White Sox History: Jackie Hayes Gets Cinder in Eye During Game

One would imagine that a baseball game, especially on the field, would be a place to avoid drifting cinders. Unfortunately, for White Sox second baseman Jackie Hayes, that was not the case.

Strange things can happen on the baseball diamond. Bartolo Colon hit a home run. Len Barker, Charlie Robertson, and Philip Humber threw perfect games. Richie Ashburn hit the same fan, Alice Roth, with a foul ball twice, breaking her nose and her knee. Sandy Koufax once pitched to a horse (it was an episode of Mr. Ed, but still pretty strange). The ballpark is a place where the odd just happens.

Yet, one would imagine that fire related injuries would not occur on the diamond, excluding the occasional hot foot. However, on this day in 1940, White Sox second baseman Jackie Hayes had a drifting cinder hit him in the eye.

At the time, it was not thought to be that big of a deal. Expectations were that, after a few days, Hayes would be fine, Instead, his eye would become infected, causing vision issues. He did finish out the season, but only appeared in 18 games, with a .195/.233/.245 batting line.

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That eye injury worsened, and by the end of the year, Hayes was blind in the eye. Eventually, four years later, Hayes became completely blind, felled by glaucoma in his other eye.

Hayes still managed to have a solid life. Although he was no longer able to continue his baseball career, his disability did not slow him down. He was elected to be the county tax commissioner in his home town of Clanton, Alabama, where he lived for most of the rest of his life.

Accidents can happen on the diamond. Players and coaches have been seriously injured through fluke plays, and there have been several deaths that took place on the field. However, those incidents are few and far between. Likewise, one would not anticipate a flying cinder as an issue, causing blindness when it landed in a player’s eye.

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Unfortunately, that exact issue happened to White Sox second baseman Jackie Hayes on this day in 1940 during an exhibition game with the Cubs. Although he attempted to make a comeback, that cinder ended his career.