who was the only player to die during a game ?

Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians on Auguast 20th 1920.He got hit on the temple with a Carl Mays fastball a died a few hours later.The Indians went on to win the world series.

As others have said, Ray Chapman died several hours after being hit by a pitch from Carl Mays in 1920. The only on-field death to occur during a major league game was that of umpire John McSherry, who died of a heart attack in the first inning of a Reds-Expos game in Cincinnati on April 1, 1996. The game was postponed at the request of the players, who were too shaken up to continue playing.

No major league player has ever died *during* a game. Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians died as the result of getting beaned in the head by Carl Mays of the Yankees on August 16, 1920, but he died the next day at the hospital, not at the field during the game.

Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians,1920

Red Sox pitcher Carl Mays threw a pitch that hit Indians SS Ray Chapman in the head on August 16, 1920. Chapman was pronounced dead the following day.

At the time of Chapman's death, "part of every pitcher's job was to dirty up a new ball the moment it was thrown onto the field. By turns, they smeared it with dirt, licorice, tobacco juice; it was deliberately scuffed, sandpapered, scarred, cut, even spiked. The result was a misshapen, earth-colored ball that traveled through the air erratically, tended to soften in the later innings, and as it came over the plate, was very hard to see." [1]

This practice is believed to have led to Chapman's death. He was struck by a pitch by Carl Mays on August 16, 1920 in a game against the New York Yankees. Eyewitnesses recounted that he never moved out of the way of the pitch, presumably unable to see the ball. The sound of the ball crashing into Chapman's skull was so loud that Mays thought it hit his bat, fielded the ball, and threw to first base. Chapman died twelve hours later in a New York City hospital.

In tribute to Chapman's memory, Cleveland players wore black arm bands, with manager Tris Speaker leading the team to win both the pennant and the first World Championship in the history of the club. Rookie Joe Sewell took Chapman's place at shortstop, and went on to have a Hall of Fame career.

Ray Chapman is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

The only death due to on-field circumstances was when Yankees pitcher Carl Mays hit Indians shortstop Ray Champman in the head with a pitch. Chapman later died in the hospital. Thus the birth of batting helmets.

In 1996, an umpire died on field due to a heart attack.

Chapman died the day after the game. This also started the MLB rule of changing baseballs when one became scuffed or discolored. It was decided that one of the reason he was hit was that he could not pick up the ball because of discoloration. In the modern era they remove a ball every time it hits the ground and it serves the purpose of not giving a pitcher a scuff mark for extra grip but the original intent of changing the ball was for batter safety.

To my above colleagues, the man did not die during the game itself. He died from the effects of getting hit in the game and died the next day. With today's medical capabilities any immediate injuries are addressed as soon as the events happen. I have never heard of any player's death directly during a game.

I've seen a few birds die. Randy Johnson made one explode when he hit it with a 98 MPH fastball. Also, Dave Winfield hit a bird in Toronto with a fly ball. I believe he may have been fined for killing the Provinces official bird.

I also saw the Yankees die against the Red Sox in 2004.