After his retirement from baseball in 1942, he worked with the Seals back office and later with little leagues and the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department, developing intercity baseball. Sprinz died in 1977 in San Francisco. He was 91.
Sprinz's catch was officially recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Highest Catch in 1994.
In 2012 and 2013, baseball sportswriter Zack Hample decided to break Sprinz's record. He accomplished the feat in July 2013, catching a baseball dropped from a helicopter dropped from 1,050 feet. Unlike Sprinz -- and maybe because of him -- Hample wore protective gear, including a catcher's mask, hard-shell protective headgear, and breast plate. Nobody from the Guiness World Record organization attended, although invited. Hample lost no teeth. Officially, Sprinz still holds the record.
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
Sources:
Books
Halliday D, Resnick R, Walker J. Motion along a straight line. Fundamentals of Physics. 4th ed. New York, NY: Wiley and Sons, 1993:30.
Articles:
Borba H. Seal catcher hit in face with ball dropped by blimp. San Francisco Examiner. August 4, 1939.
Flight of Ball Okeh from Blimp, San Francisco Examiner. August 4, 1939.
Just 10 minutes before attempting catch. San Francisco Examiner. August 5, 1939.
Lefty O'Doul, batting champion with Phillies and Dodgers, dies. New York Times. December 8, 1969.
Poor Joe -- He's resting easy. San Francisco Chronicle. August 5, 1939.
Scouts enjoy day. San Francisco Chronicle. August 4, 1939.
Sprinz O.K.; fear of falling pellets vanishes. San Francisco Examiner. March 14, 1940.
perfectly but he attempted to catch the ball over his face like he catches fairly high foul flies." The ball, according to Graham, "had too much force hitting him on the mouth." Graham went on to opine that Sprinz should have tried to catch the ball "out in front of him," acknowledging the sun and wind interfered with his historic catch.
The ball slammed into Sprinz's face, knocking out eight teeth, fracturing his upper jaw, breaking his nose, and severely lacerating both lips. O'Doul told reporters he couldn't see the balls as they dropped to the earth until "they were really close to the ground ... then they looked like aspirin tablets."
Suddenly realizing the danger he had put his star catcher in, O'Doul ran out onto the field to recall Sprinz, but "it was a bit too late," he said, continuing "he was down, the damage done."
The following day, Sprinz "murmured" through his hospital bandages and a wired jaw reflecting on what happened: "I had the ball judged all the way. The ball hit my glove. ... [It] didn't hit my face. The jar of the ball drove the mitt back against my mouth and caused all the damage."
“Suddenly realizing the danger he had put his star catcher in, O'Doul ran out onto the field to recall Sprinz, but 'it was a bit too late' he said, continuing 'he was down, the damage done.' ”
"Most of the eight teeth lost were bridgework and can be replaced," his doctor noted. Sprinz chimed in that he was more hurt and baffled by his failure to hold onto the ball "than he is hurt by his hurts." He returned the following year in May 1940 as the starting catcher for the Seals, claiming he was "just as good" as he was before the accident.
Page 2
Continued Page 3
8 teeth sacrificed for the record
Continued from Page 1
