2015: Notable sports deaths

Sports

2015: Notable sports deaths

A look back at the notable sports figures who died in 2015.

Dec. 30: Football Hall of Famer Doug Atkins was a fearless pass rusher who won a college football national title at Tennessee (1951) and an NFL championship with the Chicago Bears ('63). Atkins played more than a dozen years in the pros as a member of the Bears' "Monster of the Midway" defense and the New Orleans Saints. He was 85.

Dec. 27: Meadowlark Lemon, known as the Clown Prince of basketball, mastered half court hook shots, no-look behind-the-back passes and general clowning around in two decades with the Harlem Globetrotters. Lemon was inducted into basketball's Hall of Fame in 2003. He was 83.

Dec. 27: Dave Henderson, a baseball outfielder who played on five major league teams and went to four World Series - three with Oakland between 1988 and '91. He is best known for his home run in the 1986 AL Championship Series that saved the Boston Red Sox from elimination. Henderson, who had had a kidney transplant in October, died of a heart attack. He was 57.

Dec. 27: Joe Strauss was a former Atlanta-Journal Constitution baseball beat writer, who helped cover the Braves' rise from worst to first to World Series champions. He spent the last decade at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch covering the Cardinals. Strauss died from complications related to a yearlong battle against leukemia. He was 54.

Dec. 26: Bobby Dews starred in both baseball and basketball at Georgia Tech. Dews spent 53 years in baseball, including the final 37 with the Braves in a variety of roles with the organization, including senior adviser, bullpen coach and minor league manager. He was 76.

Nov. 9: Tommy Hanson, a right-handed pitcher, was once the top prospect in the Braves' organization. The Braves drafted Hanson in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft. He went 45-32, with four consecutive double-digit win seasons, in four seasons in Atlanta. He was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2012, where he pitched one season. He was 29.

Oct. 25: Over a 35-year coaching career, Phil "Flip" Saunders won more than 1,000 games with the likes of the Timberwolves, Pistons and Wizards of the NBA and the La Crosse Catbirds of the CBA. A standout offensive coach, Saunders specialized in coaching point guards. He was 60.

Oct. 20: Altee Tenpenny, a highly touted prospect from Arkansas played two seasons at Alabama. Tenpenny died in a one-car wreck outside Glen Allan, Miss., while driving back to Little Rock, Ark. He was 20.

Oct. 8: Lindy Infante coached the Green Bay Packers from 1988 to 1991, winning Coach of the Year honors in 1989 after leading the Packers to a 10-6 record. He led the Indianapolis Colts to a playoff berth in 1996, but was fired the following season. He played halfback at Florida from 1960 to 1962.

Sept. 22: Yogi Berra, a mainstay of 10 New York Yankees championship teams, led both the Yankees and the Mets as a manager to the World Series. Known as much for his work as catcher as for his wit and cultural puns that became known as Yogi-isms. He was 90.

Sept. 17: Milo Hamiton called Major League Baseball games on radio and television from the 1950s through 2012, including almost a decade for the Atlanta Braves. He famously called Hank Aaron's 715th home run on Braves radio in 1974. He was 88.

Sept. 13: Moses Malone, a three-time NBA MVP, led the Philadephia 76ers to the 1983 championship. Over a 20-year Hall of Fame career, Malone played for eight teams, including the Altanta Hawks.

Aug. 27: Known as "Chocolate Thunder" for his backboard thrashing dunks, Darryl Dawkins was the first high school player to be taken in the first round of the draft in 1975. He played 14 NBA seasons for Phliadelphia, New Jersey, Utah and Detroit. Dawkins was 58.

Aug. 9: Hall of Famer Frank Gifford spent his entire 12-year NFL career with the New York Giants. A Pro Bowl player at three positions he played running back, cornerback and wide reciever. After his career on the field he turned to broadcasting and was a mainstay on "Monday Night Football." He was 84.

July 31: Roderick Toombs, aka "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was one of the biggest stars of the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s. He wrestled for more than four decades. He was 61.

July 9: Ken Stabler went 28-3-2 as quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. The "Snake" played 12 seasons for the Raiders, winning Super Bowl XI. He was 69.

June 11: Dusty Rhodes, aka "The American Dream," was a hall of fame wrestler known for his flamboyance and longtime rivalry with wrestling legend Ric Flair. He was 69.

May 12: Bill Guthridge spent three decades as an assistant to Dean Smith, helping him bring national championships to Chapel Hill in 1982 and 1993. Guthridge became North Carolina's head basketball coach following Smith's retirement in 1997 and guided the Tar Heels to two Final Fours in three seasons. Guthridge was 77.

April 29: A self-taught golfer, Calvin Peete was the second black golfer to play in the Masters Touranment (1980) in Augusta. Peete, who won 12 times on the PGA Tour between 1979-86, was the most decorated African-American golfer in PGA Tour history before Tiger Woods. He was 71.

April 10: Lauren Hill inspired a nation with her desire to play for Ohio's Mount St. Joseph's women's basketball team, even as she battled an inoperable brain tumor. She realized her dream scoring the first and last basket. She was 19.

April 7: Pitcher Jose Cappellan spent five seasons in the majors with the Braves, Brewers, Tigers and Rockies from 2004 to 2008. Cappellan, who died from an apparent heart attack, was 34.

March 21: Chuck Bednarik, aka Charlie Concrete, was a Hall of Fame center and linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was one of the last NFL players to commonly play both offense and defense. A Army Air Force veteran, Bednarik flew 30 bombing missions during World War II. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist as a defensive player at Penn. The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to college football’s best defensive player. He was 89.

Feb. 28: Anthony Mason, 13-year NBA veteran, was a fan favorite for his physical play and messages he crawled in his haircuts. The 6-foot-7 forward helped the New York Knicks reach the 1994 NBA Finals. He was 48.

Earl Lloyd (background) was the first black player in NBA history. Lloyd, of West Virginia, made his NBA debut in 1950 for the Washington Capitols. He spent the next to seasons serving in the Army, but returned to help the Syracuse Nationals win the 1955 title. Lloyd died in 2015 at the age of 86.

Feb. 19: Jerome Kersey played 11 of his 17 NBA seasons in Portland, helping the Trail Blazers reach the NBA Finals twice. The small forward played with the Warriors, Lakers, Sonics, Spurs and Bucks, winning a title with San Antonio in 1999.

1/25

Dec. 30: Football Hall of Famer Doug Atkins was a fearless pass rusher who won a college football national title at Tennessee (1951) and an NFL championship with the Chicago Bears ('63). Atkins played more than a dozen years in the pros as a member of the Bears' "Monster of the Midway" defense and the New Orleans Saints. He was 85.

Today's Gallery Headlines

Spring training Day 5 (Saturday)

PHOTOS: Day 5 of spring training for the Braves

24m ago

Valentines for Veterans

Metro Atlanta students write valentines to veterans

GHSA Championship, Dance, Akins Ford Arena, Athens

PHOTOS: Georgia teams dance way to state championships

Spring Training Day 3 (Thursday)

PHOTOS: Day 3 of Spring Training for Braves

More Galleries

Spring Training Day 1

PHOTOS: Braves arrive for spring training

Kennesaw State University new baseball facility

PHOTOS: A look at Kennesaw State baseball's new home

aajc 011926 hawks-mlkgame

PHOTOS: Hawks and Bucks in action on MLK Day

atlanta hawks, boston celtics

PHOTOS: Hawks fall at home to Celtics