Mysterious Death of Ed Delahanty: Baseball’s First Superstar Lost at Niagara Falls

[00:00:00] So imagine one of the biggest stars in Major League Baseball just vanishes. No one can find him. No one knows what happened or where he went. And a few days later, his body is found at the bottom of Niagara Falls, dead, missing all his personal belongings and clothes. And no one knows what happened.

[00:00:19] Today, this would be front page news and internet sleuths would comb anything to try to find the answer. But this happened in 1903 when baseball great Ed Delahanty took a train and ended up at the bottom of Niagara Falls. But the question is, was it an accident, a suicide or murder? That's what we're going to find out today as we go into the background and the story of Ed Delahanty and what happened on that train that ended his life.

[00:00:49] Today on Daily Sports History, let's go! Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide, because I analyze box scores like they're ancient scrolls.

[00:01:09] So Ed Delahanty was born in 1867 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up loving baseball and worked his way up just like his brothers did as four of his brothers also eventually played in Major League Baseball. He would eventually join the Cleveland Shamrocks, a semi-pro team in Ohio, in 1887. He was known as a power hitter, but he also was great at making contact.

[00:01:35] And in his first 83 games, he scored 90 runs and batted with a .355 average, which really caught the eye of Major League Baseball. And he ended up playing minor league baseball in Wheeling, West Virginia. And he really caught the eye of the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was given a $1,900 contract, which today would be just over $60,000, which is a large amount, especially back then.

[00:02:00] And they brought him in quickly as they needed to replace Charlie Ferguson, who had died unexpectedly, which is a weird foreshadowing. In his rookie year, he actually struggled, batting only .228 with only one home run and 31 RBIs. But he would continue to grow, hitting .290 in his next season and eventually passing the .300 batting mark, which is the benchmark of being a good player.

[00:02:27] And then he did something that not many have done. In 1894, he hit over .400, going .407. And he did the same the next season. And in 1899, he did it again. And he would start adding power as well, as he led the league in home run 1893 with 19. Now, doesn't sound like a lot compared to today and even the Babe Ruth times. But this was known as the dead ball era, where teams weren't focused on home runs.

[00:02:56] You were focused on getting on base and scoring runs rather than hitting home runs. But he would also lead the league again in 1896 with 13 home runs. Being known as the power hitter guy, being known for his power, even though it doesn't seem like it today, but it was a huge moment. And on July 13, 1896, he became the second player in history to hit four home runs in a single game. And the first to do so in a losing effort.

[00:03:24] And he was really a larger-than-life figure. As he stood over 6'1", over 200 pounds, he was really just known for his size and got the nickname Big Ed. But over the years, he began to develop a drinking problem and a gambling problem. Even though he would go on to earn, in 1900, over $3,000 a year, which today would be over $100,000. Back then, $100,000 was huge. And he was a valuable name.

[00:03:52] At this time, the National League and the American League were separate. And he would bounce around between teams and leagues looking for the best payday. Because he really earned it. Consistently hitting over .350 throughout his career. And at the time, was known by many pitchers as the best right-handed hitter at the time. There was no pitching around him. But he was starting to struggle with alcohol abuse. And he was allegedly in gambling debt.

[00:04:16] Now, this time, gambling was still an issue in sports betting and players gambling and umpires and everything. Was an issue. It happened in the Black Sox scandals, which was still years away from at this time. On July 2, 1903, Dantley left his team in Detroit. Leaving behind all his personal belongings except his Washington senator's cap. Which was his team that he was playing for at the time. He boarded a train on its way to New York.

[00:04:42] Hoping to negotiate a release from his contract to hopefully join the New York Giants. But it's said that he actually got very drunk on the train. Consuming over the whiskeys. Became very disruptive. He was smoking, even though it was forbidden. He was breaking glasses. They said he had a knife or a straight razor scaring passengers. That the conductor at the time of the train finally stopped the train and made him get out. At a really odd place.

[00:05:12] Over the Niagara River, which leads to the Niagara Falls. But there was a walkway on this bridge. So it wasn't like they just left him on the tracks. But it was a 3,000 foot span bridge. And he was very intoxicated at the time. And there was a night watchman named Sam Kingston who encountered him on the bridge. And actually ended up in an altercation with him and tried to restrain Dantley. But he broke free and ran off into the night. Is what he says.

[00:05:41] Moments later, Dantley wasn't on the bridge anymore. And we would go on to find out that he either stumbled off the bridge, falling 25 feet into the fast moving river, or jumped. Or maybe even was pushed. But no one really knew it was missing for a week. Now this wasn't uncommon at the time because there was no phones. You didn't know where anyone was. Especially an athlete that was traveling across the country. You wouldn't see people for months and months. So you just didn't expect them to be missing.

[00:06:10] But he was missing for a week. No one had heard from him or seen him. Until his body was found at the bottom of Niagara Falls. His clothes and personal belongings were all gone. So the question was, what happened? So let's walk through the scenarios that could have happened. One, it was an accident. He was drunk on a bridge. Stumbling, got into a fight, was running away from somebody, got into an altercation. Easily could have slipped, fell over the railing. Safety standards were not what they are today. Things like this happened a lot.

[00:06:39] So this is a very likely outcome. It was an accident. He fell over. 25 feet isn't the longest thing. You can survive that. But it was a rushing river at night. And if you're drunk, it's even worse. So very easily could have been an accident. A suicide. You could say that he didn't bring any personal belongings, which is weird. Normally you would bring stuff to go on a cross-country trip. But why would you do that? Why would you leave all your stuff and not take it? Unless you were planning to maybe end your life.

[00:07:09] And suicide is usually a split-second decision. So if you were drunk, you just got kicked off a train. You feel like you're being slighted in work. You have massive debts, people coming at you to collect. You're like, maybe you jump off. Try to kill yourself. Even though 25 feet isn't that long, you're not thinking straight. Definite possibility. Third possibility wasn't murder. There are actually witnesses on the train that say they saw someone possibly following him around.

[00:07:35] And even may have gotten off the train and they may have saw a figure. Now, maybe it was the Night Watchman. Maybe it was someone else. They didn't get a clear description of it. It was dark. In the middle of nowhere. No one really knows. But his brother, Frank, really thinks that while he may have been drinking, he thinks Ed held his drink well enough that he wouldn't fall off the bridge. So something had to happen to make him go off the bridge. That's just his feeling. He wasn't there.

[00:08:05] And maybe no one was there. We don't really know. This is a mystery that happened over 100 years ago. 1903, there was no DNA, no cameras, no cell phones. Investigations into murder or death was just very minimal back then. And you had to have lots of evidence or catch someone red-handed to really have a murder. So we will never know.

[00:08:31] And this is such a crazy story that likely, if it happened today with one of the stars in Major League Baseball, it would end the same way. If a star was taking a train, which honestly is unlikely today, but if they were taking a train and had to get off, which is something they don't do today, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, chances are this could happen and be a mystery still to this day, as it was over 100 years ago.

[00:08:57] The details we have about that night are so scarce that we do not know what happened. And unfortunately, this ended his legendary career. He ranks 7th all-time in career batting average. All-time with a .346 batting average. Batting over .400 three times. A National League record. A feat only matched in the National League by Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby. He would have over 100 home runs, which doesn't sound a lot now, but at the time it was a lot.

[00:09:26] And hit over 2,500 hits. And in 1902, he was the only player to win a batting title in both the National and American League. He was arguably a great player that we forget about and only gets recalled for his tragic end. He would get inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945, have his jersey retired by the Philadelphia Phillies, and be part of the Philadelphia's Wall of Fame.

[00:09:51] And the ending to his life is unfortunate and a mystery that helped him live on more than some other players. Sometimes things happen in our lives that make us even more infamous than the great accomplishments we had. And the question is, should Ed be more remembered for his mysterious passing or what he did on the field? Thank you for listening to today's Daily Sports History.

[00:10:16] If you like this, please share it from the rooftops on social media or text messages. Share it with a friend who also loves sports history. That way they can join in on all we're learning on Daily Sports History. We'll see you on the next one.