The Kid Who Didn't Die at Riverfront Stadium

August 2, 2017 7:06 PM

On April 22, 1981, an Ohio teenager named Randy Kobman almost fell to his death at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium when he flipped over a railing trying to catch a foul ball. Deadspin's Dave McKenna tracked him down recently to get the story of what happened on that day and what he's been up to since his amazing avoidance of death.
posted by goatdog (25 comments total)

Youtube

Of course it all depends on how you land, but I don't see that this fall would inevitably be fatal. But maybe the deck below looks closer on video than it actually is.
posted by thelonius at 7:34 PM on August 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

The article states he would've fallen about thirty feet. The fan who was killed at the Rangers stadium fell twenty feet. I'm sure it would also depend on what was under him.
posted by tamitang at 7:43 PM on August 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

Looks like about 30 feet. Most likely fatal, also possibly seriously injuring or fatal to whoever he fell on in the stands below. Had he fallen and survived we would be talking today about that miracle in Cincinnati.
posted by Bringer Tom at 7:44 PM on August 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

“What a play by his friend there.”
posted by Fizz at 7:44 PM on August 2, 2017 [4 favorites]

Thirty foot jinx
posted by Bringer Tom at 7:45 PM on August 2, 2017

Nobody offered him the ball?!?!
posted by double bubble at 8:33 PM on August 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

Had this happened in the last few years, the guy who ended up with the ball would have been shamed up and down every possible form of social media. It would be the first thing that came up when the guy who ended up with the ball was google searched, and that guy would never get a job.

1981 was a different country.
posted by padraigin at 8:56 PM on August 2, 2017 [5 favorites]

I love his kid's reaction the first time they heard and saw. "Didn't you have school, Dad?"

Truly an amazing save.
posted by AugustWest at 9:18 PM on August 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

He was probably trying to get away from Pete Rose.
posted by tresbizzare at 10:04 PM on August 2, 2017

2,000 people have died at baseball games? That's the weirdest thing I've heard all week.
posted by fshgrl at 10:17 PM on August 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

2,000 people have died at baseball games? That's the weirdest thing I've heard all week.

2400 games per year, average 30k attendees per game, that's a lot of opportunity for accidents of all types.
posted by primethyme at 10:36 PM on August 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

Not only did he not die, but he wasn't even seriously injured? He just got up and walked away and played college football the next Fall? Is he some kind of alien?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:55 AM on August 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

So, that thing in the movies where the hero grabs the ledge as he falls of a 50 story building is not total bullshit?
posted by double bubble at 5:09 AM on August 3, 2017 [3 favorites]

This is the same venue that had eleven stampede deaths at a Who concert less than two years before. Relevant WKRP episode.
posted by dr_dank at 5:15 AM on August 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

This is the same venue that had eleven stampede deaths at a Who concert less than two years before.

Not the same venue.
posted by davebush at 5:22 AM on August 3, 2017 [3 favorites]

Not only did he not die, but he wasn't even seriously injured?

He wasn't seriously injured because he caught himself on the rail, so he didn't fall. I guess his shoulders would have felt pretty dislocated for a while, though.
posted by ambrosen at 5:32 AM on August 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

That railing is barely up to his knees. Surprised that wasn't happening way more often at Riverfront.
posted by COD at 6:41 AM on August 3, 2017

The fall probably wouldn't have killed him if he had lost his grip after his initial save, though good odds he would have had multiple broken bones. But going over headfirst with his initial momentum and height, on to unyielding obstacles like seats, very likely.
posted by tavella at 7:38 AM on August 3, 2017

Great story, thanks for posting it!

> That railing is barely up to his knees. Surprised that wasn't happening way more often at Riverfront.

From the article:

Gorman, after years of looking into the fatal falls, now clearly believes that MLB and team owners are complicit in the deaths. “Any railing that’s less than three feet tall is dangerous,” he says. “But they won’t make them higher or do anything. ‘It obscures the field!’ is always the excuse, even when it comes to putting up netting to catch people, which to me is ludicrous.” One exception to baseball’s alleged inertia: The Texas Rangers reportedly spent over $1 million after Shannon Stone’s fall to make all railings in the Ballpark in Arlington at least 42 inches tall.

As detailed in Gorman’s compilation, just a year after Kobman’s near-death experience, a spectator named Lora Schneeman died after falling or jumping from the upper deck at Riverfront Stadium during a Reds vs. Pirates game.

Riverfront Stadium was demolished in 2002. Shane Kane, spokesman for Heery International, the architectural firm that designed it, says the company no longer has any records or building plans from the project, and therefore can’t answer questions about how far Kobman would have fallen or the height of the railing he flipped over, or explain the purpose of the inward slant of the upper deck railing, a design which would seem to increase the chance that anybody who tripped over the railing would fall to the ground. Kobman says he was told at the time that he would have fallen 30 feet; the Associated Press writeup of the incident gives the same height. Reds spokesman Rob Butcher declined to answer questions about the Kobman incident or Riverfront Stadium railings for this story, and prevented other Reds employees from responding. The videos of Kobman’s foul-ball foray make it appear that the railings came just above his knee, what would seem to be ideal height to trip somebody listed at 6-foot-3.

Even now, they're afraid of getting sued, apparently.
posted by languagehat at 8:05 AM on August 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

“What a play by his friend there.”

Think that's his brother, he looks just like him.
posted by e1c at 9:05 AM on August 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

2,000 people have died at baseball games? That's the weirdest thing I've heard all week.

I remember reading an article a few years ago about this and it's actually mostly lightning strikes, and I think the statistic includes all baseball games: little league, high school, college, semi-pro, and pro. Also the book where this is cited from goes back to 1867. So yeah, 2000 people have died about of probably billions that didn't.
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:08 AM on August 3, 2017

I read the entire article and the fact that he didn't die is right there in the title yet watching that video is still terrifying to me as if it is going to end some other way as a person who isn't exactly afraid of heights but does often have issues navigating stairs/seating at shows or stadiums. But I can't stop watching it anyway.

And while I'm sure it was a combination of him being very strong and very lucky, I'm not unconvinced he wasn't saved by that AWESOME SHIRT he was wearing.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:19 AM on August 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

2,000 people have died at baseball games? That's the weirdest thing I've heard all week.

2400 games per year, average 30k attendees per game, that's a lot of opportunity for accidents of all types.

This is why I never attend sporting events.
posted by univac at 10:50 AM on August 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

That's some impressive strength, too, to hold on with one hand while twisting like that. And he's still holding the ball when he slams into the wall, until he deliberately threw it back so he could grab on with his other arm and pull himself back up.
posted by tavella at 2:39 PM on August 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

Also pretty classy of George Foster to follow up and invite him to meet up and get some autographed balls to replace the one that the jerk fan kept.
posted by tavella at 2:47 PM on August 3, 2017 [4 favorites]