Then came the fateful fourth inning. Nashville's regular first baseman, Len Sowders, was suffering from a bruised thumb and was shifted to left field, swapping positions with Charles "Lefty" Marr. Atlanta third baseman Elmer Cleveland singled to left and worked his way around to third with the help of a Nashville error. After centerfielder Fred Jevne struck out, Henke hit a ground ball to Nashville’s third baseman Jim Hillery. The Constitution described the sequence of events that followed:

"Hillery threw the ball to first. Marr was standing exactly on the base and the ball coming with extraordinary swiftness bounced out of his hands. He quickly leaned forward to recover it, and as he did so Henke came thundering down to the base. He was the swiftest and most daring base runner on the Atlanta nine, as well as one of the heaviest and most muscular of its players. As Marr caught the ball the second time he came into collision with Henke. His head struck Henke's side with a fearful force. Both players were stunned, but Marr recovered...Henke was lying on the ground and was seen to writhe....After he had lain prostrate for some time, manager Schmelz carried him to the dressing room."

The game proceeded with Ed Dundon replacing Henke at first (both on the bases and in the field). Atlanta scored the one run in the fourth inning and went on to win the game by a score of 6-3.(6)

Described as being "in an almost insensible condition," Henke was attended to by doctors at the park for a couple of hours. Although still suffering from some discomfort, he eventually was transported to his room at the Weinmeister Hotel. At first, he seemed to be resting somewhat comfortably, but late in the evening the extreme pain returned. By the following morning the doctors determined that his liver had been ruptured and came to the conclusion that he could not recover from his injury. His condition worsened as the morning passed, and by three in the afternoon he had fallen into unconsciousness. He was surrounded by his teammates as he died at approximately six o’clock in the evening, Saturday, August 15 – thirty-five years and a day before Ray Chapman would receive his fatal blow in New York. Some sources claimed he was 25 years old.(7)

The team held a memorial service that evening at the Weinmeister, presided over by Reverend C.M. Beckwith of St. Luke’s Cathedral. His teammates then escorted his remains through the streets of Atlanta to the railway station from which his casket would be shipped home to Ohio. According to the Atlanta Constitution, some 2,000 people gathered along Marietta and Pryor streets between the hotel and the station to pay homage to the fallen player. Club director H.H. Knowles accompanied the body to Cincinnati. Members of the family gathered at the station in Cincinnati to receive Henke’s casket; Maggie Henke was described as "completely prostrated and…in a sad condition, mentally and financially.” Funeral services were held there on August 18 at the Second German Presbyterian church. Henry Grady, on behalf of the Southern League, sent an elaborate floral display, as did the Atlanta team. The service was conducted in both English and German; pall bearers included former teammates from the teams he had been associated with in Ohio. Newspaper accounts described a funeral procession of almost 100 carriages accompanying the body to Vines Street Hill Cemetery for final internment.(8)