Thomas Everett Gastall (June 13, 1932 – September 20, 1956) 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 spent two years in

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 ...

(MLB) as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in and . A

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

batter and thrower, he stood tall and weighed . Gastall was born in Fall River,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He graduated in 1951 from B.M.C. Durfee High School where he starred in baseball, football and basketball. He matriculated at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

where he served as captain of the baseball and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

teams, and quarterbacked the

Terriers Terrier () is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. There are five different groups of terrier, wi ...

to the most successful season in their history to that point. The university's Athlete of the Year as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1955, also the year that he died, he was posthumously inducted into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1959. He was the 120th selection in the tenth round of the

1955 NFL draft The 1955 NFL draft was held January 27–28, 1955 at the Warwick Hotel in New York City. This was the ninth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous eight winners ineligible from the draw, onl ...

by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. After graduation, Gastall signed with Baltimore for $40,000 as a bonus baby. He was the third-string catcher behind starter

Gus Triandos Gus Triandos (July 30, 1930 – March 28, 2013) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher and a first baseman, most prominently as a member of the Baltimore Orioles where he was a fou ...

and Hal Smith on the Orioles' depth chart.Thomas, Buddy. "Gastall: gone too soon," ''The Standard-Times'' (New Bedford, MA), Thursday, May 11, 2000.
Retrieved February 4, 2023. Gastall appeared in 52 games and had less than one hundred plate appearances over two seasons with Baltimore. He died when the ERCO Ercoupe aircraft he piloted experienced engine problems and crashed into the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

on September 20, 1956. He had taken off in the airplane from

Easton, Maryland Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,101 at the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 17,342 in 2022. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...

at around 6 p.m. ET. He radioed the

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...

at Harbor Field at 6:12 p.m., reporting that he was in trouble and, in what might have been his last words, "heading for the water."

Radio noise In radio reception, radio noise (commonly referred to as radio static) is unwanted random radio frequency electrical signals, fluctuating voltages, always present in a radio receiver in addition to the desired radio signal. Radio noise is a comb ...

prevented the operator at the control tower from hearing any further details from Gastall. His body was found floating off Riviera Beach, Maryland five days later on September 25.planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1950s
/ref>

Autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

results announced on September 27 revealed that Gastall had escaped the wreckage with no signs of injury from the crash but died because of

drowning Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

."Orioles' Rookie Drowned in Bay," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Friday, September 28, 1956.
Retrieved February 4, 2023. He was survived by his wife, Rosemary, and a son, Thomas.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gastall, Thomas Everett 1932 births 1956 deaths Accidental deaths in Maryland American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Baltimore Orioles players Basketball players from Massachusetts Boston University Terriers baseball players Boston University Terriers football players Boston University Terriers men's basketball players Deaths by drowning in Maryland B.M.C. Durfee High School alumni Major League Baseball catchers Players of American football from Fall River, Massachusetts Baseball players from Fall River, Massachusetts Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1956 20th-century American sportsmen

See also

References

External links