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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Poor Al Bool, getting crushed to death by his own tractor. I wouldn't wish such a fate even on my worst enemies. I think Bool was about 77 when the accident occurred. Pretty commendable that a man of such an advanced age was still doing all his own farm work.

"Soup" Campbell (still one of my favorite baseball names) also did farm work well into his 80's. He had a very sizeable dairy farm in Sparta, VA and oversaw the milking of a large number of cows. Sparta is such a small town that collectors used to write Campbell for autographs in care of the town. Same for Sammy Baugh and Whit Wyatt.

Edited to add that Jerry May suffered the same fate as Bool, although he was much younger. By all accounts he was a shy, reserved man, but kind. I believe he had just started a second family (in his 50's) before the unspeakable occurred. May had stopped granting mail requests sometime prior to his death.