Ed Crane received the unfortunate nickname "Cannonball" as a result of his weight which began increasing due to his propensity for heavy eating and drinking. Despite some strong seasons in his late 20s by the early 1890s his drinking was unmanageable and overweight and out of shape he was out of baseball. After a night of heavy drinking Crane took an overdose of a sedative and died - though the official cause of death was accidental it was assumed by most who knew him that his death was a suicide.