Hughie Jennings Bad Day!

Hughie Jennings Bad Day!

Have you ever had a bad day? A really bad day?

If so, perhaps you can just regroup, find a way to somehow laugh and shake off the negative effects with the phrase: “At least I never dived into an empty pool.”

Hughie Jennings used to say that, too. Unfortunately, he really did dive into an empty swimming pool.

The incident occurred on February 24, 1904. While playing for the Brooklyn Superbas and before he ever thought of becoming a major league manager, Jennings was studying in the off-season at Cornell University enroute to acquiring a law degree. He was also the special winter manager of the Cornell baseball team. The convenient arrangement helped reduce most of his tuition fees.

As was his custom, Jennings often took a swim after a day of legalese and getting the Cornell baseball nine in shape for the upcoming season. After all, he had the keys to the locked indoor swimming pool.

So, without much thought or perhaps on mental auto pilot, Jennings showered that evening, put on his swim trunks and headed for the pool. He usually didn’t flip the light switch on as he didn’t want to bring attention to his solo exercise regimen. He also didn’t like the bright illumination that the oversized industrial ceiling lights cast on the water.

Without much thought he ran to the pool’s deep end and dived. But instead of making a splash, he fell approximately 12 feet down into the concrete bottom with a thud. Without his knowledge, the pool had been drained for maintenance over the prior weekend.

In a split second, Jennings must have realized something was terribly wrong but there was no time to adjust only to prepare for a hard impact. His head and arms hit the bottom with such a force that he was rendered unconscious. He avoided a skull fracture but he broke his left wrist and severely sprained the right one. He was found by chance some ten minutes later by one of the squad members who had come to ask him advice about how best to hit a curve ball.

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer the next day suggested that Jennings might never be able to play ball again. The same article curiously pointed out that there was no evidence that Jennings had been drinking prior to the fateful dive.

Another subsequent article on February 26, 1904, in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle suggested that Jennings was fooled as the swimming pool room was emitting steam that would be consistent with a reservoir of heated water.

The Washington Star pointed to an amazing almost miraculous recovery as it was said that the ballplayer actually attended one of his law classes the day after the injury. This encouraging prognosis was followed on March 11, when Jennings’ hometown newspaper, The Pittstown (New Jersey) Gazette, reported that the star had completely recovered and would start for his new team Baltimore in April.

It is interesting to note that although Jennings never actually graduated from Cornell (he lacked the final two semesters), he passed enough classes to take the bar exam. He was admitted to practice in Maryland in 1905 and in Pennsylvania in 1907, where Jennings moved to Scranton and began practicing law with his brother, W. A. Jennings. Hughie became a very accomplished and respected trial lawyer, defending accused murderers on several occasions.

But Jennings was not done with accidents. In 1911, the car he was driving overturned on a Lehigh River bridge in eastern Pennsylvania, putting his life in danger. This time he did fracture his skull, had a severe concussion, and broke both legs and his left arm. Although doctors were unsure of whether or not he would survive, Jennings pulled through once more. EE-YAH!