Baserunner Kills. Literally!

Believe it or not, there was once a time when the Giants could excite their fans. From the San Francisco Chronicle's This Week in History column:

1958

Sept. 6: Police Chief Frank Ahern, the cop who clamped the lid on San Francisco vice, died of an apparent heart attack last evening at the Giants-Dodgers baseball game at Seals Stadium. His death came at the climax of the contest. With the score 4 to 4 in the 15th inning and the bases loaded by the Giants, Willie Kirkland dashed for home with what would have been the winning run. Ahern and the other thousands in the stadium jumped to their feet as Kirkland was thrown out at the plate. The chief suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed.

Let's see Fred Lewis instill that kind of passion!

UPDATE: The Chronicle misprinted the date. On September 6th the Giants were on the road in Chicago. The game in question had to have been on September 1st. For the record, the Giants won it in 16 innings when Whitey Lockman hit a homer and Ray Jablonski singled and then came home on an error a couple of batters later.

So, at the very least, the Chief died in the service of victory.