# Fan killed by foul ball in 1970 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 9, 2010, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508 "2010-04-09T09:46:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dakotaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@dakotaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakotaba)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/1 "2010-04-09T09:46:45Z")
In 1970, a foul ball off the bat of the Dodgers’ Manny Mota killed a 14-year-old boy in Los Angeles. That was the only death from a foul ball in the majors, according to research by Gorman and Weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/2 "2010-04-09T12:05:46Z")
I assume you’re talking about [this article](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/267/what-are-your-chances-of-getting-brained-by-a-fly-ball-during-a-baseball-game). I further assume that you can provide us with links to back up your assertion (we at the Dope take unsubstantiated claims with at least a grain of salt). I await your answer with bated breath. Edit: I stand corrected. It appears the OP was talking about [this book](http://books.google.com/books?id=5C9t6NlWEbYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gorman+and+weeks&source=bl&ots=Dxgz2mUty5&sig=afybos3R6eDg_BiYJD5faOdSddc&hl=en&ei=TRi_S4m1MIPGlQeS3qGeBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/3 "2010-04-09T12:16:58Z")
From [Baseball Reference.com.](http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Manny_Mota) > [@](#): > > In May 1970, a foul liner from Mota killed a 14-year-old fan named Alan Fish in Los Angeles. To this day many Dodger fans remember Mota more for this incident than anything else he had accomplished on and off the field. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/4 "2010-04-10T00:05:01Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > I await your answer with bated breath. I just want to thank you for correctly spelling “bated”. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/5 "2010-04-10T01:03:26Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I just want to thank you for correctly spelling “bated”. He has mastered the spelling of bated. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/6 "2010-04-10T01:06:06Z")
I know. **SO** many people get it wrong these days!! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/7 "2010-04-10T01:11:01Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I just want to thank you for correctly spelling “bated”. > [@Manduck](#): > > He has mastered the spelling of bated. Given the topic, shouldn’t it be “batted”? ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/8 "2010-04-12T18:18:47Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > He has mastered the spelling of bated. Good one… ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/9 "2010-04-13T16:15:54Z")
Geez, a gazillion jokes and nobody bothers to post the column link! > **[What are your chances of getting brained by a fly ball during a baseball game?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341447/what-are-your-chances-of-getting-brained-by-a-fly-ball-during-a-baseball-game)** ---
**Author:** ![theoperaghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4da419/32.png) [@theoperaghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theoperaghost)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/10 "2010-04-13T16:15:59Z")
So many parks have put in drastic changes in the seating areas that there is a lot less foul ground territory than there use to be. And with so many of the these added seats near ground level, foul line drives become more of a concern. I would assume that places like Dodger Stadium have had an increase in injuries from this, (not neccessarily deaths) since they put in all those new seats along the baselines. Also, I did not see that netting had been put up to protect them either. One of the advantages of these pricier seats is the increased likelyhood of catching a foul. (No, I have no stats, but just by looking at the setup you have to see where this leads). I have see several people hit hard by fouls, they are taken away if minor treatment is needed and usually return with new team jackets, hats and other momemtos. If major treatment is needed, you never hear about it. Anyone else thinks this has changed enough for a new look? KR ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/11 "2010-04-13T17:05:37Z")
In a spring training game this year, the Twins’ Denard Span hit a foul ball that hit a fan in her chest - his own mother. Surely that deserves a mention here. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/12 "2010-04-13T17:28:08Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Geez, a gazillion jokes and nobody bothers to post the column link! > > [What are your chances of getting brained by a fly ball during a baseball game? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/267/what-are-your-chances-of-getting-brained-by-a-fly-ball-during-a-baseball-game) There was a link in the second post, but you may have missed it ducking that foul ball. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/13 "2010-04-13T20:03:21Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > …It appears the OP was talking about [this book](http://books.google.com/books?id=5C9t6NlWEbYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gorman+and+weeks&source=bl&ots=Dxgz2mUty5&sig=afybos3R6eDg_BiYJD5faOdSddc&hl=en&ei=TRi_S4m1MIPGlQeS3qGeBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false). A Slate piece on the book: [Death at the Ballpark: a compendium of all the people who have died at baseball games.](http://www.slate.com/id/2218733/) There’ve been two on-field deaths in the majors: [http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1654577/the\_two\_deaths\_in\_baseball\_history.html](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1654577/the_two_deaths_in_baseball_history.html) (I’ve seen Chapman’s grave at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland), and at least one in the minors: [Heart of the Game – by S.L. Price | BaseballBookReview.com](http://www.baseballbookreview.com/?p=279). ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/14 "2010-04-15T13:27:45Z")
I remember Manny Mota most for pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon in _Airplane!_: “Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon, Manny Mota! Mota! Mota!” ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/15 "2010-04-23T18:47:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > There’ve been two on-field deaths in the majors: [http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1654577/the\_two\_deaths\_in\_baseball\_history.html](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1654577/the_two_deaths_in_baseball_history.html) My God, that’s a poorly-written article. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/16 "2010-04-23T19:18:44Z")
Not in baseball, but [Brittanie Cecil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanie_Cecil) was killed by a stray puck during a Columbus Blue Jackets --Calgary Flames game. Later on, [Espen Knutsen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espen_Knutsen#Fan_death), who had taken that shot, started a charity in her honor. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508/17 "2010-04-23T20:38:23Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Not in baseball, but [Brittanie Cecil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanie_Cecil) was killed by a stray puck during a Columbus Blue Jackets --Calgary Flames game. > > Later on, [Espen Knutsen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espen_Knutsen#Fan_death), who had taken that shot, started a charity in her honor. Recently writen article about Espen and Brittanie’s family: [Brittanies Legacy](http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/03/21/brittanies-legacy.html).