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September 15, 2007

Remembering Snuffy Stirnweiss

From The Star-Ledger -

On Sept. 15, 1958, a commuter train left Bay Head at 8:27 a.m., carrying dozens of people to a routine day of work in New York.

It never made it, instead plowing through three stop signals and plunging off a partially open drawbridge into Newark Bay, killing 48 people aboard. Among the dead were three crew members and 45 passengers, including former Yankees second baseman George (Snuffy) Stirnweiss and then-Shrewsbury Mayor John Hawkins.

The horrific crash, one of the worst in the nation's history, baffled state investigators who found no evidence of mechanical failure in the train's brakes or the railroad's signals. They theorized the engineer may have had a heart attack before the train veered off the drawbridge, which connected Elizabeth and Bayonne.

Following the tragedy, the state required that all locomotives operated in New Jersey be equipped with so-called "dead-man's" controls that automatically stop the train if hand pressure on the throttle is released.

As for the Newark Bay bridge, most passenger trains quit using it altogether in 1967, when what is now the New Jersey Coast Line was rerouted into Newark Penn Station. The drawbridge was torn down more than two decades ago.

I've always been interested in Snuffy Stirnweiss. First off, it's a cool name. It always stood out to me, as a kid, when people would talk about Yankees who had won a batting title. Secondly, my dad was there, in Bayonne, after the train wreck of '58, when they were fishing bodies out of the water - and I will always remember him telling me how heart-breaking that was...and that Snuffy Stirnweiss was on that train.

And, just two days ago, by chance (while I was playing around with RetroSheet.org) I found out that Stirnweiss was laid to rest not far from my home.

I plan on visiting his grave soon and placing a flower down on it. Stories like these about tragic accidental passings should not be forgotten. You never really know for sure - every time you leave the house, you may never come back again.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at September 15, 2007 08:41 AM

Comments

Nice post. I've heard of Snuffy, but never anything about him outside of baseball.

Posted by: rbj [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 15, 2007 09:24 AM