# Pro Athletes KIA **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656 "2004-04-23T16:08:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/1 "2004-04-23T16:08:41Z")
The [death of Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040423/sp_nm/nfl_afghan_usa_tillman_dc), while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, is the only combat death of an athlete that I can think of. [This](http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1387154.html) article mentions that Bob Kalsu of the Buffalo Bills was the only active NFLer killed in action in Vietnam. I am too young to remember this. I know Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams, and others fought in WWII, but I don’t remember my grandparents or anyone else saying that any athlete they watched before the war was killed during the war. I’d think there must have been at least a few. Have other active professional athletes been killed in combat? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/2 "2004-04-23T16:57:22Z")
While he wasn’t actually killed in combat, Christy Mathewson developed tuberculosis after being gassed as part of a training exercise in WWI. It eventually led to his death in 1925. He had retired as an active player at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/3 "2004-04-23T17:47:57Z")
Many, many English cricketers died during the two World Wars, most notably [Colin Blythe](http://www.cricinfo.com/db/PLAYERS/ENG/B/BLYTHE_C_01000251/) and [Hedley Verity](http://www.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/PLAYERS/ENG/V/VERITY_H_01000577/), both of whom played international cricket for England. (Note the somber listing of “place of death” for Blythe.) Several top cricketers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada also were killed in combat. I’ve seen lists of fifty or more _well-known_ cricketers who died in each war. I have read that soccer and rugby sides lost similar numbers of men. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/4 "2004-04-23T22:07:05Z")
Several baseball players died in WWI. Of these, the most notable was Giants player Eddie Grant, who, after the war, had a large monument set up in his honor in the Polo Grounds. ---
**Author:** ![JaxBeachBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@JaxBeachBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaxBeachBoy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/5 "2004-04-24T01:48:28Z")
You also have Rocky Bleir of the Steelers who was wounded pretty severely while in Vietnam (grenade damage to his legs), but he was able to return to the NFL and have a productive career . ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/6 "2004-04-24T02:00:46Z")
In their story on Tillman this evening, NPR said that 600 NFL players erved in WWII and 19 were killed. Seems like a high ratio. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/7 "2004-04-24T03:11:14Z")
> [@](#): > > On March 6, 1945, former major league catcher Harry O’Neill is killed in combat during World War II. The 27-year-old O’Neill becomes the second major leaguer to lose his life in the war. Elmer John Gedeon, a onetime outfielder with the Washington Senators, was killed in 1944. Source: [this page](http://www.baseballprimer.com/daily/daily2004-03-06.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/8 "2004-04-24T04:02:46Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > (Note the somber listing of “place of death” for Blythe.) I was more startled to see the _date_ of death. 3 days away… ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/9 "2004-04-24T04:15:33Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > I was more startled to see the _date_ of death. 3 days away… He died in 1917, the war ended Nov 11 1918. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/10 "2004-04-24T04:26:05Z")
**D’OH!** :desperately, meekly, unable to think of anything else: cite? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-kia/241656/11 "2004-04-24T04:57:27Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > **D’OH!** > > :desperately, meekly, unable to think of anything else: > > cite? 😃 Ok > **[World History Encyclopedia](https://www.worldhistory.org)** > > The free online history encyclopedia with fact-checked articles, images, videos, maps, timelines and more; operated as a non-profit organization.