by a “cerebral hemorrhage resulting
from a wound on the back of the neck, evidently where the heavy motor
crushed his skull”. [1] Later, it was discovered that it had been
Captain Webb’s first plane ride.
Speculation surrounded the cause of the crash. Was it a stunt gone
badly? Did one of the streamers get tangled in wiring or propeller? Was
it an engine stall? Later consensus showed that it was most likely a
sudden air pocket that forced the plane down, with Major Gearhart unable
to pull up in recovery being only few hundred feet off the ground.
Sadly, Major Gearhart would later be killed in a mid-air collision near
Newport News, Virginia, on December 5, 1922. Six service members
perished in that accident. Major Gearhart had been piloting one of the
airplanes.
The story of Captain Edwin P. Webb’s demise is not only unique to
baseball lore, but unique to BaseballsGreatestSacrifice.com.
BaseballsGreatestSacrifice.com remembers ballplayers that died in
service to their country, many on the field of battle. Captain Webb has
the unfortunate distinction of being the only known, active military
fatality, ever to have actually occurred...on a baseball field!
© Mark Haubenstein, August, 2012 (Permission of use granted).
Sources:
[1] “Death at the Ballpark – A comprehensive study of game-related
fatalities, 1862 -2007”, by Robert M. Gorman and David Weeks, 2009 9
(Page 154)
New York Times, New York, June 3, 1918
New York Tribune, New York, June 3, 1918
New York Tribune, New York, June 23, 1918 (Photo)
El Paso Morning Times, El Paso, Texas, June 3, 1918
Date Added: April 1, 2013
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