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.