Train Accident and Life After Baseball
After the 1893 season, Bennett went hunting with pitcher John Clarkson. Bennett got off the train in Wellsville, Kansas to speak to an acquaintance. When he tried to reboard, Bennett slipped and fell under the train's wheels. Bennett lost both legs in the accident. He was fitted with artificial limbs but his baseball career was over.
After his injury, Bennett moved to Detroit, where he operated a cigar store. Detroit fans held a day in his honor, and he was given a wheelbarrow full of silver dollars. When a new ballpark was opened in Detroit in 1896, it was named Bennett Park in his honor. Bennett caught the first pitch at Bennett Park in 1896. It became a Detroit tradition for Bennett to catch the first pitch in Detroit, an honor that Bennett continued for every home opener through 1926.
Bennett died in February 1927 at age 72 in Detroit.
Read more about this topic: Charlie Bennett
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