Sports Fans Who Died at Sporting Events

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When you go to a sporting event, you usually are just focused on your team winning and having a great time. Unfortunately, on occasion, sporting events can turn tragic for fans. Sometimes these are due to the dangers of certain sports. Sometimes they are due to fan riots and so forth, and other times they happen just as freak accidents that could occur anywhere. Some of the worst sports fan tragedies are listed below.

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Mets Fan Dies During Escalator Fall – 2008



A fan of the New York baseball Mets was at a game in 2008 with several members of his family. Sadly, he fell over the side of an escalator and smashed into the concrete floor several stories down. He died an hour later at the hospital. Normally this sort of incident might be due to alcohol. However, it appeared that the man was walking down an escalator that was out of order. He slipped and fell over the side to his death.

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Beating Death of Phillies Fan – 2009



David Sale was killed after a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game in 2009. Sale was with a group for a bachelor party who went to the afternoon game. The party went to a bar that was part of the baseball park. Members of this group had a fight with another group after someone spilled a drink. The two groups were thrown out of the bar. But then, three men in the other group kicked and punched Sale until he was unconscious. Sale died from the beating an hour later.

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Hockey Fan Death – 2002




No fans had been killed during a professional hockey game in 84 years, but that streak ended tragically in 2002. A girl by the name of Brittanie Cecil was seated behind one of the goals above the safety glass. She was struck in the head by an errant puck at a Columbus Blue Jackets game. She left the arena conscious but she sadly passed away a few days later at the hospital. It was found that the collision was so violent that her head snapped back and tore an artery in a spinal column. This was what killed her, not the actual strike from the puck. It was after this that the NHL mandated that safety nets be put at both ends of the arena behind the goals.

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Le Mans Disaster – 1955


The worst auto racing accident ever happened at the Le Mans endurance race in June 1995. The car driven by Pierre Levegh clipped another race car and went airborne towards the crowd. It slammed into a barrier at 100 miles per hour, and it exploded. The engine and axle flew into the crowd. Eighty-three people died, and some were decapitated. This caused major safety changes in auto races, and many races were banned for several years.

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Peru Soccer Riot – 1964



In May 1964, there was a soccer match between Argentina and Peru to decide which would qualify to participate in the Olympics that year. Argentina was ahead in the final few minutes when the tying goal was not allowed by the refs. Fans went crazy, and riots started. The cops shot tear gas into the crowd, and people ran from the stands. But the stadium gates were not open, so there was a huge stampede. Over 318 people died. The police had to escort the referees from the game so they would not be killed.

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Baseball Fan Dies Catching Fly Ball



A Texas Rangers fan in July 2011 leaned over the outfield fence to try to catch a ball that one of the players flipped into the stands. Unfortunately, he lost his balance and fell 20 feet to the field. He died of cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital.