NBA great Bill Russell reacts at a 2009 news conference as he learns the most valuable player award for the NBA basketball championships has been renamed the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. Russell died July 31 at the age 88.
Associated Press
Bill Russell, Vin Scully and Bruce Sutter were among the notable deaths this year in the world of sports.
Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully poses in the press box of Dodger Stadium before the start of a baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Dodgers on Aug. 1, 2007, in Los Angeles. The Hall of Fame broadcaster, whose dulcet tones provided the soundtrack of summer while entertaining and informing Dodgers fans in Brooklyn and Los Angeles for 67 years, died Aug. 2 at the age of 94.
Associated Press
Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter, who won the National League Cy Young Award as a Cub in 1979. died Oct. 13 at 69.
Daily Herald file photo
Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas argues a call during the first half of a game against the Chicago Bulls in Charlotte, N.C., April 18, 2012. Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams, died Dec. 10 at 79.
Associated Press
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Curt Simmons gestures toward a door at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, N.Y, in 1950. Simmons, the last surviving member of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies "Whiz Kids" team, died Dec. 13 at 93.
Associated Press
A screenshot taken from video provided by FIFA of journalist Grant Wahl at an awards ceremony in Doha, Qatar in November. Wahl, one of the most well-known soccer writers in the United States, died early Dec. 10 while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands.
FIFA via AP
Referee Mills Lane signals a 2-point deduction toward one of the judges after Mike Tyson bit the ear of Evander Holyfield during their WBA heavyweight boxing match in 1997. Lane died Dec. 6 at age 85.
Associated Press
Tennis coach Nick Bollettieri gestures outside his home last January in Bradenton, Fla. The Hall of Fame tennis coach, who worked with some of the sport's biggest stars and founded an academy that revolutionized the development of young athletes, died Dec. 4 at age 91.
Associated Press
Borje Salming, center, who starred for the Toronto Maple Leafs over 16 seasons, died Nov. 24 at 71. He had Lou Gehrig's disease.
Associated Press/Nov. 11
Home plate umpire John Flaherty checks Cleveland Indians pitcher Gaylord Perry's cap for an illegal substance. Perry, a Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young winner who was a master of the spitball, died Dec. 1 at 88.
Associated Press/1973
The death of former All-Pro defensive end and Maine South alumnus Dave Butz was announced by his family Nov. 4. He was 70.
Associated Press/1975
John McVay, the executive who helped launch the San Francisco 49ers dynasty, died Oct. 31 at 91.
Associated Press/2011
UCLA's Greg Lee (43) looks for a teammate to pass to as Notre Dame's Dwight Clay defends during a 1973 game in South Bend, Ind. Lee, who helped UCLA to consecutive national championships in 1972 and '73, died Sept. 21 at age 70.
Associated Press
Four-time Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion Lance Mackey died of cancer on Sept. 7. He was 52.
Associated Press/2020
Former WBNA player Tiffany Jackson, the No. 5 pick in the 2007 draft, died from breast cancer Oct. 3 at age 37.
Associated Press/2008
Former Princeton basketball coach Pete Carril tips his hat during an NCAA game between Richmond and La Salle on Feb. 5, 2015, in Philadelphia. Carril died Aug. 15 at 92.
Associated Press
The Cubs' Dwight Smith slides home behind San Francisco catcher Kurt Manwaring during a playoff game Oct. 6, 1989, in Chicago. Smith died July 22 at age 58.
Associated Press
Detroit Lions coach Gary Moeller, top, talks with centers Eric Beverly, left, and Mike Compton during a game in 2000. Moeller died July 11 at 81.
Associated Press
Marlin Briscoe stands in front of a street that was renamed for him in Omaha, Neb., on Oct. 22, 2014. Marlin Briscoe, the first Black starting quarterback in the American Football League, died June 27 at 76.
Associated Press
Tony Siragusa, defensive tackle for the Super Bowl-champion Baltimore Ravens, holds the Vince Lombardi trophy as he rides with his wife, Kathy, in a parade in his hometown of Kenilworth, N.J. on March 4, 2001. Siragusa died June 22 at age 55.
Associated Press
Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber III is pressured by Chicago Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye during a 2007 game at Soldier Field. Barber died June 1 at age 38.
Daily Herald file photo
Writer Roger Angell speaks after receiving the J.G. Taylor Spink Award during a ceremony at Doubleday Field at the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 2014, in Cooperstown, N.Y. Angell died May 20 at 101.
Associated Press
Hall of Fame basketball player and coach Bob Lanier died May 10 at age 73.
Associated Press/1999
NHL hockey legend Guy Lafleur smiles during a news conference prior to a ceremony to honor him in 2021 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City. Lafleur died April 22 at age 70.
Associated Press
Former Chicago White Sox second baseman Julio Cruz throws out the ceremonial first pitch before a 2013 game. Cruz, an original Seattle Mariners player who later became a Spanish-language broadcaster for the franchise, died Feb. 22 at age 67.
Associated Press
Lusia Harris Stewart shows off some of her awards from her basketball career. Stewart, who was the only woman to be drafted by an NBA team and scored the first points in women's basketball history at the Olympics, died Jan. 18 at age 66.
Associated Press/2002
Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Maynard waves to fans during a halftime ceremony honoring the 1968 New York Jets in 2008. Maynard died Jan. 10 at age 86.
Associated Press
Former NFL head coach Dan Reeves died Jan. 1 at age 77.
Associated Press file photo
Mike Bossy, one of hockey's most prolific goal-scorers and a star for the New York Islanders during their 1980s dynasty, died April 14 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 65.
Associated Press/2007
Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy poses with his bust during the 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio. Ray Guy, the first punter to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Nov. 3 following a lengthy illness. He was 72.
Associated Press
Former heavyweight champion Earnie Shavers talks to the media at a Heavyweight Legends roundtable in Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 2018. Shavers, whose thunderous punches stopped 68 fighters and earned him heavyweight title fights with Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, died Sept. 1. He was 78. (
Associated Press
The Dodgers' Maury Wills slides in safely at third as the Cardinals' Ken Boyer takes the throw during a 1965 game. Wills, who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win three World Series titles with his base-stealing prowess, died Sept. 19 at 89.
Associated Press
Dow Finsterwald poses with the trophy after winning the Professional Golfers Association tournament in 1958. Finsterwald, a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, died Nov. 4 at93
Associated Press
Mississippi State coach Mike Leach confers with quarterback Will Rogers during the first half of the team's Nov. 24 game against Ole Miss. Leach died Dec. 12 at age 61.
Associated Press
Soccer star Uwe Seeler shoots a penalty during his farewell match on May 1, 1972, in Hamburg. Seeler, regarded as one of Germany's best players, died July 22 at 85.
Associated Press
Len Dawson is introduced before the Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Fest in 2014 in Cleveland. Dawson, a quarterback who helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl title, died Aug. 24 at 87.
Associated Press
The Pittsburgh Steelers' Charles Johnson (81) comes down with a 13-yard reception as the Bears' Barry Minter defends during overtime in a Nov. 5, 1995, game in Chicago. Johnson died July 17 at age 50.
Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins plays against the Carolina Panthers during a preseason game in 2021. Haskins was killed in an auto accident April 9. He was 24.
Associated Press
Jockey Chris McCarron rides Go For Gin across the finish line to win the 1994 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The horse was the derby's oldest living winner when he died March 8 from heart failure at age 31.
Associated Press
The Athletics' Jeremy Giambi watches a two-run single against the Chicago White Sox on April 28, 2002, in Oakland, Calif. Giambi died Feb. 9. He was 47.
Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris twirls a Terrible Towel during a 2012 ceremony commemorating the 40th anniversary of his "Immaculate Reception" catch in a 1972 playoff game against the Oakland Raiders. Harris died Dec. 21. He was 72.
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