A “PAUCITY OF DETAILS” S.J. CRANE AND THE BASEBALL RULE

• Published in: Tort trial & insurance practice law journal Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 69 - 94
• Main Author: Jarvis, Robert M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago American Bar Association 01-01-2019
• Subjects: Assumption of risk doctrine; History; Laws, regulations and rules; Liability for sports accidents; Personal injuries; Professional baseball; Remedies; Sports injuries; State court decisions; Trials; Kansas City Missouri; Missouri
• ISSN: 1543-3234; 1943-118X

[...]In loss of earnings by reason of his disability. [...]it printed a long piece about the Blues' upcoming four-city, thirteengame road trip.135 Next to this story, however, was a large cartoon drawn by Archibald B. Chapin, the paper's famed sports cartoonist.136 Called "Yesterday's Thriller!,"137 the single-panel sketch depicts two boys piloting a Wright Brothers-type glider.138 Both have on baseball caps, with one bearing the letters "K.C." and the other "S.P." On the underside of the glider's lower wing are emblazoned the words "Double Header," while far below the plane is a baseball stadium whose exterior wall says "Association Park." Because of the silence of the appellate case file and the lack of newspaper reporting, there is no way to know whether Crane attended both games or just one; 139 during which game he was injured; or who the batter was that hit the ball that struck him. See, e.g., Russell v. Woerner, 106 S.W. 49 (Mo. 1907); Marx v. Hart, 66 S.W. 260 (Mo. 1901); Ash v. City of Independence, 46 S.W 749 (Mo. 1898) and 68 S.W. 888 (Mo. 1902). [...]Laughlin undoubtedly set Crane's initial damage demand at $3,000, see supra text accompanying note 25, to ensure that he could meet the Supreme Court's $2,500 threshold. See supra text accompanying notes 60 (Samuel working as a plumber) and 61 (Stephen working as a laborer). Because of the discrepancy in the birth dates on his World War I and World War II draft registration cards, see supra text accompanying notes 71 and 74, Samuel either was twenty-five or twenty-six in 1911.