Hardin Baseball Game Turns Deadly
August 14, 1909
Written by Justin D. Lamb
On the hot afternoon on August 14, 1909, several gathered at the baseball field in Hardin to watch the hometown team take on Flint Springs from Calloway County. There was an intense rivalry between the two teams and a competitive game was expected. From the beginning, the atmosphere was spirited and players and spectators from both sides hurled insults at one another. The tension between the two teams reached its peak when 16-year old Ewell Pace of the Hardin became involved in an impassioned altercation over a disputed call with 16-year old James Edd Stroud of Flint Springs. What started as an argument quickly became physical when Stroud and Pace began shoving one another. The boys were eventually separated by officials, before Pace took a knife out of his pocket and stabbed Stroud in the hand.
In retribution, Stroud picked up a baseball bat lying on the ground nearby and knocked Pace to the ground. As Pace pleaded for mercy, Stroud thumped Pace on the head with the bat, crushing his skull. A bloodied Pace slumped to the ground as his teammates rushed to help him. Pace was taken to a local doctor’s home just a few blocks away where he died from his injuries shortly after.
Stroud returned to his home in Calloway County after the altercation and learned the following morning that Pace had died due to the blow he received from the bat. The Marshall County Grand Jury convened at Benton and Stroud was requested to appear. However, Stroud panicked and went into hiding as authorities from both Marshall and Calloway Counties conducted a manhunt to locate him.
A few weeks later, Stroud employed Mayfield Attorney J.C. Speight as a defense attorney who sent word to the Marshall County Sheriff that his client would surrender to authorities. On August 27, 1909, Stroud appeared for his examining trial in Benton before County Judge Henry B. Holland and was charged with the murder of Ewell Pace and was released a few days later on a $4,000 bond. Commonwealth Attorney John G. Lovett promised justice for Ewell Pace and the Pace family hired renowned attorneys Sam H. Crossland and Jack E. Fisher to assist the Commonwealth in its case.
The trial began on Saturday, April 2, 1910 at the Marshall County Courthouse and several witnesses were called throughout the week. The defense argued that Stroud acted in self-defense while the prosecution tried to label Stroud as a heartless killer. After closing arguments, the case was handed over to jury on Thursday, April 8, and after two days of deliberation, the jury agreed with the defense and found Jamed Edd Stroud not guilty of murder.