Len Koenecke

Leonard George Koenecke (January 18, 1904 – September 17, 1935) was an American professional baseball player who played Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. He died of a blow to the head mid-flight at the hands of the pilot and a passenger after attempting to take control of an aircraft he had chartered.

Early life Koenecke was the son of a locomotive engineer and had worked as a fireman for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad.

Minor league career Koenecke made his professional debut for the Moline Plowboys in the Mississippi Valley League in 1927.

In 1928 he joined Indianapolis in the American Association.

Major League career After several seasons with Indianapolis, Koenecke was signed to the New York Giants in December 1931 in a deal worth $75,000. Manager John McGraw predicted he would "be a bright star in the National League". He played just the one season with the Giants. Koenecke made his debut for the Giants, going hitless against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 12, 1932.

In 1933, playing for the International League Buffalo Bisons, he hit .334 and had 100 runs batted in with eight home runs. In 1934, Koenecke joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, where in his first season he hit .320 with 14 home runs, 73 RBIs and set a National League fielding record with a percentage of .994. His second season saw a decline in his onfield performance and he was cut on September 16, 1935, during the middle of a road trip after a game in Chicago. Now lost in Canadian airspace, Mulqueeney made an emergency landing at Long Branch Racetrack in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada where it was found that Koenecke had died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

He was buried in Mount Repose Cemetery at Friendship, Wisconsin.

In popular culture Koenecke's death was referenced in season 5, episode 7 of the animated TV series Archer, "Smuggler's Blues".