May 19, 1929: The Yankee Stadium Disaster

May 19, 1929: American sports have been spared the kind of stadium disasters that have struck soccer-playing countries around the world. But there have been a few instances, and one was at the original Yankee Stadium, early in its history.

The New York Yankees were hosting the Boston Red Sox, and led 3-0 after 5 innings. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had both already hit home runs. The Yankees took the field to start the top of the 6th inning, when, suddenly, the dark clouds over The Stadium went from threatening to pouring rain. The umpires stopped the game, and eventually called it, not yet knowing that a tragedy had occurred.

Being a Sunday, over 50,000 fans were in attendance. It is believed that about 9,000 were crammed into the Bleachers. From 1923 to 1927, they extended around the foul poles, as the Stadium's triple decks stopped short of the poles. In the 1927-28 off-season, the decks were extended around the left field pole. They would not be extended around the right field pole until the 1936-37 off-season. In other words, while the original Yankee Stadium was known as "The House That Ruth Built," the Babe never played in it in its most familiar configuration, except in a couple of war-bond drive games during World War II.

Yankee Stadium, including the right field Bleachers,

as they would have appeared from 1928 to 1936

So, at this point, the bleachers still extended around the right field pole, and that section was known as Ruthville for the Babe's tendency to send balls there. It was where most of the ballpark's kids chose to sit, since it was cheap, and they wanted a Ruth home run ball.

But as the rain came, thousands of fans rushed for shelter under the stand. Some tried to leave the ballpark, but the police refused to open the gates. In the resulting rush, many fans were crushed. There were 62 injuries, 18 of them requiring overnight hospital care according to newspaper accounts.

There were 2 deaths: Joseph Carter, a 60-year-old teamster; and Eleanor Price, a 17-year-old student at Hunter College in Manhattan, who had taken her younger brother to the game.

Standing in right field, Ruth saw what was happening, and, so often called a hero for his baseball achievements, tried to be a real hero. He looked for someone he could help, and found Price. He carried her out of the mob and onto the field, but there was nothing he could do: By the time first aid arrived, she was already dead.

Ruth was unable to save Eleanor, but he did visit

some of the surviving victims in the hospital.

Note that, like many early accounts, the ballpark

was referred to as "the Yankee Stadium."

A class-action lawsuit, led by the Carter and Price families, was filed against the Yankees, who settled the claims for $45,000.

No mention of the disaster was ever installed at the old Yankee Stadium between 1929 and its closure after the 2008 season. Nor has any been installed at the new Yankee Stadium, built across East 161st Street at River Avenue in The Bronx from the old one.

*

May 19, 1929, as I said, was a Sunday. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Nationals, 7-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Rube Walberg pitched a 7-hit shutout. Jimmie Foxx went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Redland Field in Cincinnati. (The ballpark was renamed Crosley Field in 1934.) Charlie Gelbert singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-3 at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938, and Tiger Stadium in 1961.)

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Paul Waner went 0-for-2 with 2 walks, and Lloyd Waner went 1-for-5.

* And the Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 10-6 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* The New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, arch-rivals, were rained out at Ebbets Field. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the following Wednesday, May 22. The Dodgers -- or the Robins, as they were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931 -- won the opener, 3-2. The Giants won the nightcap, 7-3. The Giants scored 4 runs in the top of the 10th, as Robins reliever Doug McWeeny ran out of gas.

Over the 2 games, Bill Terry went 3-for-7 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs, and Mel Ott went 2-for-5 with 3 walks and 3 RBIs.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Braves were rained out at Braves Field in Boston. This game was also made up as part of a doubleheader the following Wednesday. The Phils swept, 6-3 and 13-4.