Ray Chapman didn’t actually die on the field. The only player that we know of to be killed by a beanball died 12 hours later, after failed brain surgery. The shortstop was hit in the head in the fifth inning on August 16, 1920, by Carl Mays, the Yankees’ best pitcher and a notorious ball-meddler. Mays’ unconventional, near-submarine delivery, combined with his penchant for spitballs and dragging baseballs across his belt buckle, regularly had him atop the HBP leaderboards, but the ball that hit Chapman was different.
There are plenty of resources out there if you want to learn more about Ray Chapman, the person, the celebrity, the ballplayer and the man who was a few months away from being a father.