MLB: Twelve Players Who Made The Ultimate Sacrifice
By Ron Juckett
Corporal Ralph Edward Sharman, US Army (April 11, 1895-May 24, 1918)
A hot prospect from semi-pro baseball signed by the New York Giants, Ralph Sharman played his brief Major League career with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Born in Cleveland, the 22-year-old was highly regarded as a defensive genius in the outfield who could also hit.
After a year playing for Portsmouth in the Ohio State League, Sharman spent 1916-17 primarily in the Texas League. With Galveston in 1916, he hit .277 with 17 doubles in 105 games.
Called up to the Athletics in September of 1917, Sharman played in 13 games, hitting a robust .297 while driving in two in his 42 plate appearances. He started eight games overall, six in center where he made his lone error. He played his first and last games at Shibe Park against the New York Yankees.
Called into active duty for 1918, Sharman made the rank of corporal in the 136th Field Artillery Unit, Battalion F. Training at Montgomery, Alabama’s Camp Sheridan, as Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices tells us, his unit was conducting a training exercise on the Alabama River on May 24, 1918 when Sharman drowned. It took the weekend to recover him and Sharman received a full military funeral in Montgomery.
Today, he rests at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.
Next: The most prominent player to die in combat