Injured Pirates fan Kavan Markwood known as resilient, kind. ‘He’ll take this and fight hard’

Sometime Wednesday evening, South Allegheny High School athletic director Mike Crown saw that a fan had fallen out of the stands at that night’s Pittsburgh Pirates game. When he got up Thursday morning, Crown was reading more about the incident before work, and that’s when he saw the pictures and video.

“When I saw the tattoo on the shoulder,” Crown said, “I knew it was Kav.”

It would be a few hours before officials confirmed that Kavan Markwood was the man who toppled over the railing at PNC Field and fell 21 feet onto the warning track below. Markwood was carted off the field and transported to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was said to be in critical condition.

Crown didn’t need official confirmation of Markwood’s identity. He saw the tattoo, recognized another one of the people in the video with Markwood, and eventually got a clear enough look at Markwood’s face. Crown knew it was the kid he’d coached in freshman football less than a decade ago.

“If I know Kavan and how he takes these things,” Crown said, “he’ll take this and fight hard and get through this whole situation.”

Football was a passion for Markwood, and it became a strength. He was undersized as a freshman and sophomore, when Crown was the South Allegheny coach, but after a growth spurt, Markwood became a crucial part of the team as a junior and senior under head coach Frank Cortazzo III. He was an outside linebacker and running back, all-conference and team MVP as a senior, and he went on to play for Walsh University and Wheeling University, earning MEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll at Wheeling in 2023.

⏳⏳⏳⏳ pic.twitter.com/gzVkUZsPtM

— Kavan Markwood🤘🏽🦍 (@KavanMarkwood) April 18, 2023

“Kavan is not only an outstanding athlete but an even more exceptional young man,” Cortazzo said in an email. “His resilience, heart, and strength are truly unmatched.”

South Allegheny spokesperson Laura Thompson confirmed that Markwood was a 2022 graduate of the high school and echoed the coaches’ scouting reports.

“Kavan is best known for his resilience, strength, and kindness,” Thompson said. “He is a friend to all — someone who lifts others up and faces challenges with courage and grace.”

In Wednesday’s seventh inning, Markwood was sitting with friends along the railing atop The Clemente Wall, which is the section of PNC Park’s outfield fence beyond right field. The wall is 21 feet high, a nod to Pirates Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente, who wore the No. 21. When Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, video appears to show Markwood springing up, toppling over the railing, and somersaulting through the air before crashing onto the warning track below.

TribLIVE, a Pittsburgh newspaper, reported that witnesses described that Markwood, 20, was growing excited that the Pirates were rallying “and had taken off his shirt and poured beer on himself before McCutchen’s at-bat.”

The game stopped for several minutes as Pittsburgh EMS, as well as training staff for both the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs, treated Markwood on the field. Several players were clearly shaken, but the game was not suspended (the decision on whether to suspend a game under such circumstances is made by Major League Baseball in consultation with the teams and umpires on site).

Pittsburgh Public Safety posted to X on Thursday, saying the incident was “being treated as accidental in nature.” Asked how they came to that conclusion, a spokesperson said: “Detectives reviewed all available video footage and conducted multiple interviews during their investigation into this incident. It has been determined to be accidental and I have no further information beyond that.”

Pirates chairman Bob Nutting issued a statement thanking the first responders who treated Markwood.

“We are devastated,” Nutting said. “Pirates baseball is a community, and our fans are like family. In times like these, we must come together, support one another, and keep him and his loved ones in our prayers.”

By the time he left for work on Thursday morning, Crown was similarly stunned to realize he knew the man who lay injured in the Pirates outfield. He not only knew his name, but he also knew his personality.

“He fought hard in everything he did,” Crown said. “He worked hard. He had a lot of grit.”

That’s the part Crown kept coming back to when he talked about Markwood.

“He’s a fighter,” Crown said. “He’s going to pull through it.”

(Photo: Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

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