Joseph Conrad Sprinz (August 3, 1902 - January 11, 1994) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1930 to 1931 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933.
According to Fundamentals of Physics ( 4 ed., Wiley, 1993 ), by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Jearl Walker, on page 30, Chapter Two, "Motion along a Straight Line", Joe Sprinz, at the time in question, a member of the San Francisco Ball Club, attempted to beat the World Record for catching a baseball dropped from a great height, set by members of the 1938 Cleveland Indians, who had done so at 700 feet, with balls dropped from a building. ( See also 1938 Cleveland Indians season). On a day in 1939, Sprinz had a blimp hover overhead at 800 feet, from which were to be dropped balls for him to catch. On his fifth attempt, a baseball entered his glove at what could be estimated to be up to 154 mph. It slammed his glove hand into his face with such force, that he broke his upper jaw in twelve places, fractured five of his teeth, and was rendered unconscious. He also dropped the ball. This account was given in the book to illustrate how to calculate the answers to kinematic equations, especially working out the final velocity of the ball as Mr. Sprinz tried to catch it.