Ben Young/pagetext

From SABR Encyclopedia

Benjamin F. Young, widely known as an efficient umpire, was killed Sept. 1 in an accident at Eagle Gorge, about sixty miles from Tacoma, Wash., on the Northern Pacific Railway. The accident was due to a broken rail. Young was in a sleeper, and he and another pasenger were the only ones to sustain fatal injuries out of sixteen persons more or less severely hurt. The deceased had been an umpire in major and minor leagues all over the country for a number of years, and was an unusually capable man in the position. At the time of his death he was on the staff of the Pacific Northwest League, and the proof of his efficiency was the fact that he was the only member of the staff who had been with the League from the beginning of the season, a remarkable achievement in a new league. The deceased was an educated man, of fine presence, exemplary habits, and exceedingly well mannered. By profession he was a school teacher, for which he was well fitted by reason of natural disposition and thorough education. Base ball was his one hobby. To it he gave some of the best years of his life, and finally met his death, indirectly, through it. He was the son of a clergyman and in his thirty- eighth year when killed. ^[1]