The early days of Major League Baseball produced numerous forgotten stories, including the peculiar case of Ed Delahanty, an outfielder who was playing for the Washington Senators when he met his demise after plunging over Niagara Falls.
Now, I’m going to take a risk here and assume that the majority of individuals reading this have never even heard of Delahanty, an Ohio native who made his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies towards the end of the 1880s.
He was initially brought on board to play second base, but he eventually found a more permanent position in left field while gaining a reputation as a formidable batter known for his power at the plate.
Delahanty spent 13 seasons with the Phillies before deciding to take his talents to the Washington Senators after they offered him a substantial pay raise as he was entering the twilight of his career.
While he was aware that his baseball-playing days were limited at that point, they—and his life—came to a shocking end due to what occurred midway through his second season with the team.
Delahanty had struggled with alcohol and gambling problems throughout his career, and while he was initially enticed to join the Senators by the contract they offered him to leave Philly, the team’s performance fell far short of the standards he was accustomed to.
On July 2nd, 1903, Washington’s record fell to 16-43 for the season after losing to the Tigers in Detroit, and the 35-year-old outfielder finally reached a breaking point. He parted ways with the Senators and decided to return to his home in New York City, but he never made it there.
Delahanty reportedly consumed five shots of whiskey on the train before causing a disturbance by breaking open a glass compartment containing a fire axe and eventually exchanging that sharp object for the razor he used to chase fellow passengers through the cabins.
The conductor understandably decided to intervene and ejected the unruly passenger from the train near Fort Erie, a Canadian border town situated across the Niagara River from Buffalo.
What exactly happened next remains a mystery to this day. According to contemporary reports, Delahanty was eventually able to make his way towards the International Railway Bridge, a span located approximately 20 miles south of Niagara Falls. It was there that he encountered Sam Kingston, who served as the night guard at the crossing.
Kingston eventually told the police that he witnessed Delahanty jump off the bridge, although his initial version of the story claimed that they had engaged in a physical altercation that resulted in the player falling into the water below. Delahanty’s brothers (all of whom played in the MLB) believed he was the victim of a robbery that took a fatal turn, but no concrete evidence emerged to support that theory.
What is known is that Delahanty’s swollen and unidentifiable corpse was discovered floating in the waters near the Maid of the Mist boat landing the following morning. His death was officially ruled an accident, and his wife successfully sued the railroad that ejected him from the train in the first place and received $5,000 in compensation.
According to the Source brobible.com