“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” ~ Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodger’s Hall of Famer.
First, Happy New Year and welcome to all our new subscribers, thanks for joining “Comments”. This post should have been published over two weeks ago, but life got in the way again. Sort of ironic regarding the content.
At the end of each year, we hear about the deaths of “famous” people. I have compiled a list of athletes, writers and musicians / singers that have passed away in 2023. Some of these people really touched my life in a unique way, others were just notable names. It is by no means a “complete list”. It’s amazing how watching athletes and others perform their trade throughout our own lifetime enriches the days and adds sparkle to the memories.
Charles White. January 22, 1958 - January 11, 2023.
The 1979 Heisman Trophy winner. He played nine seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Rams.
Lisa Marie Presley. February 1, 1968 – January 12, 2023.
Lisa Marie was the only child of singer (and actor) Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley.
Sal Bando. February 12, 1944 - January 19th, 2023.
Bando was the third baseman of the Oakland A’s dynasty that won three World Series titles in the 1970s (1972-74). He finished his career with the Milwaukee Brewers and eventually became their General Manager.
David Crosby. August 14, 1941 - January 19, 22023.
Crosby was a singer-songwriter. He performed solo, with The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young). A wonderful writer, great voice, and guitarist. Listen to one of my favourites written by him, “Long Time Gone”.
Billy Packer. February 24, 1940 - January 25, 2023.
The longtime sports broadcaster who was the voice of the NCAA basketball tournament and March Madness. He called games for NBC and then CBS from 1978 to 2005.
Peter McCann. March 6, 1948 - January 26, 2023.
McCann was a singer-songwriter. Here’s one of his songs from 1977, “Do You Want To Make Love”.
Bobby Hull. January 3, 1939 - January 30, 2023.
The “Golden Jet” was one of the greatest hockey players of all time, with a slap shot that reportedly hit up to 118mph. A Chicago legend. Bobby spent 23 years in professional hockey with the NHL and then the WHL.
Burt Bacharach. May 12, 1928 - February 8, 2023.
Singer-Songwriter-Pianist. Wrote countless songs, a master.
Conrad Dobler. September 30, 1950 - February 12, 2023.
Dobler spent 10 seasons in the NFL as an offensive guard. Most of his career was spent with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Tim McCarver. October 15, 1941 - February 15, 2023.
McCarver was a catcher in the majors for 21 seasons, split over 4 decades. impact on baseball was seen both on the field and in the booth. His best years were in the Saint Louis Cardinals organization where he would earn two World Series rings. He was Bob Gibson’s primary catcher. Later he became Steve “Lefty” Carlton’s “personal catcher” with the Philadelphia Phillies (he had caught him in St. Louis when he first came up). At the tail end of his career and after retiring he moved to the broadcast booth, calling games from 1980 until 2013. He is in the Hall of Fame, having won the annual Ford Frick Award for his time and excellence as a broadcaster. One of my favourite announcers, insightful and colourful.
Bud Grant. May 19, 1927 - March 10, 2023.
Grant was a Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who led the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls, although he never won one. He coached in the CFL and NFL for 28 seasons.
Joe Pepitone. October 8, 1940 - March 12, 2023.
Pepitone spent 12 seasons in the MLB, as an outfielder and first basemen. His best years were with the New York Yankees, where he was part of pennant-winning teams in 1963 and ’64. He was a fine player, and a fan favourite. His exploits off the field were covered just as much as his talent on it. Read his book, “Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud” co-written with Berry Stainback.
Willis Reed. June 24, 1942 - March 20, 2023.
Reed, an NBA Hall of Fame center who spent 10 seasons with the New York Knicks. Who can forget him taking the court for Game 7 with a torn right thigh muscle which he suffered in Game 5 to inspire his team to the 1969-70 title. After his playing he coached in college and in the NBA, he eventually moved into management.
Hobie Landrith. March 16, 1930 - March 30, 2023.
Landrith was a journeyman catcher and played in the MLB for 14 seasons. His biggest “claim to fame” occurred in the 1961 expansion draft when he became the first player for the New York Mets. As Casey Stengel said at the time, “You gotta have a catcher or you’re gonna have a lot of passed balls.”
Dave Wilcox. September 29, 1942 - April 19, 2023.
Wilcox was a Hall of Fame linebacker spending 11 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
Harry Belafonte. March 1, 1927 - April 25, 2023.
Singer - actor - civil rights activist. He had a marvelous voice and he spoke his mind.
Dick Groat. November 4, 1930 - April 27, 2023.
Dick Groat was an All-Star shortstop, playing for four different MLB teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1952, 1955-1962), the St Louis Cardinals (1963-1965), the Philadelphia Philles (1966-1967) and the San Fransico Giants (1967). He also played basketball professionally as a point guard for the Fort Wayne Pistons (1952-1953).
Gordon Lightfoot. November 17, 1938 - May 1, 2023.
Canadian Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist. Gordon had a beautiful, silky baritone voice and he played either a six or twelve string guitar. He is one of the reasons I started playing guitar. As Bob Dylan once said, “I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever.” I feel the same way. If you are unfamiliar with his work, search for him on YouTube. I could easily list at least 50 of his songs but click on these to listen to some of my absolute favourites. “If You Could Read My Mind”, “Affair on 8th Avenue”, “Early Mornin’ Rain”, “Summer Side of Life”, “Mountains and Marian”, and “Circle of Steel” just to name a few. His passing was a huge loss for me.
Ron “Mr. Z” Zivkovic. January 28, 1936 - May 10, 2023.
Teacher-Basketball Coach-Mentor-Friend. Look for a post about him in the future.
Tori Bowie. August 27, 1990 - c. May 2, 2023.
Bowie was a three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Vida Blue. July 28, 1949 - May 7, 2023.
Blue was a dominating left-hander pitcher who helped lead the Oakland A’s to three straight World Series wins in the 1970s while also becoming the youngest MVP in MLB history (1971). Vida also won a Cy Young Award and was a six-time All-Star during his 17-year career.
Joe Kapp. March 19, 1938 - May 8, 2023.
Kapp was a quarterback who played professional ball in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders and the British Columbia Lions, then in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and the Boston Patriots. Kapp coached at his alma mater, California, from 1982 to 1986. Then served as the general manager and president of the BC Lions in 1990. Kapp wore a single bar helmet and frequently went headfirst into NFL linebackers when he ran the ball.
Jim Brown. February 17, 1936 - May 18, 2023.
Brown was one of the most dynamic football running backs in history. He played only nine seasons in the NFL, leading the league in rushing in eight of those years. When he abruptly retired in 1966, he led the NFL in all-time rushing yards and touchdowns. He was a Hall of Famer. He was a social activist and acted in movies, most notable “The Dirty Dozen”.
Rick Hummel. February 25, 1946 - May 20, 2023.
Known as “The Commish,” he was awarded the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award in 2006 from his peers, the Hall of Famer had an amazing knowledge of the game and mixed it with outstanding writing ability. He will be sorely missed.
Roger Craig. February 17, 1930 - June 4, 2023.
Craig was an MLB lifer. He pitched 12 seasons with the Dodgers, Mets, Cardinals, Reds, and Phillies. Roger won the last game in the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the first game of the New York Mets. He managed the San Francisco Giants during the 1989 World Series, which was famously dubbed “The Earthquake Series,” after the horrific 6.3 magnitude quake struck the Bay area.
Jim Turner. March 28, 1941 - June 10, 2023.
Turner was a kicker in the AFL and NFL. He played for the New York Jets (1964-1970) and later for the Denver Broncos (1971-1979). He was a football style kicker. He was with the Jets when they won Super Bowl III.
Rocky Wirtz. October 5, 1952 - July 25, 2023.
Rocky took over as the team owner of the Chicago Blackhawks after the death of his father William (Dollar Bill) and brought them back to prominence winning three Stanley Cup titles (2010, 2013, 2015). He was one of the most beloved figures in Chicago sports.
Jimmy Buffet. December 25, 1946 - September 1, 2023.
Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist-Author-Businessman. Jimmy was one of a kind. He listed his occupation on his tax returns as “Professional Misfit” in his early years. He, too, was an inspiration for me to learn to play guitar. I took his death hard as well. Some of his songs that touched me if you care to listen are, “A Pirate Looks At Forty”, “He Went To Paris”, “Distantly In Love”, “The Captain And The Kid”, and “Son Of A Son Of A Sailor”. As I wrote on Facebook right after I heard of his death, ‘hope there are Cheeseburgers in Paradise and you find that lost shaker of salt. Sail well and thanks for the music and memories’.
Roger Whittaker. March 22, 1936 - September 13, 2023.
British Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist. Another singer with an incredible voice. This song forced me to learn to play an Eb (add 2) chord, “The Last Farewell”.
Brooks Robinson. May 18, 1937 - September 26, 2023.
Dubbed “Human Vacuum Cleaner”, he was a phenomenal third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. He spent his whole 23-year career with them, winning two World Series titles in 1966 and 1970. Robinson was an 18-time All-Star, won an incredible 16 Gold Gloves and earned the AL Most Valuable Player award in 1964. Brooks was a 1983 Hall of Fame inductee. The best defensive third baseman I ever saw.
Tim Wakefield. August 2, 1966 - October 1, 2023.
Wakefield was a knuckleball pitcher and spent 19 years in the MLB with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. He was a two-time World Series champ (2004 and 2007) and retired in 2021 with a 200-192 record and 4.41 ERA. CLICK HERE to see a full post about him.
Dick Butkus. December 9, 1942 - October 5, 2023.
Dick Butkus was one of the best middle linebackers in NFL history. He spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears. He was six-time All-NFL selection, won two Defensive Player of the Year awards, and played in eight Pro Bowl. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and his number 51 is retired by the Bears.
Bruce Meissner. August 12, 1958 - October 19, 2023.
Lifelong friend. Exception person. Look for a post about him in the future.
Frank Howard. August 9, 1936 - October 30, 2023.
Howard was a giant of a man, standing 6-foot-7 and weighing more than 250 pounds (probably significantly more if Hawk Harrelson is to be believed) during his playing days. “Hondo” played in the Dodgers and Washington Senators / Texas Rangers organizations. He won the 1960 Rookie of the Year award with Los Angeles as well as the World Series in ’63. He was a four-time All-Star and led the league once in home runs and another time as the AL leader. After his playing days, he coached Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Bob Knight. October 25, 1940 - November 1, 2023.
Knight, highly controversial at times, was one of the most prolific basketball coaches in the game. He won 902 games during his career, at Army (1965-1971), Indiana (1971-2000) and Texas Tech (2001-2008). He won three NCAA championships with the Hoosiers, where his outbursts were as much of his lore as that success. I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Knight at a clinic in my early days of coaching basketball. Perhaps I will write about that experience in the future.
Greg “Fingers” Taylor. June 3, 1952 - November 23, 2023.
Harmonica player for Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band.
Roxane Sanderson. May 18, 1960 - November 29, 2023.
Friend- Singer. Roxy and I performed musically together on many occasions, we also played with another guitarist, Mike Rodriquez for wedding ceremonies as “Beautiful Noise”. She had a beautiful voice and a great sense of humour. As I would frequently say to both Roxy and Mike, “But we know that song”. Rest well.
Denny Lane. October 29, 1944 - December 5, 2023.
British Guitarist-Bass-Keyboard-Harmonica- Singer with the Moody Blues and Wings (among others). A talented man.
Ed Budde. November 2, 1940 - December 19, 2023.
Budde, an offensive guard, spent his entire career with the Kansas City Chiefs. He won two AFL Championships and the Super Bowl IV title. He is remembered for his head coach Hank Stram’s play, the “65 toss power trap” in the Chief’s Super Bowl win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Tom Smothers. February 2, 1937 - December 26, 2023.
Tommy was a comedian-musician, as well as a political activist. He performed with his brother Dick as the Smothers Brothers. “Mom liked you best!”
Cale Yarborough. March 27, 1939 - December 31, 2023.
Yarborough had three consecutive NASCAR championships in the 70s. His 83 wins place him sixth all-time, tied with Jimmy Johnson.
May they all Rest in Peace. And may we occasionally think of them and smile, remembering their place in our lives.
Again, my apologies for not getting this one out sooner.
~ Coach Mike
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Mr Z was indeed one of a kind with a gentle loving heart ❤️
Beautiful sweet memories 🙏 Thanks for sharing and I am looking forward to your post on Mr Z Incredible living wonderful man💯