In Memory… sports figures who passed away this year
December 28th, 2009 | by admin |The oldest former major leaguer died this year. Bill Werber played with Babe Ruth – and batted first in the first televised game, more than 70 years ago. So Werber bridged the gap between the myth and the myth-maker. Some of the sports figures who died this year were already long forgotten. Some will, no doubt, grow in memory and myth.
Other sports figures who died in 2009:
Administration
Myles Brand, 67, president of the NCAA and former president of Indiana University, died of pancreatic cancer, on Sept.16. Brand fired IU basketball coach Bob Knight in 2002 for continuing “defiant and hostile behavior.”
Auto racing
Kevin Grubb, 31, NASCAR driver, suicide, May 6.
Lloyd Ruby, 81, on March 23, in Wichita Falls, Texas. Ruby, who drove in 18 consecutive Indianapolis 500s, was called “the greatest driver never to win the Indy 500.”
Baseball
Nick Adenhart, 22, Angels rookie pitcher, in a car accident, April 9 in Los Angeles.
Dom DiMaggio, 92, of pneumonia, in Marion, Mass., on May 8. The younger brother of Joe DiMaggio, Dom was a seven-time All-Star who set the Red Sox record with a 34-game hitting streak in 1949.
Mark Fidrych, 54, former Detroit Tigers pitcher and folk hero, after a farming accident, April 13, in Northborough, Mass.
George Kell, 86, Hall of Fame third baseman, .306 career hitter, 10-time All-Star and Tigers broadcaster for nearly 40 years, March 24, in Swifton, Ark., in his sleep.
Dusty Rhodes, 82, unlikely pinch-hitting hero of the 1954 World Series for the New York Giants, June 17, of cardiac arrest, in Las Vegas.
Bill Werber, 100, in Charlotte, N.C., on Jan. 22. He was the oldest former major leaguer, a teammate of Babe Ruth and the first man to bat in the first televised game — for Cincinnati in a game at Brooklyn, on Aug. 26, 1939.
Basketball
Chuck Daly, 78, of pancreatic cancer, in Jupiter, Fla., on May 9. Daly coached the Detroit Pistons to two NBA titles and coached the “Dream Team” to the 1992 Olympic championship.
Mike Casey, University of Kentucky guard in the 1960s and ’70s, of heart disease, in Nashville, Tenn. Johnny Kerr, 76, a 12-year NBA veteran who became the first coach of the Chicago Bulls, on Feb. 26, in Chicago, of prostate cancer.
Randy Smith, 60, of a heart attack while working out on a treadmill, June 4 in Uncasville, Conn. An All-Star with the Buffalo Braves, Smith once held the NBA record for consecutive starts, 906.
Wayman Tisdale, 44, of cancer, in Tulsa, Okla., on May 15. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma and an NBA star, Tisdale became a notable jazz bass guitarist.
Norm Van Lier, 61, Bulls guard, on Feb.26, in Chicago.
Marvin Webster, 56, in Tulsa on April4. The 7-foot-1 shot blocker for the Seattle SuperSonics and New York Knicks was known as “The Human Eraser.”
Roland Wierwille, 70, NAIA Hall of Fame coach at Berea College (464 victories from 1972 to 2002), July21, in Berea, Ky.
Kay Yow, 66, North Carolina State women’s coach, Jan.24, in Cary, N.C., of breast cancer.
Boxing
Alexis Arguello, 57, legendary lightweight, on July1, of an apparent suicide in Managua, Nicaragua, where he was the mayor.
Chuck Bodak, 92, after a stroke, in Orange County, Calif., Feb.6. Bodak, who was born in Gary, Ind., was a legendary “cut man” — and World Boxing Hall of Fame member — who worked the corner for Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali and Oscar De La Hoya. Bodak was known for giving money to strangers, and for sleeping on the floor, even in luxury hotels.
Vernon Forrest, 38, of gunshot wounds in Atlanta on July 25 after exchanging fire with men attempting to rob him. The three-time champion was the first man to beat Shane Mosley.
Arturo Gatti, 37, after hanging himself on July11 at a Brazilian resort; police initially suspected his wife had strangled him with a purse strap. “Thunder” Gatti is best known for his epic trilogy of fights with Mickey Ward.
Ingemar Johannson, 76, former world heavyweight champion, Jan.30, in a nursing home in Sweden. He had Alzheimer’s disease.
Greg Page, 50, former WBA heavyweight champion, of accidental asphyxiation, in Louisville, April27.
Jose Torres, 72, former light-heavyweight champion and biographer of Ali and Mike Tyson, of a heart attack, Jan.19 in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Football
Doc Blanchard, 84, Army fullback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1945, of pneumonia April19 in Bulverde, Texas.
Monte Clark, 72, former coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions, Sept.16, in Detroit, of a bone marrow malignancy.
John Gordy, 73, former Lions lineman and early leader of the players’ union, on Jan.30, of pancreatic cancer, in Orange, Calif.
Chris Henry, 26, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, after falling out of a truck during a domestic dispute, Dec.17, in Charlotte, N.C.
Jasper Howard, 20, University of Connecticut defensive back, of knife wounds, Oct.18, in Hartford, Conn. Howard was stabbed during a fight outside the student center in Storrs about nine hours after UConn’s homecoming victory over Louisville.
Jack Kemp, 73, former New England Patriots quarterback, congressman and U.S. vice presidential candidate, May2, of cancer, in Bethesda, Md.
Dante Lavelli, 85, Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, Jan.20, in Cleveland.
Steve McNair, 36, former Tennessee Titans quarterback, shot by his girlfriend in a murder-suicide on July4 in Nashville.
Lou Saban, 87, who coached 15 college and pro football teams and was once president of the New York Yankees, on March 29 in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. He had a history of heart trouble.
Bruce Snyder, 69, former coach at Arizona State and California, from cancer, on April13 in Phoenix.
Burl Toler, 81, first black man to officiate an NFL game, died Aug.16, in Castro Valley, Calif.
Brad Van Pelt, 57, New York Giants linebacker who was a five-time Pro Bowler, on Feb.18 of a heart attack in Owosso, Mich.
Golf
Betty Jameson, 89, one of 13 founders of the LPGA, on Feb.7 in Boynton Beach, Fla. She won the 1947 U.S. Women’s Open, shooting a 295 to become the first woman to break 300 in a 72-hole event.
Horse racing
Alysheba, 25, winner of the 1987 Kentucky Derby, euthanized on March 27 in Lexington, Ky., after a fall.
Bobby Frankel, 68, Hall of Fame trainer, on Nov.17 in Pacific Palisades, Calif., after a long illness.
Ira “Babe” Hanford, 91, the oldest Derby-winning jockey, in Ocala, Fla., on Nov.21. As an 18-year-old apprentice, Hanford rode 20-1 shot Bold Venture to victory in the 1936 Derby.
Lil E. Tee, 20, who won the 1992 Derby with Pat Day aboard, euthanized in Lexington on March18 after surgery for an obstructed bowel.
Ismael Valenzuela, 74, who rode two Derby winners — Tim Tam in 1958 and Forward Pass in 1968 — on Sept.2 in Arcadia, Calif., after a long illness.
Media
Joe Hirsch, 80, a Daily Racing Form writer and columnist for 55 years, of complications from Parkinson’s disease, in New York, on Jan.9.
Harry Kalas, 73, Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster, on the job, April13, in Washington, D.C., of heart disease.
Motocross
Jeremy Lusk, 24, on Feb.9, two days after crashing in competition in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Tennis
Jack Kramer, 88, of cancer, in Los Angeles, Sept.12. Kramer’s decision to turn pro — and his later success as a promoter — transformed tennis, prompting author Bud Collins to declare, “Jack Kramer was the most important figure in the history of the game.”
Track and field
Kamila Skolimowska, 26, Polish hammer thrower, on Feb. 18 while training in Portugal, of an apparent pulmonary embolism. At 17, Skolimowska became the youngest Olympic gold medal hammer thrower, at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
