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Len Koenecke
's Bat The events leading
to the death of outfielder Len Koenecke
is amongst
the most bizarre in baseball history. Len was
a popular player for the Brooklyn Dodgers when
he was sent down to the minor leagues by manager
Casey Stengel, in September, 1935. On the way
to his minor league assignment, he chartered a
plane in Detroit to go to Buffalo. About halfway
through the flight, Koenecke
, became “restless
and started grabbing at the controls”, according
to the pilot of the plane, William J. Mulqueeny.
Pilot Mulqueeney was forced to take the onboard
fire extinguisher and hit Koenecke
over the head
with it multiple times which ended up killing
Koenecke
. The plane then landed in Toronto, where
Mulqueeny and his onboard assistant, Irwin Davis
were at first arrested on manslaughter charges.
This is the only known game used bat of Len Koenecke
’s.
It’s a side written bat, meaning, there
is a grease pencil marking on the side indicating
to the bat maker, the exact specifications of
the kind of bats Koenecke
liked. Also, visible,
on the back of the bat, are multiple nails, showing
how players in those days did everything to repair
their favorite bats.
Click
here to read the New York Times account of that
fateful flight.
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