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the morphine was his second attempt at suicide, and his actions were motivated by feelings of mortification and shame at being unable to free himself from alcohol. According to one newspaper account, the suicide was "deliberately planned and carefully executed", and the drug had hours to take its effect before Ringo's condition was discovered. A doctor was called and at 10:30 p.m., Ringo was declared to be in dangerous condition. He died at 9 a.m. the next day in the presence of his family.
300:. He made his major league debut on May 1, 1883, at age 22. During the 1883 season, he appeared in 60 games for the Quakers, 39 as a catcher, 11 as an outfielder, six as a shortstop, five as a third baseman and two as a second baseman. He compiled a .190 batting average with 10 doubles, a triple and 12 RBIs in 221 at bats. Despite his poor offensive showing, Ringo displayed impressive defensive capabilities behind the plate. In only 39 games as a catcher, Ringo managed to rank fourth among the
394:
Shortly after training camp began in March 1889, Ringo resumed drinking and had been on a "terrible spree" for two weeks before his death. On the afternoon of April 11, 1889, Ringo ingested 40 grains of morphine at his mother's residence at 1214 Virginia Avenue in Kansas City. It was reported that
373:
Ringo played his last professional baseball games in 1888 as a member of the St. Paul
Apostles of the Western Association. He appeared in 32 games and compiled a .262 batting average. According to a report in a St. Paul newspaper, Ringo was perceived there as "an excellent catcher and hard hitter,
311:
Ringo began the 1884 season with the
Quakers and compiled a .132 batting average with two doubles and six RBIs in 91 at bats. He appeared in 26 games with the 1884 Quakers, all as a catcher. In August 1884, Ringo was released by the Quakers and signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Athletics
369:
During the 1887 season, Ringo remained with the Kansas City baseball club, though it had joined the
Western League and was no longer a major league club. Ringo compiled a career high .382 batting average in 1887. He appeared 67 games, showing versatility with appearances at catcher (35 games),
390:
reported that Ringo was in Kansas City "without an engagement for next season." The newspaper further noted that Ringo had played well in 1888 and opined: "He is a good man when he keeps straight, and he has kept straight for a long time now. Here's a chance for some team to secure a good,
348:
of the
American Association at the end of the 1885 season. He appeared in a total of 18 games, nine each at catcher and first base, for Pittsburgh during the 1885 and 1886 seasons. He compiled a .182 batting average for Pittsburgh in 1885 and increased his average to .214 in 1886.
391:
hard-working catcher." He signed to catch for the Kansas City baseball club and reported to training camp in the middle of March. For several months prior to reporting to training camp, it was reported that Ringo "had not touched whisky, of which he is inordinately fond."
328:. Ringo appeared in 17 games for the Wolverines, including eight games each at catcher and third base. He compiled a career high .246 batting average in 65 at bats for Detroit. However, he was released by the Wolverines and fined $ 100 for what the
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reported that he had "finally pulled himself together" and had recently been catching and playing creditable first and second base for
Augusta. He next played with the
374:
and on and off the ball field was a bright and companionable gentleman." During his off-seasons, Ringo worked as a traveling salesman for a firm in Kansas City.
240:
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386:. After a lengthy period of battling problems with alcohol, Ringo had reportedly stopped drinking in the late summer or fall of 1888. In late January, the
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279:, in 1860. Ringo began his professional baseball career in 1880 playing for Kansas City. He also played minor league baseball in
738:
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outfield (12 games), second base (11 games), shortstop (nine games), first base (three games) and third base (two games).
340:
After his release from
Detroit, Ringo reportedly "dropped out of public notice altogether." In early September 1885, the
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overdose in April 1889 at age 28. His suicide is the earliest by a major league baseball player to be recorded in the
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in 1886. He compiled a .232 batting average with seven doubles and seven RBIs in 56 at bats for the
Cowboys.
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of the
American Association. He appeared in only two games for the Quakers and had no hits in six at bats.
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577:"Ringo's Remorse: The Base-Ball Catcher Attempts Suicide After a Drunken and Protracted Spree".
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636:"Ball-Player Ringo Is Dead: His Second Attempt at Suicide Proved Successful This Morning".
304:'s catchers with six double plays turned and fifth among the league's catchers with a 6.10
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Ringo's suicide is the earliest by a major league baseball player to be recorded in the
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Ringo concluded his major league career appearing in 16 games, 13 at catcher, for the
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652:"Frank Ringo's Fall: The Popular Baseball Player Takes Morphine – A Slave to Drink".
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658:(available on-line through the Library of Congress's "Chronicling America" database)
642:(available on-line through the Library of Congress's "Chronicling America" database)
626:(available on-line through the Library of Congress's "Chronicling America" database)
583:(available on-line through the Library of Congress's "Chronicling America" database)
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When the Peoria baseball club closed, Ringo signed with the
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On
January 1, 1889, Ringo was married to Emma Williams of
223:(October 12, 1860 – April 12, 1889) was a professional
402:. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City.
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player from 1880 to 1888. He played four seasons of
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744:Kansas City Cowboys (minor league) players
34:
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691:https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/76c6bacd
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693:Society for American Baseball Research
640:. New York. April 12, 1889. p. 1.
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533:"Frank Ringo Minor League Statistics"
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16:American baseball player (1860–1889)
719:Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players
729:Pittsburgh Alleghenys (AA) players
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769:Drug-related suicides in Missouri
734:Kansas City Cowboys (NL) players
579:The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas)
779:People from Parkville, Missouri
518:. September 9, 1885. p. 5.
320:In 1885, Ringo signed with the
754:Baseball players from Missouri
709:Major League Baseball catchers
606:. January 30, 1889. p. 2.
488:"Untitled article in column 1"
1:
774:19th-century baseball players
714:Philadelphia Quakers players
656:. April 12, 1889. p. 1.
624:. April 13, 1889. p. 2.
581:. April 19, 1889. p. 3.
561:. April 13, 1889. p. 5.
473:. April 24, 1889. p. 1.
497:. July 29, 1885. p. 5.
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724:Detroit Wolverines players
749:St. Paul Apostles players
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332:described as "lushing."
557:"Frank Ringo Is Dead".
324:as a backup to catcher
739:Augusta Browns players
654:The Pittsburg Dispatch
537:baseball-reference.com
464:"Frank Ringo's Career"
438:baseball-reference.com
255:(1886). He committed
241:Philadelphia Athletics
192:Philadelphia Athletics
346:Pittsburgh Alleghenys
287:Major League Baseball
249:Pittsburgh Alleghenys
229:Major League Baseball
204:Pittsburgh Alleghenys
81:Kansas City, Missouri
620:"Frank Ringo Dead".
597:"Kansas City Briefs"
559:St. Paul Daily Globe
509:"Notes and Comments"
298:Philadelphia Quakers
237:Philadelphia Quakers
186:Philadelphia Quakers
131:, for the
116:Philadelphia Quakers
114:, for the
669:"Baseball Suicides"
359:Kansas City Cowboys
277:Parkville, Missouri
253:Kansas City Cowboys
210:Kansas City Cowboys
133:Kansas City Cowboys
127:September 18,
122:Last MLB appearance
65:Parkville, Missouri
671:. Baseball Almanac
384:Fort Scott, Kansas
322:Detroit Wolverines
275:Ringo was born in
245:Detroit Wolverines
198:Detroit Wolverines
638:The Evening World
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251:(1885–86), and
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78:(aged 28)
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434:"Frank Ringo"
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673:. Retrieved
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306:range factor
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110:May 1,
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76:(1889-04-12)
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52:
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18:
764:1889 deaths
759:1860 births
378:Final weeks
365:Later years
353:Kansas City
239:(1883–84),
28:Frank Ringo
703:Categories
406:References
336:Pittsburgh
271:Early life
58:1860-10-12
206:(1885–86)
188:(1883–84)
155:Home runs
105:MLB debut
261:morphine
247:(1885),
243:(1884),
235:for the
225:baseball
675:June 7,
542:June 7,
443:June 7,
316:Detroit
257:suicide
233:catcher
98:Unknown
90:Batted:
45:Catcher
212:(1886)
200:(1885)
194:(1884)
96:Threw:
600:(PDF)
512:(PDF)
491:(PDF)
467:(PDF)
231:as a
178:Teams
92:Right
72:Died:
53:Born:
677:2014
544:2014
445:2014
149:.192
129:1886
112:1883
259:by
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56:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
