119 Years Ago Today, Ed Delahanty Passed Away; Cool Court Transcripts!

[Bpm0014]

These speak for themself. One of my favorite things I own. They are a fascinating read...

[Rhotchkiss]

Thanks for posting this. The Ed Delahanty story is wild. And a total shame. One of many tortured superstars whose amazing career was cut short (although Ed had a lengthy career before he went over the falls)

[ClementeFanOh]

Thank you for posting, fascinating stuff. It still remains a mystery 100+ years
later- apparently always will be. Trent King

[carlsonjok]

There is a wonderful book about him called "Ed Delahanty in the Emerald Age of Baseball" by Jerrold Casway.

ED.jpg

[Keith H. Thompson]

I am so appreciative to the poster who shared this fascinating court document in behalf of Norine Delehanty. Anyone who has read the book, July 2, will know that about the only circumstance of Ed Delehanty's death without controversy is that the body found washed up below the Niagara Falls was his.
The point that has always stuck out in my mind was that it would have been very unusual to eject a passenger at such a deserted point for any reason, and there are plenty of conspiracy theories to account for why he was. Specifically, murder and theft.

[jingram058]

The story is one I have found intriguing since I was a kid and read about Ed Delahanty in a Scholastic book about baseball old timers. Who was the mysterious man following him? Did the falls remove his diamond rings, etc.? It says in these documents that the Michigan Central train he was on did not serve "intoxicating liquor". Did he bring his own? And finally, did he fall after his fight with Kingston, or was he pushed? Questions to which the answers are lost to history.

[Bpm0014]

Not a problem fellas. I’m glad you enjoyed these documents!

[Keith H. Thompson]

The full title of Mike Sowell's book on the Mysterious Death of Big Ed Delahanty.

[RCFire82]

What a great piece of history to own! Hadn't heard this story before, so thank you for sharing sir.

[Fred]

Awesome read! That would be a pretty cool document to have in a collection.

In today's world and court system, I bet the RR would be paying a huge payout for what would appears to be negligence.

[Mark17]

Very interesting. What jumps out at me is the report he had $1,500 in diamonds on him, and $500 cash, while his wife was penniless. Seems on the surface that his priorities were a little on the selfish side. Or maybe his wife was described as broke by her attorney, to hopefully win a larger settlement.

[Keith H. Thompson]

saying that my personal persuasion (based upon Mike Sowell's book) is that Ed was murdered for the flashy necktie stickpin he was flaunting and monies on his person, most likely by the sole watchman on the bridge. The watchman gave several different conflicting stories then and later depending upon who was asking the questions. As fascinating as any of them was: "how did you end up with Ed's silk top hat and your train hat was found wedged on the tracks?" At least two of his stories about where Ed "fell off" the bridge, each different from the other, were demonstrably impossible.
No investigation was ever prosecuted very seriously, and no person was ever found guilty of anything. The court case vs Michigan Central was successful, although (I believe) Norine received a judgement of only three thousand and her child two thousand. But then, Norine would not be the first nor the only ballplayer's wife required to live in virtual poverty while the celebrity ballplayer "played the circuit."

[PhillyFan1883]

Big Ed was dealing with a lot in 1903. Ended up being a tough year for him.
His deal that was to send him to the NY Giants fell apart and he couldn’t return the advance. I forget his destination while riding the train, but maybe the valuables were to pay back the Giants if he was heading East.. completely out of left field and just to add more confusion..

[tedzan]

Hi Connor

Great card of Ed Delahanty....and, it is indeed a very tough one to find.

Ed Delahanty is my favorite guy of the 19th Century BB players. Since, I have not been able to find this Old Judge card of him,
I've settled for a reprint.




This past February, I posted a thread regarding "Big Ed" in which I made the case for Delehanty most likely would have
exceeded Cobb's lifetime BA (.366)....if Delahanty had not had an untimely death. Check it out......

"Ed Delahanty....2-part, Tues Nite Trivia Quiz....and, show us your Delahanty stuff"......

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=314575


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[PhillyFan1883]

This past February, I posted a thread regarding "Big Ed" in which I made the case for Delehanty most likely would have
exceeded Cobb's lifetime BA (.366)....if Delahanty had not had an untimely death. Check it out......



I will check this out Ted thank you. Looking forward to it. I agree it is possible he could have eclipsed Cobb. Did you account for foul balls becoming strikes around the turn of the century in 1901 ? in 02,and 03 it did not seem to bother him much-- which helps his case..

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by PhillyFan1883

This past February, I posted a thread regarding "Big Ed" in which I made the case for Delehanty most likely would have
exceeded Cobb's lifetime BA (.366)....if Delahanty had not had an untimely death. Check it out......

I will check this out Ted thank you. Looking forward to it. I agree it is possible he could have eclipsed Cobb. Did you account for foul balls becoming strikes around the turn of the century in 1901 ? in 02,and 03 it did not seem to bother him much-- which helps his case..

Hi Connor

Ed Delahanty was a 20 year old rookie in 1888 when he joined the Philadelphia Phillies. His first 5 years he averaged only .270 BA.

Then in 1893, he hit for a .368 BA. For the following 10 years of his career, Big Ed consistently hit well above .300 (including .400+
in 3 of the 11 seasons). If you calculate his Batting Average for these 11 years (1893 - 1903), it is an amazing .373

It is very unusual for a batter's Batting Average to increase as his age increases. Off the top of my head, the only major ballplayers
that I can think of that have increased their BATTING STATS as they have aged are Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Ed Delahanty. I'm
sure there are more (if I take the time to do some research).


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Rad_Hazard]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

These speak for themself. One of my favorite things I own. They are a fascinating read...

WOW!

What an incredible piece of history! A lot of great info in that document. Delahanty's death has been covered by a lot of folks, but I wouldn't mind summarizing it in a future Baseball Biographies video. His death is definitely one of morbid fascination.