The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-08-18
Cleveland Fans Gather
To Pay Silent Tribute

ever, and a second later he fell to
the ground. II was the most re:
grettable Incident OF my career and
| would give anything " ! could I'M
do what has happened"
After hearing Mays story, Mr.. Joyce
said he thought Chapman's death was
purely accidental.
Manager Speaker, talking with Col T.
L. Huston one OF the owners of the
Yankees, said the accident was I'M
| avoidable.
Iris Acquits Mays.
IT do not hold Mays responsible in
any way" he added. II have been
active in discouraging my players from
holding Mays responsible and In re-
| spect to Chapman's memory, as wen as
for the good of baseball, hope all talk
of this kind will stop. ! can realize
that Mays feels this thing as deeply as
any man could and / do not want to
add anything to his burden. / do not
know what prompted the action of the
| Boston and Detroit players, For my
part, ! think 1t is deplorable.
The thought that the diamond trag
| edy would spoil the chances of both
the Cleveland and New York clubs for
the league pennant was general among
| baseball fans here.
| At her hotel, Mrs. Chapman, who ar
| rived from Cleveland several hours af-
| ter her husband had preathed his last
| refused to receive the proffered conso:
|
team mates. Except for Manager
| Speaker, she would see no one, spend
ing the day in her room.
Early in the day she announced her
intention of going to the undertaken
| parlor, but later, when it was learned
! the body could he moved to Cleveland
on an early evening train, she changed
| her mind and declared she would wait
until Ter arrival at home.
The postlnortem examination of the
IN nof
According, to the autopsy surgeon,
| Chapman died from blow in the left
temporal region which fractured the
skull, depressing a portion of bone
which caused an inter-cranial hemor-
Col. Huston said he was deeply
touched by Chapmans death, though he
refused to make any. statement on be-
half of the New York club,
was killed." MIR. Huston said I'm
sorry such an accident had to happen
in our park or that any OF our team
mad any connection with It, 1t Is un-
fortunate that it should have been Mays
who pitched the ball too, because OF the
tremendous publicity ne already had.
cant say anything more than that"
Bitterness Evident.
Col Huston admitted there would be
bitterness on the part Of the players as
ne had assurances from iris Speaker
that he would do all possible to prevent
an attitude Of antagonlsm becoming
general among Chapman's old team
mates.
Thousands of fans, most of whom
did not know that Chapman had sue
cumoed to his injury, gathered at the
polo, grounds yesterday to see the sched-
uled game. They dispersed when told
that the shortstop had died and the
game had been called off.
Baseball experts here declared yester-
DAY cases of batters being killed by
pltcaed oalls in professional games were
very rare. Not more than two or three
nave met their death in this way. The
most recent Of these was the oath of
John Dodge, OF the Southern association,
VINO was killed about three years ago.
me most recent case of serious In
Jury happened last spring when Jeff
Pfeffer, OF Brooklyn, hit Chick Fewster,
OF the New York Americans, on the
mead FeWster was out of the game
Tor several weeks and Pfeffer's game
was so affected by the accident that
he was not used for nearly a month.
Many years ago case which attract
ca Wlde attention was the injury to
Hugh Jennings, now manager of the
Detrolt Americans, who was struck by
q pail pltched by Amos Rusie, of the
New York Nationals.
John A. Heydler, president of the
National league, announced that flags
AZ all National league parks would he
flown at half mast for the remainder
OF the week and that players would
wear mourning insignia He expressed
Chapman Vi
Most of the players here discount re-
ports from Boston and other places that
there rs serious opposition to permit
'iis Mays 70 play in subsequent games.