This work recounts the lives and deaths of athletes who departed the world suddenly and without warning during their playing careers. From slugger Ed Delahanty’s fatal plunge into the Niagara River in 1903 to the demise of Dwayne Haskins on a dark Florida highway in 2022, their untimely ends shocked and saddened millions of fans.
Many died from injuries sustained in the course of competition. Others met their fate in airplane and motor vehicle crashes, by freak accident and through disease, drug overdose, drowning and suicide. Several were victims of cold-blooded murder. Regardless of how or why they perished, Dale Earnhardt, Len Bias, Thurman Munson, Flo Hyman, the Marshall Thundering Herd and all the rest faced the same merciless truth—there would be no next year.

Douglas Putnam is a graduate of Earlham College and Wisconsin Law School. He lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Douglas Putnam
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 230
Bibliographic Info: 20 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9444-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5241-2
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction 1
1. In the Arena 5
• Harold Moore: Gladiator
College Football 1905 5
• Francisco Lázaro: No Sweat
Olympic Marathon 1912 9
• Ray Chapman: Beanball
MLB 1920 10
• Bill Masterton: The Unforgiving Ice
NHL 1968 13
• Chuck Hughes: A Moment’s Notice
NFL 1971 15
• Duk Koo Kim: Live or Die
Boxing 1982 18
• Sergei Shalibashvili: Kiss the Tower
Platform Diving 1983 22
• Lane Frost: Born to Ride
Bull Riding 1989 23
2. Spilled Blood 27
• David Berger: All Gone
Olympic Weightlifting 1972 27
• Lyman Bostock: Pure Happenstance
MLB 1978 29
• Ron Settles: Jailhouse Shock
College Football 1981 31
• Andrés Escobar: Brave to the End
World Cup Soccer 1994 33
• Dave Schultz: Pinned by a Madman
Wrestling 1996 35
• Greg Halman: Brothers for Life
Baseball 2011 38
• Celia Barquín Arozamena: Broad Daylight
Golf 2018 41
• Mike Ryan: Covid Rage
Hockey 2021 44
3. Dark Waters 47
• Ed Delahanty: Swept Away
MLB 1903 47
• Joe Delaney: Great with a Capital G
NFL 1983 49
• Craig Arfons: Last Run on Lake Jackson
Speed Racing 1989 50
• Tim Crews and Steve Olin: They Never Saw the Dock
MLB 1993 52
• Shannon Smith: Paradise Lost
College Football 1997 55
• Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith: Engulfed
NFL 2009 57
4. Sound of Impact 61
• Knute Rockne: Dreadful News
College Football 1931 61
• Thurman Munson: Out of His League
MLB 1979 65
• Davey Allison: Chopper Down
NASCAR 1993 68
• Rodney Culver: Nosedive
NFL 1996 70
• Payne Stewart: Flight of Doom
Golf 1999 73
• Cory Lidle: Manhattan Fireball
MLB 2006 75
5. Accidents Will Happen 79
• Terry Sawchuk: Senseless
NHL 1970 79
• Don Wilson: Beyond Strange
MLB 1975 82
• Richard Wertheim: Lethal Ace
Tennis 1983 84
• Owen Hart: Real as Can Be
World Wrestling Federation 1999 85
• Matīss Kivlenieks: Fiasco
NHL 2021 88
6. Demons and Disease 92
• Flo Hyman: No Warning
Volleyball 1986 92
• Len Bias: Shock to the Systems
Basketball 1986 94
• Reggie Lewis:
Too Young, Too Soon
Basketball 1993 98
• Sergei Grinkov: Shattered Dream
Pairs Figure Skating 1995 100
• Andreas Munzer: Hunger Pains
Bodybuilding 1997 103
• Korey Stringer: Water Is for Cowards
NFL 2001 106
• Tyler Skaggs: Black Cloud
MLB 2019 109
7. In the Arena Redux 113
• Hank Gathers: Heart of a Lion
Basketball 1990 113
• Ulrike Maier: No Chance
Skiing 1994 116
• Fabio Casartelli: Deadly Descent
Tour de France 1995 117
• John McSherry: Last Call
MLB 1996 119
• Caleb Moore: Fatal Obsession
Snowmobile, ­X-Games 2013 121
• Oshi: Breaking Point
Iditarod 2019 124
• Yellow River Stone Forest: 21 Gone
Ultramarathon 2021 128
8. Win, Place or Die 131
• Frank Hayes: First Win, Only Win
Steeplechase 1923 131
• Ruffian: She Reigns
Match Race 1975 134
• Billy Haughton: Breaking Gait
Harness Racing 1986 138
• Mary Bacon: Riding Is Living
Off Track 1991 140
• Santa Anita Meltdown: How Many More Have to Die?
Thoroughbreds 2019 142
9. Motorsport Mishaps 147
• Bill Vukovich: The Fearless One
Indy 500 1955 147
• The Dakar Rally: Desert Storm
Off Road Racing 1988 149
• Ayrton Senna: Collision Course
Formula One 1994 153
• Dale Earnhardt: Long Live the King
NASCAR 2001 155
• Jessi Combs: Speed Kills
Speed Racing 2019 158
• IMTT: Full Throttle
Motorcycle 2022 160
10. Team Tragedy 164
• Spokane Indians: Such Hell
Baseball 1946 164
• Duluth Dukes: North Country Inferno
Baseball 1948 166
• Cal Poly Mustangs: Lost in the Fog
College Football 1960 167
• USA Figure Skating: Total Eclipse
Figure Skating 1961 170
• Wichita State Shockers: Gold Flight
College Football 1970 172
• Marshall Thundering Herd: The Worst
College Football 1970 174
• Evansville Purple Aces: Basketball’s Darkest Night
Basketball 1977 176
• USA Boxing: KO’d by Fate
Boxing 1980 178
11. Red Highways 179
• Steve Prefontaine: Bell Lap
Running 1975 179
• Pelle Lindbergh: A Man and His Porsche
NHL 1985 181
• Jackson State Tigers: Blue Bengal Curse?
College Football 1988–1990 184
• John Rodolph: Pure Soul
Wheelchair Racing 1995 186
• Judith Flannery: End of the Road
Triathlon 1997 187
• Dwayne Haskins:
Running on Empty
NFL 2022 189
12. The Savage God 191
• Rick Carter: No Goodbyes
College Football 1986 191
• Jeff Alm: Very Close
NFL 1993 194
• Erica Blasberg: Final Breath
Golf 2010 197
Chapter Notes 203
Bibliography 207
Index 213