La Verne Ashford "Larry" Chappell (February 19, 1890 – November 8, 1918) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who played from 1913 to 1917 for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

and

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

. Chappell died of Spanish Flu while serving with the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War I.

Early life

Born in McClusky, Illinois, Chappell played minor league baseball in several cities before making his debut in the major leagues in 1913.

MLB career

His big league career began on July 18, 1913. He hit .231 in 60 games in his rookie season, with no home runs, 15 RBI and seven stolen bases. In 39 at-bats for the White Sox in 1914, he hit .231 again. In 1915, he was hitless in one at-bat. On February 14, 1916, Chappell was sent to the Indians as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

to complete a trade that originally occurred August 21, 1915. In all, the Indians received Chappell, Braggo Roth, Ed Klepfer and $31,500. The White Sox received

Shoeless Joe Jackson Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 20th century. His .356 career batting average ...

. Chappell was the most expensive of the players sent to the Indians – he was an $18,000 bonus player. He played in only three games for the Indians, collecting no hits in two at-bats. In May 1916, the Braves purchased him, and in 53 at-bats with them he hit .226. Overall, Chappell hit .218 with nine RBI and two stolen bases in 1916. Chappell played his final season in 1917, appearing in four games for the Braves, collecting no hits in two at-bats. He played his final game on April 25. Overall, Chappell hit .226 with no home runs, 26 RBI and nine stolen bases in 109 career games. He walked 25 times and struck out 42 times.

Death

In 1917, Chappell played for the

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Through 77 games with the Bees, he was having one of his best seasons in professional baseball, hitting .325. In May of that year, newspapers reported that four Bees players – Chappell, Paddy Siglin, Walt Leverenz and

Jean Dubuc Jean Joseph Octave Dubuc (September 15, 1888 – August 28, 1958), sometimes known by the nickname "Chauncey", was a right-handed American baseball pitcher, manager, and scout, and a coach of both baseball and ice hockey. A native of Vermont, D ...

– were planning to join the U.S. Navy. Chappell joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps and served at

Letterman Army Hospital The Letterman Army Hospital, established around 1898 and redesignated as the Letterman Army Medical Center (LAMC) in 1969, was a US Army facility at the Presidio of San Francisco in San Francisco, California, US. It was decommissioned in 1994 ...

in San Francisco. He died that November after contracting the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

at the age of 28. One source holds that he died in an army camp in France, but most sources indicate that he died at Letterman Hospital. He is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in

Jerseyville, Illinois Jerseyville is the largest city in and the county seat of Jersey County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,337. Jerseyville is a part of Southern Illinois, the Metro-East region and the St. Lo ...

. Chappell was one of eight

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

players known either to have been killed or died from illness while serving in the armed forces during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The others were Alex Burr‚ Harry Chapman,

Harry Glenn Harry Melville "Husky" Glenn (June 9, 1890 – October 12, 1918) was an American professional baseball player from 1910 to 1918. He played a portion of the 1915 season in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He al ...

‚ Eddie Grant‚

Newt Halliday Newton Schurz Halliday (June 18, 1896 – April 6, 1918) was an American baseball player. He appeared in a portion of one game in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 19, 1916. Halliday had three putouts ...

Ralph Sharman Ralph Edward Sharman (April 11, 1895 – May 24, 1918), nicknamed "Bally", was an American baseball outfielder. He played professional baseball from 1915 to 1917, including 13 games in Major League Baseball for the 1917 Philadelphia Athletics. He ...

and Bun Troy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Larry 1890 births 1918 deaths Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Boston Braves players Baseball players from Jersey County, Illinois Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in California Eau Claire Commissioners players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Columbus Senators players Salt Lake City Bees players American military personnel killed in World War I United States Army personnel of World War I 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

MLB career

Death

See also

References

External links