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Sports Legends Passing Away

Noted scumbag, murderer and former Hertz spokesman OJ Simpson has croaked.
 
Whitey Herzog, 92, most famously manager of the '80s St. Louis Cardinals. Also managed the '70s Royals to three consecutive division titles. Incidentally one of Roger Maris' best friends.
 
Carl Erskine, 97. One of six living Brooklyn Dodgers. One of three living players who were in the majors in the '40s. Erskine played in five World Series, winning one.
 
Erskine is also a legendary great guy. Stood up for racial equality and human rights at a time when many didn't.
 
49ers HOF CB Jimmy Johnson passed away earlier this week at 86. Today I learned that his older brother was 1960 gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson. Rafer died in 2020, also at 86.
 
How did Bill Walton not get a thread? He was everywhere like 10-15 years ago, a defining figure of college basketball, and even has a parody account on this very board. The weird thing is that there was barely a peep about his death in the media and online. I found out like nearly a week after from my dad, and thought he was bullshitting me or got a death hoax.
 
Brocklock said:
How did Bill Walton not get a thread? He was everywhere like 10-15 years ago, a defining figure of college basketball, and even has a parody account on this very board. The weird thing is that there was barely a peep about his death in the media and online. I found out like nearly a week after from my dad, and thought he was bullshitting me or got a death hoax.
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He got a lot of coverage from ESPN/Turner and the Ringer type shows and countless people in sports media on twitter or other social platforms shared their Bill Walton stories.

His death was fairly covered in the days after it happened.

Dead and Co. dedicated a show at the Sphere to him as well.
 
Well, this is where I get my news I guess as well as various subreddits and Twitter. I don't really follow ESPN or the sports news publications, but he was such a fixture in the 00's I thought it would trend or be on one of the mainstream news channels. I would've posted a thread if I knew on time.
 
Brocklock said:
How did Bill Walton not get a thread? He was everywhere like 10-15 years ago, a defining figure of college basketball, and even has a parody account on this very board. The weird thing is that there was barely a peep about his death in the media and online. I found out like nearly a week after from my dad, and thought he was bullshitting me or got a death hoax.
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Got lots of coverage the day it happened.

The board just doesn’t seem to do the volume it used to. Years ago any show that was even a minor hit would have its own thread. Feels like almost none do now. Every UFC event would have its own thread. Plenty more examples to be made I’m sure.
 
There used to be monthly maybe even weekly MLB threads and now we get one for an entire season + post season. There used to be weekly WWE threads and now it’s quarterly.

Fact that all of the sports deaths are in one thread is p. depressing ngl.
 
Orlando Cepeda passed away last week at 86. Kind of in the shadow of Mays' death and possibly in Mays' and McCovey's shadow as a teammate, but he earned 11 All Star nods and won the MVP award in 1967. He was the best hitter on the Cardinals mini-dynasty of the '60s, a team that has lost Cepeda, Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver, Lou Brock and Mike Shannon in the last four years. And most notably, Cepeda was the second Puerto Rican MLB superstar after Clemente and probably the elder statesman of that community for the last half century.
 
I'd like to see some more of the great coordinators go in the HOF. Monte Kiffin and Fritz Shurmur come to my mind first when I think of that.
 
Ravens legend Jacoby Jones passed away at 40. Caught the Flacco bomb in the AFC divisional game (Mile High Miracle) vs. the Broncos to send the game into OT. Had a receiving and a kick return TD vs. the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Played the first several years of his career with the Texans, finished with short stints with the Steelers and Chargers. No cause of death yet.
 
Al Attles passed away Tuesday at 87. Played 12 seasons with the Warriors and also coached them to a championship in 1975, their first after moving to the Bay from Philadelphia. Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2019.
 
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