They left us in 2024

Mays, Rose, Henderson, West, Walton leave memories, and unfillable holes.

Willie Mays, 93, died on June 18. A mythic figure who was a 24-time All-Star and a 2-time MVP, he had 660 home runs and played more games in centerfield than anyone in history. Mays was the leader of the N.L. stars of the 50s and 60s, most of whom played in the Negro Leagues as Mays had. In New York he was part of a centerfield trinity that included Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider. “They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.” – Willie Mays.

Jerry West, 86, died on June 12. The model for the NBA logo averaged 27 points a game, made All-NBA 12 times, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player and an executive, for building two sets of dominant Lakers’ teams. But West only won one NBA championship as a player, even though he was named MVP in a losing cause, which also happened to him in the Final Four when he was at West Virginia. West was also an advisor at Golden State when the Warriors won three NBA titles. “I’m a Gemini. You know what that means? There are two very different sides of me.” — Jerry West.

Pete Rose, 83, died on Sept. 30. The alltime hits leader and 3-time National League batting champ was one of the few singles hitter who sold tickets and made big money. With the Reds and Phillies he played almost every position on the diamond, but his real role was as leadoff hitter, where he had 11 200-hit seasons, including 1979, when he was 38. Two years later he led the league in hits. Rose was also banned from baseball when he gambled on games he was managing, and he still has not been permitted on the Hall of Fame ballot. “I picked the wrong vice. I should have picked alcohol or drugs because if you do that, you get a second chance.” – Pete Rose.

Bill Walton, 71, died on May 27. He was an exuberant center who led UCLA to two NCAA titles and Portland to an NBA title, a hero to the counterculture whose hoop career was shadowed by injuries. Later he became a reserve on Boston’s 1986 championship team. He made pilgrimages to see every Grateful Dead concert he could, and later he became a TV analyst whose streams-of-consciousness flowed freely and into all areas, often to humorous effect. “My bike is my gym, my wheelchair and my church all in one.” – Bill Walton.

Rickey Henderson, 65, died on Dec 20. He was baseball’s alltime leader in stolen bases and runs scored who brought power to the leadoff spot in the lineup, and played 25 seasons in the majors. Henderson grew up in Oakland and was the most popular player on teams that won the A.L. West three times in the late 80s and also won the 1989 World Series. He led off games with home runs 81 times, including twice in a doubleheader, and helped Toronto to the 1993 Series title. “I’m not a baseball player, I’m a baseball weapon.” – Rickey Henderson.

O.J. Simpson, 76, died on April 10. He was the only player to rush for 2,000 yards in a 14-game NFL schedule, and was a Heisman Trophy winner at USC and a most popular TV commercial pitch man and film actor. But the public mostly forgot all that when he was charged with killing his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted in a trial that mesmerized the nation, but was found liable in a civil judgment and then was jailed for armed robbery and kidnapping. “We lost because American justice is corrupted by celebrity.” – Marcia Clark, Simpson’s prosecutor.

Johnny Gaudreau, 31, died on Aug. 29. He was an exciting, undersized playmaker who scored 243 NHL goals during nine years in Calgary and two in Columbus. He signed with Columbus, in fact, so he could be close to his family in southern New Jersey. He and his brother Matthew, riding bicycles on the night before their sister’s wedding, were killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey. “The experience doesn’t change you, rather, it completely demolishes you.” – Jane Gaudreau, Johnny’s mother.

Dikembe Mutombo, 58, died on Sept. 30. An 18-year center in the NBA who ranks second alltime in blocked shots, most of them accompanied by a dismissive finger wave, Mutombo had his number retired in Denver and Atlanta, but was just as respected for building the first hospital in his native Congo in 40 years. He also was instrumental in developing African players. “When you take the elevator to the top, make sure you send it back down so somebody else can use it.” – Dikembe Mutombo.

Fernando Valenzuela, 64, died on Oct. 22. He captured baseball’s attention with his brilliant rookie season in 1981, winning Cy Young and Rookie of Year honors simultaneously for the Dodgers, who won the World Series that year. He ewent on to win 173 games, and even after arm problems overtook him, he was able to pitch a no-hitter in 1990. In doing so Valenzuela created tens of thousands of Dodger fans in L.A.’s Latino community. “Fernandomania bordered on a religious experience.” – Vin Scully.

Franz Beckenbauer, 78, died on Jan. 7. He won the World Cup for Germany as a player in 1974, against a formidable Dutch squad, and also did it as a manager 16 years later, and won three European Cups as a captain of Bayern Munich. Beckenbauer won the coveted Ballon d’Or three times. He was known as Der Kaiser and is given credit for redefining the center-back position. “Beer is a food in Bavaria. You don’t spill food, you drink it.” – Franz Beckenbauer.

Whitey Herzog, 93, died on April 15. He was a Hall of Fame manager who also made daring trades and won the 1982 World Series with the Cardinals. He also lost two 7-game World Series, and in Kansas City he won three consecutive A.L. West titles, and his work as farm director of the Mets led to a 1969 World Series title. Herzog’s Cardinal teams tried to run pitchers and catchers out of the ballpark, with 314 stolen bases in 1985. “Baseball has been good to me ever since I quit trying to play it.” – Whitey Herzog.

Joe Schmidt, 92, died on Sept. 11. He was on the last Lions’ team to win a championship, in 1957, and later coached them into the playoffs. Schmidt was considered a pioneer at middle linebacker and helped make it a glamour position, even though he was a 7th-round pick, from Pittsburgh. Assistant coach Don Shula charted 890 plays one year and concluded Schmidt made errors on only seven. Schmidt was voted the NFL’s best defensive player twice and made the Hall of Fame in 1973. “If I had to start a team from scratch and had my pick of players, I’d select Joe Schmidt as the No. 1 man.” — Norm Van Brocklin.

Jim Otto, 86, died on May 19. An original Oakland Raider who started 210 consecutive games at center and was All-AFL for 13 of his 15 seasons. He was one of four centers named to the NF’s Top 100 team. Only Otto, George Blanda and Gino Cappelletti played in all their teams’ games in the NFL. He also had 28 knee operations, nine when he was playing, and 74 surgeries overall. His life was endangered several times by complications from those surgeries, and his right leg was eventually amputated. “If something is said about the Raiders, I’m ready to go to war.” – Jim Otto.

Orlando Cepeda, 86, died on June 28. The first Puerto Rican to start an All-Star Game, Cepeda made his name in San Francisco and was the MVP for St. Louis in 1967. “The Baby Bull” was a live wire in the clubhouse and hit 379 home runs and had 2,351 hits on the way to the Hall of Fame. In 1961 Cepeda led the league with 46 home runs and 142 RBI. But he was arrested in Puerto Rico for smuggling marijuana and spent 10 months in federal prison. —“He’s the most relaxed first-year man I ever saw.” – Willie Mays.

Luis Tiant, 84, died on Oct. 8. Cuban righthander with a funky delivery who won 229 games and had four 20-win seasons. He was at his best in Cleveland, but earned fame for leading Boston within a game of the 1975 World Series title. He was 3-0 in that postseason. In Cleveland he had a 1.60 ERA in 1968, and in Boston he had a 1.91 ERA in 1972. “He had a supernatural ability for keeping a cigar lit. He could even take a shower and keep his stogie going.” – Tommy John.

Eugene “Mercury” Morris, 77, died on Sept. 21. He was a Dolphins’ runner and receiver who joined Larry Csonka as the first pair of 1,000-yard rushers on the same team in 1972. He scored 31 touchdowns for the undefeated 1972 champs to lead the NFL. He was later imprisoned for cocaine trafficking but his conviction was overturned. Later, Morris became the loudest celebrant whenever the last unbeaten NFL team lost a game each season, keeping those Dolphins in the record books. “I started out playing touch football and I never abandoned the principle. If they can’t touch you they can’t tackle you.” – Mercury Morris.

Larry Allen, 53, died on June 2. He went from Sonoma State to the Hall of Fame after he made All-NFL six times with the Cowboys, where he was known as one of the strongest guards or tackles in football history. In his second year the Cowboys won a Super Bowl. The tenth offensive lineman in his 1994 draft class, Allen once recorded a 700-pound bench press. “If somebody said to God, ‘What should all the guards look like?,’ He would send Larry Allen down.” – John Madden.

Carl Erskine, 97, died on April 16. The last survivor of the Boys Of Summer, Erskine was a 20-game winner for the Dodgers in 1953, losing only six times, and set a World Series single-game record with 14 strikeouts. He also had two no-hitters and was warming up beside Ralph Branca in 1951 when the Dodgers chose Branca to face the Giants in an N.L. playoff game, only to give up the famous home run to Bobby Thomson. Erskine spent much of his post-baseball life supporting the Special Olympics. “I’ve had pretty good success with Stan Musial, throwing him my best pitch and backing up third.” – Carl Erskine.

Bobby Allison, 86, died on Nov. 9. Won 85 NASCAR races, fourth alltime, and is second in top five finishes with 336. He won the circuit championship in 1983 and won three Daytona 500s. Son Davey, considered a budding superstar, died in a helicopter accident at Talladega Speedway, and another son Clifford died in a racing accident. Allison also joined his brother Donnie in a 1979 Daytona 500 brawl with Cale Yarborough that helped make NASCAR a national sport. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to get out of this car and handle this right now, or run from him the rest of my life. So I got out, and the guy got to beating on my fists with his nose.” — Bobby Allison.

Roman Gabriel, 83, died on April 20. The NFL Most Valuable Player in 1969, Gabriel had 74 career wins for the Rams, still a franchise record, and was the Comeback Player winner with the Eagles in 1973. At 6-foot-5 he was known as the “world’s tallest Filipino” and threw 201 touchdown passes in his career and ran for 30 touchdowns, although he basically at on the Rams’ bench for the first four years of his career. “There were three types of concussions. They were a 1, 2 or 3 depending on how many Excedrins you took. Three Excedrins, and you might miss a game.” – Roman Gabriel.

Al Attles, 87, died on Aug. 21. A ferocious defender for the Warriors who coached the team to a 1975 NBA Finals sweep of Washington, he was the Warriors’ general manager for four years and worked for the franchise until he died. Although he was only six feet tall and weighed 185, he was known as The Destroyer. Attles was a particularly close friend of Philadelphia teammate Wilt Chamberlain and was there when Wilt scored 100 against the Knicks in 1962. “We combined for 117 points,” Attles joked. “Work to make people respect you, even if you can’t do anything for them.” – Al Attles.

Bela Karolyi, 82, died on Nov. 15. He coached nine Olympic gymnastics champions, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton. He defected from Romania and founded a Houston academy that became the headquarters of U.S. gymnastics. He was accused of psychological abuse and weight-shaming by some of his athletes, but was defended by others. U.S. team doctor Larry Nassar committed some of his sexual abuses at the Karolyi ranch, and the federation severed ties with Karolyi subsequently. “What he did worked. He motivated me by getting me mad.” – Betty Okino.

Chet Walker, 84, died on June 8. “The Jet” was a smooth, consistent forward who helped Philadelphia win the 1967 NBA title and played 13 seasons in the NBA, seven as an All-Star. With Chicago he scored 56 points in a game, most for any Bull other than Michael Jordan at the time. He averaged 18.2 points in the pros after an All-American career at Bradley. Then he joined with college rival Oscar Robertson on a lawsuit that forced the NBA to adopt free agency. He later became a producer of documentaries. “When the Bulls needed a basket, Chet was the guy.” – Jerry West.

Parnelli Jones, 90, died on June 4. He was an all-around auto racer who won the 1963 Indianapolis 500, four NASCAR races, and 25 sprint car wins. As a car owner, he won three USAC national championships with Al Unser at the wheel. At Indy he was the first to qualify at over 150 mph, and led the 1967 race until his turbine car broke down with three laps left. “Indy is the World Series of auto racing. In seven years I had a good chance to win five times.” – Parnelli Jones.

John Robinson, 89, died on Nov. 11. A gregarious, old-school coach and lifelong friend of John Madden’s, Robinson won the 1978 national championship at USC and got to two NFC Championship Games with the Rams.. He was 104-35-4 in two tours at USC, and was 4-0 in Rose Bowls, and coached two Heisman Trophy winners. Robinson was also Eric Dickerson’s coach when the Rams’ running back set an NFL rushing record. “He wrote our goals on the board: :Beat UCLA, Beat Notre Dame, Win the Rose Bowl, Win a national championship. My initial reaction was, ‘Whoa, the bar is very high here.’’’ – Paul McDonald.

Duane Thomas, 77, died on Aug. 4. He was the first NFL rookie to have two 100-yard rushing games in the playoffs and was named Rookie of the Year. The next year he ran for 11 TDs and was a major reason the Cowboys won their first Super Bowl. He was constantly battling the club over contracts and was traded the next year, after calling GM Tex Schramm “sick, demented and totally dishonest.” Schramm congratulated him for getting two of the three. “If it’s the ultimate game why are they playing it next year?” — Duane Thomas at the Super Bowl.

Sean Burroughs, 44, died on May 9. The son of former A.L. MVP Jeff Burroughs, Sean pitched consecutive no-hitters in the 1993 Little League World Series, and became U.S. Olympic baseball gold medalist. He was a first-round pick of San Diego and played seven years on four different major league teas, hitting .278. He died of fentanyl poisoning at Stearns Park in Long Beach, Ca., preparing to watch a son play on the same diamonds where he once did. “Every day seems like a blessing to me, to wake up and do what I do. Baseball’s just kind of like the cherry on top, it really is.” – Sean Burroughs.

Lefty Driesell, 92, died on Feb. 17. He was a program-builder who took four basketball teams to the NCAA tournament, but had his most success at Maryland. He had 21 seasons of 20 or more wins and 786 wins overall, and was a brilliant promoter and recruiter, coaching John Lucas, Tom McMillen, Len Bias and Buck Williams. He also coached and won at Davidson, James Madison and Georgia State. “Maryland has the potential to be the UCLA of the East Coast or I wouldn’t be here.” – Lefty Driesell.

Rocky Colavito, 91, died on Dec. 10. The Rock was a power-hitting outfielder who averaged 33 home runs in his first 11 seasons. His best years were with Cleveland, where he made nine All-Star teams and led the A.L. in home runs in 1959, but was traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn in 1960. Colavito hit four home runs in a Tigers-Washington game that year and ended his career with 374 homers. The fact that Cleveland hasn’t won a title since the trade has become known as Colavito’s Curse. “They traded a slow guy with power for a slow guy with no power.” – Gabe Paul.

Grayson Murray, 30, died on May 25. Murray was a brash, talented golfer who won three straight Callaway Junior Championships, same as Tiger Woods had, and won two PGA Tour events, including the Hawaii Open in February. During the third round of the Colonial in Fort Worth, he walked off the course, and when he flew home to Florida he committed suicide. Murray had been treated for anxiety and alcoholism frequently, but had finished 10th in Charlotte the week before Colonial. “I never met anyone who went out of their way for other people like Grayson.” – friend Mike Glennon.

Jacoby Jones, 40, died on July 14. A Baltimore hero during the Ravens’ championship season of 2012, Jones caught a 70-yard TD pass to tie Denver and send the game into an overtime period the Ravens won, and was the first player in Super Bowl history to score via kickoff return and reception, vs. San Francisco. Overall he returned nine punts or kickoffs for scores during his 10-year career. Jones also was a finalist in “Dancing With The Stars.” He died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. “My favorite football play was when Jacoby was talking to his mom in the end zone, just before a late-game kickoff return against Minnesota in a snowstorm.” – John Harbaugh.

Larry Lucchino, 78, died on April 2. He was president of the Red Sox when they broke their 86-year curse in 2004 and when they won Series in 2007 and 2013, and also was the visionary behind Oriole Park in Camden Yards in Baltimore, and Petco Park in San Diego. He hired Theo Epstein as the Red Sox’s general manager and personally signed David Ortiz, and famously called the Yankees the “Evil Empire.” He was a basketball teammate of Bill Bradley’s at Princeton. “I knew you couldn’t win the past from the Yankees, but what you could do was start a brand new fight and win that.” – Larry Lucchino.

Chi Chi Rodriguez, 83, died on Aug. 8. He was a flamboyant golfer who won eight PGA Tour events and 22 senior events and was the first Puerto Rican to enter the World Golf Hall of Fame. He learned how to hit a golf ball by swinging the branch of a guava tree but became one of the longer drivers on tour. A magnet for the gallery, Rodriguez would swing his putter like a sword after he made a putt. ,He beat Arnold Palmer by a stroke at the 1964 Western Open. “The first time I played the Masters, I was so nervous I drank a bottle of rum before I teed off. I shot the happiest 83 of my life.” — Chi Chi Rodriguez.