By Michael Adler and Nathan Hale
A three-time .400 hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies, Ed Delahanty was the
sport's first bona fide slugger, leading the league with 19 homers and 146
RBI in 1893. Ten years later "the King of Swat" was dead; his fatal plunge
off the International Bridge into the foot of Niagara Falls 96 years ago today
remains shrouded in mystery.
Legend has it Delahanty's bat struck with
enough force to split a ball in two. Frederick
"Crazy" Schmit, who pitched against him in the
1890s, described pitching against "Big Ed" thus:
"You just want to shut your eyes, say a prayer
and chuck the ball. The Lord only knows what'll
happen after that." Once, after whiffing
Delahanty on three pitches, Schmit dropped to
his knees and cried out, "Who says I'm not the
greatest pitcher on earth?"
But Delahanty's many successes on the
diamond masked a troubled personal life marred
by gambling and booze. His debts often
mounted to the point that "Big Ed" would
threaten suicide in the hopes that his
teammates would bail him out; at times, even his mother followed him on
road trips to make sure he wouldn't kill himself.
LIKE DELAHANTY, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOUND ITSELF IN DIRE
STRAITS at the turn of the century. By 1900, Ban Johnson's new American
League had robbed the Senior Circuit of many of its most marketable stars
-- Cy Young, "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity, Wilbert Robinson and John McGraw
amongst them. Most if not all of the upstart league's eight teams made
offers to Delahanty before the 1901 season, but a record-breaking $3,000
contract convinced the star to stay with the Phillies.
A season later, the defection of his close friend and former roommate
Napoleon Lajoie to the crosstown Athletics and an acrimonious relationship
with team captain Hughie Jennings led Delahanty to reconsider. He agreed
to sign with the Washington Senators for $4,000 -- a grand sum quickly lost
to foolish bets at the racetrack.
New Giant manager John McGraw, sensing Delahanty was down on his
luck, traveled to Washington's Benning Raceway in November, 1902 to
watch "Big Ed" blow the last of his savings. McGraw offered the slugger a
three-year, $24,000 contract -- more than enough to convince Delahanty the
time was right to return to the NL.
BUT DELAHANTY NEVER DONNED A GIANTS UNIFORM. In January
1903, Ban Johnson signed a peace treaty with the National League; as part
of the deal, Giants owner John Brush agreed to return Delahanty and former
Tiger George Davis to the American League. Davis was angered by the
move and vowed to hold out until he was allowed to play for New York.
Delahanty was desperate for cash and unhappily agreed to return to
Washington.
Depressed at the turn of events, Delahanty spent most of the 1903 season
with a hangover and barely managed to keep his average above .300. When
a near-deal to the AL's New York Highlanders fell through, "Big Ed" began
disappearing from the team for days at a time. Once, his frustration led him
to turn on the gas in his hotel room; luckily, one of his teammates yanked
him out in time.
On the night of July 2, 1903, a drunken Delahanty finally found a chance to
escape the Senators. George Davis had finally been allowed to join the
Giants, and Delahanty -- hoping to be afforded the same opportunity --
boarded a train traveling from Detroit to New York.
HE NEVER MADE IT. Eight hours and five shots of whiskey after boarding
the train, Delahanty was asked to leave. He had been a nuisance the entire
journey, and when he attempted to drag a sleeping woman out of her berth
by her ankles the train conductor had decided enough was enough.
So it came to pass that "Big Ed" Delahanty found himself standing on the
Canadian side of the International Bridge with the bright lights of Buffalo
ahead of him. "You're in Canada," he had been told by the conductor, "so
don't make any trouble." "I don't care if I'm in Canada or dead," Delahanty replied. It was an eerily
prescient response.
While conducting his rounds, Sam Kingston, the night watchman on the
International Bridge, came across Delahanty leaning against one of the iron
trusses. Kingston didn't recognize the slugger, even after shining his lantern
in his face; when Delahanty became belligerent, the watchman lunged at the
stranger in an effort to subdue him. Delahanty ran, and the next thing
Kingston heard was a splash in the water some 20 feet below.
SEVERAL DAYS PASSED BEFORE THE STRANGER ON THE BRIDGE
WAS IDENTIFIED as the great ballplayer Delahanty. Despite being able to
hear Delahanty’s cries for help, Kingston failed to report the incident until
early the next morning. The ensuing investigation turned up few leads; the
only evidence as to the man’s identity was his hat, which he apparently had
dropped on the bridge. Changes in Kingston’s story only complicated
matters.
The newspapers at first were more concerned with the whereabouts of
George Davis, whom McGraw seemed to be hiding from American League
officials. The Senators, who had passed over the International Bridge less
than an hour after their teammate’s fall, had become accustomed to his
frequent absences. Even Delahanty’s wife, Norine, was not terribly worried
when he failed to meet her at the train station.
When the story of Delahanty’s vanishing first broke, it was assumed that he
had jumped to the New York club or was simply laid up somewhere on a
long bender. But as the days passed and repeated inquiries turned up
nothing, the story assumed a more serious tone.
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN DELAHANTY AND THE STRANGER ON
THE BRIDGE WAS FINALLY MADE by John K. Bennett, manager for the
Pullman Car Company, when he investigated the contents of a dress
suitcase and black leather bag sitting unclaimed in his Buffalo office. He
found a pair of high-top baseball shoes and a Washington Senators pass
book.
On Thursday, July 9, a man’s body was found floating in the swirling waters
at the base of Niagara Falls by William LeBlond, operator of the popular
Maid of the Mist tour boat. The probable connection between Delahanty and
the International Bridge incident was now well known, and M.A. Green, a
stockholder in the Senators, came from Buffalo to inspect the body. The
corpse was terribly disfigured and most of the clothing had apparently been
torn off by the fierce waters, but enough characteristics remained for Green
to determine that this was indeed his friend Delahanty.
Frank Delahanty, Ed’s younger brother and an outfielder for Syracuse in the
International League, arrived to observe the body. He questioned how Ed’s
tie could be in place, yet his diamond tie pin and rings had disappeared.
Conducting further investigations of his own, he never could accept
Kingston’s story.
Frank refused to see how the septuagenarian Kingston had come out on top
in a scuffle with the "King of Swat," and even though Kingston asserted that
the stranger had wielded a lump of coal as a weapon, there was no coal in
the vicinity of the bridge. To add to the intrigue, LeBlond found the body of a
local farmer under the same waterfall shortly afterwards, minus 1,500 dollars
he had been carrying when he left home.
THE MYSTERY OF WHAT HAPPENED TO ED DELAHANTY on his
never-completed trip from Detroit to New York was never solved. As an
angry Frank Delahanty told reporters, "I have some suspicion about how Ed
went off that bridge. The poor fellow is dead now, and he can never tell his
side of the story, but the others can tell just what they please."
Blame was placed alternately on the railroad company, Ban Johnson, John
McGraw and Giants owner John Brush, and on Delahanty’s own drinking,
gambling and suicidal tendencies. A lawsuit by a destitute Norine Delahanty
after the season provided her and her daughter with a mere $5,000 from the
railroad company.
The "King of Batters" was laid to rest in his hometown of Cleveland. His
entire family -- including his four ballplaying brothers -- attended, and
numerous friends from around the leagues came to pay their respects. John
McGraw served as a pallbearer. In 1945, the Veteran's Committee voted
Delahanty into the Hall of Fame; a career .346 hitter, he is the only player
ever to win both an AL and NL batting title.
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