Sudden Death

Sports are fun and death is not. We all can agree on that assumption, can we not? So when a fun thing gets mixed with a not fun thing, it makes it all the more sad. What makes it worse is when it happens during these fun activities. Although death isn't really something to joke about, I'm going to anyway. It happens to everyone, ya know? So get over it and enjoy the 6 Wildest On-Field Sports Death. This is not a eulogy, rather a sort of honoring the dead by telling you how strange their deaths were. Ok, let's go.

6. Jack Trice
Played For: Iowa State College
The Game: October 6, 1923 game against the University of Minnesota
How He Died: Trice was an African-American defensive tackle playing in his first college game. On the second play of the game, Trice broke his collarbone but insisted on playing. Later on in the game, he was trampled by three of Minnesota players. He tried to keep playing but his coaches sent him to the hospital, where he was declared fit to travel with the team. Two days later, Trice died from hemorrhaged lungs two days later because of his injuries from the game. Later on, his doctor said "The papers say I told him he was "fit to travel," but I was really just telling him to "get out of here." I may be racist but I don't want a malpractice lawsuit. That is, if his family can even afford lawyers." In a natural bit of irony, the doctor was later sued by the school for malpractice because of racism and, after the lawsuit, turned his house into a frat house. None of that about the doctor is true. I just think racism is funny.

5. Frank Hayes
Played For: Jockey
The Game: 1923 Horse Race at Belmont Park
How He Died: Hayes has a rather dubious record: he is the only jockey to win a race after his death. You see, while riding atop Sweet Kiss at the Belmont, Hayes had a heart attack. The horse kept going and finished the race in first place, crossing the finish line with Hayes' lifeless body laying on top. The horse, knowing full well what had happened, kept going straight through the finish line and ran as fast as he could to the hospital. Although Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene, the horse did get the purse of the race and paid for his jockey's funeral, where he gave a touching eulogy that ended with a touching tribute of Sweet Kiss pissing on his grave. I'm not so sure why everyone thought it was so touching. That's gross.

4. Cristiano Junior
Played For: Dempo Sports Club (soccer) in Panaji, Goa, India.
The Game: December 5, 2004 game against Mohun Bagan Athletic Club in Bangalore, India
How He Died: Junior was the highest payed soccer player in India at the time of his death. The way he died is too tragic to be not true. Dempo was playing Mohun Bagan in the Indian Federation Cup Finals. In the goal box, Junior collided with the goalkeeper while scoring his second goal of the game with about 10 minutes left. As he attempted to stagger away he collapsed and was pronounced dead on the field. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest. His team filed a complaint of criminal negligance against the goalie, the hospital, and Federation Cup organizers. The goalie was suspended for two months because he had hit him on the play, even though the doctors found that Junior had a spinal cord and shouldn't have been playing. The doctors would later say "he didn't kill him, only his team's chances of winning."

3. Ray Chapman
Played For: Shortstop for the Cleveland Indians
The Game: August 16, 1920 against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds.
How He Died: Chapman is the only Major League Baseball player to ever die on the field. The game was in the mid-afternoon, with the twilight setting in. Chapman never saw the pitch from Carl Mays and was nailed in the head. Keep in mind that there were no batting helmets being used. In a sort-of-funny, sort-of-not type thing, the sound of the ball off of Chapman's skull was so loud that Mays fielded the ball and threw it to first. The first base ump didn't signal out, rather he told Mays "the pitch hit his skull, you dick." Chapman's death brought on the use of batting helmets (thirty years later, that is) and the outlawing of the spitball, as pitchers dirtied up the ball as much as they could to get an advantage. The shortstop who replaced Chapman in the game, rookie Joe Sewell, often cited this pitch as his favorite pitch ever, as it started up his Hall of Fame career.

2. Frank Levick
Played For: Sheffield United (soccer) in Northern England
The Game: A 1908 Football League First Division game in Sheffield.
How He Died: Levick is on this list not because he died on pitch, rather the way he died on the pitch. It might be the most painful death in the history of mankind. I'd rather get body cancer. Levick was a defender and was attempting to block a shot. He was successful. However, it hit him in the lower extremities, causing his testicles to become lodged in his stomach. This caused internal bleeding which, at this point, brought the merciful cardiac arrest. In a real kick in the balls, his team finished 17th out of 20th that season. The team, however, did compensate his family by paying them 20 pounds. Which if you had in England now, you could buy two pints of Guinness and a McChicken. Next time you get even nicked in the balls and keel over in pain, remember Levick and, unless your balls aren't there anymore, take it like a man.

1. Most of Football Club Dynamo Kyev
Played For: Professional teams in the Soviet Union, but mostly Dynamo Kyev players who were Soviet POWs
The Game: Known as "The Death Match," the POWs played a non-official game against members of the Nazi Germany Wehrmacht (basically the name for their army, navy, and air force). The game was held August 9, 1942 in St. Petersburg, USSR.
How They Died: On any other list, Frank Levick would be numero uno. Not Here. In 1941, the Soviet Union was involved in intense fighting with Nazi Germany. Ukraine was badly ravaged and all sporting events were canceled. One former member of FC Dynamo Kyev decided to get a team together and tracked down 11 players, all from Kiev clubs, to start FC Start. FC Start played a numerous amount of armed forces teams from various countries, including Romania, Hungary, and Germany. The Nazi's didn't like this, as the team was increasing Ukrainian morale. They staged a match in St. Petersburg, pitting FC Start against a German Air Force team. The referee for the match was a German S.S. officer, presumably named "Heir Donaghy". The FC Start players were warned that punishment might be in order if they didn't throw the match. Before the match, the team refused to give the Nazi salute, which probably went over as well as being a Jew. Despite getting absolutely tormented without any foul calls, the team was still up 3-1 at half time. The German team wasn't even playing the ball, just hurting the players, even kicking the goalie in the head to score a goal. Each team scored twice in the second half. At the very end, a FC Start player beat the entire German defense and could have tapped in another, but decided to kick it towards the middle of the field and give the Nazi salute with only his middle finger (I wish). A little while after the game, many of the players were arrested, tortured, sent to concentration camps and killed. That, my friends, is why they call it THE Ukraine.


I hope I didn't depress you too much. On the contrary. That last story alone should inspire hope and bravery. Not every game is played for a trophy. Like, for example, 2008 Chicago Bears games. Those are being played for a draft pick. Humans aren't the only things that die though. There are millions of different types of animals that have died throughout history. Some, coincidently, have been killed by humans. So I will sign off with a video tribute to an animal that, like the people in this blog, were killed during a sporting match. Until next time, до свидания, леди и господа.