Last night's tragic news of a fan falling to his death from the Turner Field upper deck is a story with all kinds of follow-ups demanding to be done.
First, the story of the circumstances: with the Yankees in town, you knew the NYC media would be all over this. A report this morning quotes witnesses as saying the victim, 60-year-old Greg Murrey, was rushing to the rain to yell stuff at A-Rod, who had just been announced as a pinch-hitter, and stumbled or slipped at the rail.
Previous deaths were the suicide jumper on the back side of the stadium and the drunken fan who was sliding down a bannister and fell some 60-plus feet to his death.
Not counting construction fatalities, I wonder if any other ball park since 1900 has had such a high death toll of fans.
The death of a Georgia man who fell about 85 feet from an upper level of Atlanta's Turner Field has been ruled a suicide, an official said.
--------------- In 2013, Ronald Homer, 30, a Conyers resident, fell during a Braves-Phillies baseball game on August 12. The cause of death is blunt force trauma, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. Betty Honey, an investigator with that office, said Thursday that Homer had committed suicide. He had no other injuries besides those sustained as a result of his fall from the fourth level of the stadium shortly before 8:55 p.m. during a rain delay.
The game was scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., but heavy rains pushed back the start time nearly two hours.
Homer's was the second such death at an Atlanta sporting venue in the last year or so.
On August 31, 2012, a Tennessee fan died after falling about 45 feet at the Georgia Dome during a college football game between North Carolina State and the University of Tennessee.
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Here is some meticulous, albeit morbid, research from SABR researchers David Weeks and Robert Gorman, who catalogued every game-related ball park death between 1893 and 2007. What follows is an edited wrapup from their web site.:
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ince 1969, there have been 22 fall-related fatalities at major league ballparks, according to the "Death at the Ballpark" blog compiled by authors David Weeks and Robert Gorman, who published a book by the same name. Those numbers include all types of fatalities, including suicides and fans who were intoxicated or engaged in risky behavior.
Three recent deaths -- one at Coors Field in Denver in May, one at Turner Field in Atlanta in May 2008, and one at Shea Stadium in New York in April 2008 -- happened when men fell while trying to slide down staircase or escalator railings. Officials ruled alcohol a factor in the incidents in Denver and Atlanta.
In Atlanta on May 2008, 25-year-old Justin Hayes died when he fell four levels inside the stadium, striking a concrete and metal railing, police previously said. The Cumming man was attempting to slide down a railing next to steps when he fell, his friends said.
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While Alan Fish, 14, was the only fan killed by a foul ball at a major league game (Los Angeles Dodgers, May 16, 1970), one fan at a minor league game and 49 fans at amateur games were fatally injured by foul balls. In addition, balls thrown into the stands killed one fan at a major league game (Clarence Stagemyer at Griffith Stadium, September 29, 1943), one at a minor league game, and 17 at amateur games. Bat blows killed eight fans, while collisions with players resulted in two deaths.
The most unusual foul ball fatality occurred on October 25, 1902, at an amateur game in Morristown, OH. Stanton Walker, 20, was seated between Frank Hyde, who was scoring the game, and Leroy Wilson, another fan. During the course of the game, Hyde asked Wilson for a knife so he could sharpen his pencil. Wilson opened the blade of his penknife and handed it to Walker to pass along to Hyde. Just as Walker took the knife, a foul ball struck him on the hand and drove the blade into his chest over his heart. Walker bled to death within moments.
Fans falling resulted in 15 fatalities at major league games and one at a minor league game.
Capt. E. P. Webb was killed on June 2, 1918, when the military biplane he was flying in crashed on the infield just before the start of a game between the Indianapolis ABCs and a team of Army aviators. Piloted by Maj. Guy Gearhart, the plane was flying 500 feet above the park when it suddenly went into an uncontrolled dive. It slammed into the ground nose-first between second and third, instantly killing Webb and severely injuring Gearhart.
Violence between fans, between fans and players, and between fans and umpires and other field personnel led to 35 deaths. Four of these were at major league games, four at minor league games, and 27 at amateur games. Five fans were killed by thrown objects, eight by bats, two by stabbings, and 20 by shootings.
Heart attacks or other health-related events resulted in 31 fan fatalities at major league games and 13 at amateur games.
Storms and lightning killed two fans at a major league game, six at minor league games, and 14 at amateur games.
Joseph Carter, 60, and Eleanor Price, 17, were trampled to death when a severe thunderstorm caused fans to panic and run for the only exit in the "Ruthville" (right field) section of Yankee Stadium on May 19, 1929. Over 60 others sustained injuries as well.
Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis was present at a minor league game in Portsmouth, VA, on May 25, 1927, when a sudden hurricane-force windstorm tore the roof off the right field section of the grandstand. Debris crashed down on the huge crowd below, killing Richard McWilliams, 42, and William Barker, 67, and injuring over 30 others. Landis was not injured.
An umpire and four fans were killed instantly when lightning struck a crowd shortly after the conclusion of an amateur game near Mobile, AL, on May 27, 1906. Less than two months later, five fans were killed when lightning hit the grandstand of a baseball park in Manitowoc, MN.
The worst tragedy in baseball history occurred at the Baker Bowl, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, on August 8, 1903. In the fourth inning of a game against the Boston Beaneaters, the balcony overhang atop the left field stands collapsed, hurtling hundreds of fans 30 feet to the street below. Twelve fans were killed and over 300 were injured.
On May 14, 1927, the Baker Bowl was once again the scene of tragedy when three sections of the seating in the lower right field pavilion collapsed, killing Fred Haas, 50, and injuring over 50 other spectators. An autopsy revealed that Haas died of a heart attack brought on Aby excitement and terror of the crash.
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Originally Posted by PurpleBrave
