I have not discovered any statistics related to sports deaths in the early 20th century, but this is not the first vintage document I have found related to the phenomena.

(One of the most moving is a photograph of a soulful young man; on the reverse is written, “Aunt Maymie’s beau, died playing football.  The ruby ring”)

A reader shared an informative article written in the 1930’s of a study of Sports Deaths commissioned by FDR.

On November 22 of 1913, Mr. Meade Schaffner received a postcard from Gettysburg sent by C. K. H.

The postcard features a hand-colored photograph of Slocum’s Avenue on the Civil War battlefield, now a National Park.

C.K.H. Writes, “no game – one of the players died from injuries last game.”

I assume that the writer was a teammate of Meade Schaffer, although the nature of their relationship is not indicated here.

The story deserves more attention; one is impatient to know more about the sports accident.

Fortunately, a clever internet sleuth found the news story from an archive of the newspaper in Gettysburg.

Another reader noted that Meade Schaffner become a beloved physician in Lancaster, PA.