His pinch hit homerun won game one of the 1954 series. Rhodes pinch hitting again in game two, made another critical hit that helped propel the New York Giants to a World Series sweep. RIP.
Dusty Rhodes, who helped the Giants win their last World Series title in 1954, has died. He was 82.
Rhodes died Wednesday of cardiopulmonary arrest at Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas, the Clark County coroner’s office said Thursday. He lived in Henderson.
Rhodes had heart trouble and was on the way to his doctor for a checkup, according to Frank Turco, a cousin of Rhodes’ wife, Gloria.
Born James Lamar Rhodes in Mathews, Ala., Rhodes played with the New York Giants from 1952-57, then appeared in 54 games for the San Francisco Giants in 1959. He had a .253 career average, 54 homers and 207 RBIs.
“He didn’t miss a beat in life. He had good times. He liked to live,” Turco said. “And the results of those things take a toll on you. But he was a happy guy until the day he died.”
Rhodes was 4 for 6 with two home runs in the 1954 World Series, when the Giants swept the Cleveland Indians.
Pinch hitting for Monte Irvin in the 10th inning of Game 1, Rhodes had a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Bob Lemon for a 5-2 victory at the Polo Grounds.
He had a tying single as a pinch hitter for Irvin in the fifth inning of Game 2 and led off the seventh with a homer off Early Wynn for the final run in a 3-1 win.
Rhodes pinch hit again for Irvin in the third inning of Game 3 at Cleveland and had a two-run single against Mike Garcia for a 3-0 lead in a 6-2 victory.
He coached women’s and men’s teams at the college level where he won national championships with three different schools. RIP.
Auburn swimming coach Richard Quick, who won 13 NCAA titles with three schools during a career that spanned four decades, has died of cancer. He was 66.
Auburn said in a statement on its Web site that Quick, who coached men’s and women’s teams at the school, died Wednesday. His family told the Austin American-Statesman that he died in Austin, Texas.
Quick had been diagnosed in December with an inoperable brain tumor.
“While he lost a valiant battle against a cruel disease, Richard was an inspiration to countless people who were touched by his steadfast faith and amazing courage in the face of tremendous adversity,” Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said.
He won one title at Auburn, seven at Stanford and five at Texas. He also led the U.S. Olympic teams in 1988, 1996 and 2000 and was an assistant coach at the 1984, 1992 and 2004 Games.
Quick’s women’s teams at Texas won five straight titles from 1984-1988. The Stanford women’s team won the title in his first year there in 1989.
Auburn’s men won the championship in 2009 and Quick was named NCAA Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
“Richard will be remembered as one of the greatest coaches in the history of swimming, but more importantly, he will be remembered as a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and teacher,” Jacobs said.
Quick coached at Auburn from 1978-82 and returned there in 2007. In between, he coached the women’s teams at Texas and Stanford. He also served as the men’s head coach at Iowa State during the 1977-78 season and the women’s head coach at SMU in 1976-77.
He was a starter for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. RIP.
Pio Sagapolutele, a defensive lineman who played five years for Cleveland and started in the 1997 Super Bowl for New England, has died. He was 39.
His death was confirmed by the Patriots on Tuesday. The Plain Dealer of Cleveland said he died Saturday of an aneurysm in Chandler, Ariz., where he lived.
Sagapolutele also played for New Orleans during a seven-year NFL career. The Patriots lost to Green Bay 35-21 in his Super Bowl start. He played 97 games in the NFL, starting 34.
Sagapolutele was drafted by the Browns in the fourth round in 1991 from San Diego State. He played defensive end and tackle for a team coached by current Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He signed with the Patriots in 1996, where Belichick went as an assistant. His final season was 1997 with the Saints.
Sagapolutele was selected as part of Cleveland’s first draft class.
“We saw a tough, hardworking, dependable player and that is exactly what Pio brought to his teams on a daily and yearly basis,” Belichick said in a statement released by the Patriots. “He was a quiet leader and a significant contributor.”
Sagapolutele, who was born in American Samoa, is survived by his wife and four children.
He also served as athletic director for 9 years. RIP.
Jim Owens, who played at Oklahoma for Bud Wilkinson and coached the University of Washington for 18 seasons, has died at his home Saturday. He was 82.
Washington confirmed Owens’ death.
Owens coached at Washington from 1957 until his retirement in 1974, leading a resurgence in West Coast football. He went 99-82-6 in his nearly two decades as Huskies coach, including three Rose Bowl trips. He also served as athletic director at UW from 1960-69.
His accomplishments at UW were honored in 2003 when the university dedicated a statue of Owens outside one of the entrances to Husky Stadium. But that honor came with protests about his treatment of black players during his time at Washington.
He once held the NBA record for consecutive games played. RIP.
Randy Smith, a blindingly fast All-Star with the Buffalo Braves in the 1970s who once held the NBA record for consecutive games, died while working out on a treadmill. He was 60.
He had a massive heart attack Thursday while exercising at the Connecticut casino where he worked, son-in-law Lekan Bashua told The Associated Press on Friday.
Smith was pronounced dead at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. The Mohegan Sun Casino declined to comment on circumstances surrounding the death, citing medical confidentiality laws.
Jack Ramsay, Smith’s coach in Buffalo, called the 6-foot-3 guard the best athlete he ever coached.
“He had stamina, great speed and developed into a very good player,” Ramsay said Friday from the NBA Finals in Los Angeles. “And was so fun to be around. There was not a bad day in Randy’s life.”
Smith was drafted by the Braves in the seventh round in 1971 and averaged more than 13 points in his rookie season. He went on to play 13 years in the NBA and appeared in 906 consecutive games from 1972-83. His mark was broken by A.C. Green in 1997.
“He played hurt, gave it 100 percent and took pride in that,” said Durie Burns, a college teammate of Smith’s at Buffalo State.
Smith was a good shooter and great jumper who wowed fans with reverse dunks. He was one of the most popular players in Braves history, and in teaming with scoring champion Bob McAdoo he helped make the Braves under Ramsay one of the league’s exciting clubs.
“We could run,” Ramsay said, “and nobody could keep up with Randy’s sheer speed.”
Smith spent seven seasons with the Braves before the franchise moved to San Diego. He also played for Cleveland, New York and Atlanta and retired in 1983.
“I always felt Randy was the heart of the team,” Buffalo businessman and former Braves owner Paul Snyder said. “He was always happy. And he always had a positive outlook on life. His teammates loved him.”
At the 1978 All-Star Game, Smith — playing alongside the likes of Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Dave
He averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists for his career. In one stretch, he averaged more than 20 points for four straight seasons. He finished with 16,262 points.
Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons played against Smith and remembered just how versatile a player he was.
“I can see Randy now running down the floor with that big Afro and going in for a dunk or pulling up and knocking down a jumper,” Cleamons said. “He had hops I wish I could have had.”
Snyder said Smith made an immediate impression as a rookie during the Braves’ summer practices.
“Jack Ramsay turned and said, ‘That kid is going to start with our team this year,’ ” Snyder said. “He just had so much talent. And he was so fast that Jack felt he really couldn’t fail. And he didn’t.”
Smith usually guarded the opposing team’s top player.
“Randy may have been the fastest player in the entire NBA at his peak and he was one of the really great guards,” Snyder said. “We always had him play head to head with Walt Frazier and, in my judgment, Randy outplayed him almost every game. He could hold his own with anybody.”
Smith is still remembered in Buffalo, where an inner-city youth basketball program is named after him. He also excelled at soccer and track at Buffalo State and was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
After his retirement, Smith worked as a host and greeter for the Mohegan Sun Casino.
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He and his brother David resurrected the moribund franchise that was too often the laughingstocks of MLB. RIP.
Richard E. Jacobs stepped up along with his brother in the 1980s to rescue Cleveland’s baseball franchise, which was struggling under weak financial backing and poor fan attendance at an outdated, mammoth stadium.
Under his leadership, the Cleveland Indians twice reached the World Series and sold out 455 consecutive games at a new ballpark.
Jacobs, who had been in ill health, died peacefully at the age of 83 on Friday, his real estate company confirmed. Other details were not immediately released.
Jacobs and his brother David bought the Indians from the Steve O’Neill estate in 1986 for $40 million. David Jacobs died in 1992.
Richard “Dick” Jacobs focused on restoring the struggling American League franchise’s profitability and making it competitive on the field.
The team’s new ballpark in downtown Cleveland became Jacobs Field when it opened in 1994, and the Indians made it to the World Series in 1995 and 1997, losing to the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins. Jacobs owned the club until 2001.
The park was renamed Progressive Field last year after Jacobs’ naming rights deal ended and Progressive Corp. signed a new agreement.
Jacobs was a low-key owner who preferred to let his baseball executives and manager be the face of the team. But Jacobs attended most of Cleveland’s home games while he owned the team, sitting in the loge behind home plate.
Woods, who was a standout at the University of Cincinnati, had a injury plagued career in the NFL that was brought to a sudden end when he was shot as part of a botched robbery. Woods spent the last 27 years of his life as quadriplegic. RIP.
Mike Woods, the University of Cincinnati football team’s first consensus All-American, died on May 28, 2009 in Cleveland at the age of 54.
Woods played for UC from 1975-77 and was UC’s first consensus first-team All-American in 1977. He was voted the squad’s MVP as a junior and led the Bearcats with 114 tackles as a senior. As a co-captain his senior year, he helped lead the Bearcats defense to a No. 11 ranking in the country. He transferred to Cincinnati in 1975 from the University of Tampa.
He was inducted as a charter member of the Bearcats’ Ring of Honor in Nippert Stadium in 2006.
Following the close of his senior season in 1977, he was selected to play in the Senior Bowl. Woods was drafted by the Baltimore Colts with the 52nd pick in the second round of the 1978 NFL Draft. He played three seasons for the Colts, playing in 48 games, starting 36.
A promising NFL career was cut short in 1982 when Woods was paralyzed in a random shooting in Cleveland. He spent the next 27 years as a quadriplegic.
He was a rookie on the last Lions team to win the NFL Championship. RIP.
Former Lions defensive back and receiver Terry Barr, a rookie on Detroit’s last championship team in 1957, has died. He was 73.
Barr died Thursday at his Bloomfield Hills home after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, said team spokesman Tim Pendell.
“Terry Barr was a true gentleman,” Lions president Tom Lewand said in a statement released by the team. “Not only was he an outstanding player throughout his career with the Lions, University of Michigan and Grand Rapids Central, but he was a genuinely kind and endearing man. Anyone who had the honor of knowing Terry loved him.”
Barr was a standout football and track athlete at Grand Rapids Central High School and a Michigan state champion in the 440-yard run in 1952 and 1953. He attended the University of Michigan, where he played defensive back and running back.
He was a third-round draft pick in 1957 and played defensive back for the Lions, returning an interception for a touchdown in the team’s 59-14 NFL title game over the Cleveland Browns.
Barr later switched to receiver and made two Pro Bowl appearances, in 1963 and 1964. He played nine seasons with the Lions and ranks 12th among Lions receivers, with 227 catches, 3,810 yards and 35 touchdowns.
“I don’t think Terry ever dropped a ball,” fellow Lions receiver Gail Cogdill said. “My kids just loved him. I loved him. He had great speed and was a class man and leader.”
Barr retired after the 1965 season and went into business.
She died in a mountain climbing accident. How Tragic. RIP.
Karine Ruby, a former Olympic snowboarding champion who had been training to become a mountain guide, died Friday in a climbing accident on Mont Blanc. She was 31.
Ruby was roped to other climbers when she and some members of the group fell into a deep crack in the glacier on the way down the mountain, Chamonix police official Laurent Sayssac said.
A 38-year-old man from the Paris region also died in the fall, and a 27-year-old man was evacuated by helicopter with serious injuries and hospitalized, Sayssac added.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called Ruby an “exceptional sportswoman.”
“Karine incarnated the emergence of snowboarding in France,” Fillon said in a statement. “The people of France will hold on to the memory of her talent and her joie de vivre.”
Ruby won a gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and a silver in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
She was a six-time world champion with 65 snowboard World Cup victories.
She retired after the 2006 Turin Olympics, where she was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the snowboardcross event.
His best seasons were with the Philadelphia Flyers in the mid-1980’s. The AP article makes no mention of the controversy at the end of Zezel’s career. He had a niece who was very ill in the Toronto area, so Zezel requested a trade to an Eastern team. At the time Zezel was playing for the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks traded him, but to Anaheim the team furthest from Toronto in the NHL. Zezel retired rather than play for the Ducks. The trade, made by then Canuck GM Brian Burke, was heavily criticized at the time. RIP.
Peter Zezel, a center who played 15 NHL seasons after breaking into the league with the Philadelphia Flyers as a teenager, has died. He was 44.
Zezel struggled with the rare blood disease hemolytic anemia for the past 10 years and died on Tuesday. Zezel suffered from the ailment off and on, but had rebounded after being in critical condition in 2001.
He was admitted to the hospital last week for scheduled surgery, but complications developed and his conditioned worsened.
“Peter will forever be remembered as a great teammate and a wonderful individual who touched the lives of many both on and off the ice,” Zezel’s family said in a statement released by the National Hockey League Players’ Association. “In his typical character of generosity, Peter donated his organs through the Trillium Gift of Life Network.”
The gritty center was known on the ice for his strong two-way game. In 873 NHL games with Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington, Toronto, Dallas, New Jersey and Vancouver, Zezel had 219 goals and 389 assists.
His matinee idol looks also earned him a small role in the 1986 hockey-based movie “Youngblood” that starred Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze.
Zezel was born in Toronto and played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlies before the Flyers chose him with the 41st pick in the 1983 draft. He made his NHL debut in 1984 when he was 19.
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