There has been a lot of talk recently, and rightfully so, about fan safety at sporting events, but this is not a new issue. In fact, one of the most interesting fan safety situations occurred way back in 1957 and it involved Phillies' outfielder, Richie Ashburn.
Ashburn was batting against the New York Giants when he fouled a pitch into the stands. It hit spectator, Alice Roth , in the face and broke her nose. It was very bloody and medical personnel rushed to Roth's side to tend to her. The game was stopped for a few minutes and Roth was placed on a stretcher so she could be taken from the stands to get more medical attention.
When the game resumed, Ashburn fouled the very next pitch into the seats and, you guessed it. The ball hit Alice Roth as she was being carried out of the stadium on the stretcher. To recap. Richie Ashburn hit the same spectator with foul balls on consecutive pitches in the same at bat. They didn't install any protective netting to improve fan safety back in 1957, but after getting tattooed twice by Mr. Ashburn, Ms. Roth chose to sit in the left field bleachers for future Phillies' games.
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