These Athletes Forced Their Sports To Change The Rules

Published on November 4, 2019 By Jason Albert

Ed Walsh

Ed Walsh was known to be dominant in baseball due to his unbeatable spitball. While he wasn’t the first pitcher to use the trick, he perfected it to a tee and was the one who made it popular. After catching on, other pitchers in the 1910s started using vaseline to doctor the ball.

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The spitball made it harder to hit and harder to see due to the discoloration and this tragically caused a death. Ray Chapman was struck in the head by a spitball as he couldn’t see it in a dark game. The practice was banned in 1920.