September 1, 1872: The Death of Al Thake

September 1, 1872: Al Thake drowns in a fishing accident off Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. The left fielder for the Brooklyn Atlantics was only 22 years old.

This was the 1st time that an active professional baseball player had died. Ten years earlier, James Creighton, one of the top amateur players, died as a result of an in-game injury in Brooklyn.

Albert Thake was born on September 21, 1849, in Wymondham, Norfolk, England. His family moved to Brooklyn during his youth. Like many boys born in England but raised in America, Albert switched from his original country's game of cricket to his new country's game of baseball. He played for the Star Club of Brooklyn, before moving on to the Atlantics.

He made his National Association debut on June 13, 1872, going 1-for-5 in an Atlantic loss to the Baltimore Canaries. He played in 18 games, batting .295 with 15 RBIs, not bad at all for a player approaching his 23rd birthday, in any era. On August 28, in a loss to the original version of the Philadelphia Athletics, he had a hit, drove in a run, and scored a run. No one knew it at the time, but it would be his last game. 

No photograph of Thake is known to exist: Surviving team photos of the Atlantics do not identify him.

The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn was founded in 1855, and were one of the dominant teams of the amateur era. They won championships in 1857, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1864, 1865, 1866 and 1870. On August 30, 1865, President Andrew Johnson made them the 1st sports team invited to visit the White House. In 1870, they became the 1st team to beat the Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's 1st openly professional team.

But the coming of league play with the National Association in 1871 doomed them, as the other professional teams caught up with them. They were not invited to join the National League in 1876, and last played in 1882.

September 1, 1872 was a Sunday. Not wanting to deal with "blue laws," the NA did not play any games on this day.