Athletes and Sports Stars Who Died in 2003

Johnny Longden (1907-2003)

Feb 14 Canadian US Racing HOF jockey (1943 Triple Crown on Count Fleet; US Champion Jockey: by earnings 1943, 45; by wins 1938, 47, 48) and trainer (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes 1969), dies of a stroke at 96

Feb 20 Harry Jacunski, American football player
Feb 21 Eddie Thomson, Australian soccer coach (Socceroos 1990-96), dies of cancer at 55
Feb 26 Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver, dies at 74
Feb 28 Chris Brasher, English athlete (b. 1928)
Mar 10 Barry Sheene, British motorcycle racer, dies at 52
Mar 12 Andrei Kivilev, Kazakh cyclist (b. 1973)
Mar 13 Gus Yatron, American boxer and politician (Rep-D-PA, 1969-93), dies at 75
Mar 18 Karl Kling, German auto racer (11 F1 GP starts, 2 podiums, 17 C'ship points; Mercedes), dies at 92
Mar 31 George Conner, American College and Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle / linebacker (Pro Bowl 1950–53; First-team All-Pro 1950–53, 55; Chicago Bears), dies at 78
Apr 15 Leonard Tose, American trucking magnate and owner of NFL Philadelphia Eagles (1969-85), dies at 88
Apr 20 Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
Apr 22 Michael Larrabee, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4x400m relay 1964), dies from pancreatic cancer at 69
Apr 25 Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (b. 1966)
Apr 30 Peter "Possum" Bourne, New Zealand race car driver, dies at 47
May 1 Miss Elizabeth [Hulette], pro wrestling valet (Randy Savage), dies of overdose at 42
May 1 Wim van Est, Dutch road cyclist (3 x stage winner Tour de France), dies at 80
May 10 Milan Vukcevich, Yugoslavian chemist and a grandmaster of chess problem composition, dies at 66

Ernie Toshack (1914-2003)

May 11 Australian cricket fast bowler (12 Tests, 47 wickets), dies at 88

Dave DeBusschere (1940-2003)

May 14 American NBA forward (NY Knicks) and last ABA commissioner (1975-76), dies of a heart attack at 62

May 21 Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentine auto racer and car manufacturer (De Tomaso Automobili), dies at 74
May 29 David Jefferies, British motorcycle racer, dies at 30
May 31 Billy Wade, South African cricket wicketkeeper (11 Tests, 1 x 100, 17 dismissals; Natal), dies at 88
Jun 1 Johnny Hopp, American baseball outfielder, first baseman (MLB All-Star 1946; World Series 1942, 44, 50, 51; St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 86
Jun 2 John Robin Stephenson, British military officer and cricket administrator (Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), 1987-94), dies at 72
Jun 8 Leighton Rees, Welsh darts player (BDO World Champion 1978), dies at 63

Larry Doby (1924-2003)

Jun 18 American Baseball HOF outfielder (MLB All-Star 1949–55; World Series 1948; AL HR leader 1952, 54; 1st African-American in AL; Cleveland Indians), dies of cancer at 79

Jun 21 Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey coach (b. 1934)
Jun 23 Doug Ring, Australian cricketer (Australian leggie of the late 40's early 50's), dies at 84
Jun 26 Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon soccer midfielder (62 caps; collapsed during international match, died; Lens, West Ham, Lyon), dies of heart failure at 28
Jun 28 Russell Endean, South African cricket wicketkeeper (28 Tests, 3 x 100, HS 162no, 41 dismissals; Transvaal, MCC), dies at 79
Jun 28 Wim Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete (b. 1923)
Jul 1 Wesley Mouzon, American boxing trainer (Roy Jones Jr., Dwight Muhammad Qawi), dies of kidney cancer at 75
Jul 5 Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player, dies at 24
Jul 15 Tex Schramm, American football team president and general manager (b. 1920)
Jul 21 John Davies, New Zealand sports executive (President NZOC 2000-03) and athlete (Olympic bronze 1500m 1964), dies of melanoma at 65
Jul 31 John Aston Sr., English soccer striker (17 caps; Manchester United 253 games), dies at 81
Aug 7 Mickey McDermott, American MLB player, dies at 74
Aug 8 Jack Noreiga, West Indian cricketer (9-95 WI v India 1971), dies at 67
Aug 9 Ray Harford, English soccer manager (Fulham, Luton Town, Wimbledon, Blackburn Rovers, WBA, QPR), dies from lung cancer at 58

Herb Brooks (1937-2003)

Aug 11 American ice hockey coach (Olympic gold Medal 1980), dies in a car accident at 66

Aug 14 Helmut Rahn, German footballer (b. 1929)

Bobby Bonds (1946-2003)

Aug 23 American MLB baseball outfielder, 1968-81, 3x All-Star, 3x Golden Glove (San Francisco Giants, 1968-74 and 7 other teams), father of Barry Bonds, dies of lung cancer and brain tumor at 57

Aug 26 Jim Wacker, American football coach (Southwest Texas State), dies of cancer at 66
Sep 2 Peter West, British sports broadcaster (BBC; editor Playfair Cricket Annual), dies at 83
Sep 8 Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricket all-rounder (33 Tests, 2 x 100, 41 wickets, BB 6/49; Sind, Bombay, Rajasthan), dies at 76
Sep 13 Kenneth Walter, South African cricket fast bowler (2 Tests, 6 wickets), dies at 63

Althea Gibson (1927-2003)

Sep 28 American tennis player (7 Grand Slam singles titles), dies of respiratory and bladder infections at 76

Bill Shoemaker (1931-2003)

Oct 12 American Racing Hall of Fame jockey (8,833 career victories, Kentucky Derby 1955, 59, 65, 86), dies of natural causes at 72

Oct 12 Joan Kroc [Mansfield], American philanthropist and 3rd wife of Ray Kroc, the owner of McDonald's and the San Diego Padres, dies of a brain tumor at 75
Oct 16 László Papp, Hungarian boxer (Olympic gold-1948, 1952, 1956), dies at 77 [1]
Oct 24 Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish cross country skier (Olympic gold 1952, 56, 60), dies in car accident at 78
Oct 25 Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricket batsman (21 Tests; HS 114 1st Test v WI 1948), dies at 84
Oct 31 Gordon Weir, New Zealand cricket batsman (11 Tests, 3 x 50; Auckland CA), dies at 93
Nov 6 Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (3 x Olympic gold 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 400m freestyle 1936; silver 100m backstroke 1936), dies at 84
Nov 10 June Beebe, American golfer (Western Open 1931, 33), dies at 90
Nov 15 Ray Lewis, Canadian 4X400 relayer (Olympic bronze 1932), dies at 93

Ken Brett (1948-2003)

Nov 18 American baseball player, dies at 55

Nov 19 Ian Geoghegan, Australian racing driver (b. 1940)

Warren Spahn (1921-2003)

Nov 24 American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (17 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1957; Cy Young Award 1957; 8 × NL wins leader; Boston/Milwaukee Braves), dies at 82

Nov 28 Ted Bates, English soccer manager (Southampton 1955-73) and forward (Southampton 202 games), dies at 85
Nov 29 Tony Canadeo, American NFL hall of fame halfback (Green Bay Packers), dies at 84
Nov 30 Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer (1st female English Channel 1926), dies at 98
Dec 1 Eugenio Monti, Italian bobsledder (2 x Olympic gold 2-man, 4-man 1968; World C'ships 9 x gold), dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 75
Dec 4 Iggy Katona, American auto racer (ARCA Series 1955-57, 62, 66-67; record 79 wins), dies at 87
Dec 9 Norm Sloan, American basketball coach (b. 1926)
Dec 15 Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (NHL All Star 1971, 72; Chicago Black Hawks), dies in a motor vehicle accident at 56
Dec 17 David Smith, English cricket fast-medium bowler (5 Tests), dies at 69

Otto Graham (1921-2003)

Dec 17 American NFL Quarterback (Cleveland Browns), dies of a heart aneurysm at 82

Dec 21 M. J. Gopalan, Indian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 1 wicket; Madras) and hockey representative, dies at 94
Dec 24 Herman Keiser, American golfer (US Masters 1946), dies of Alzheimer's disease complications at 89
Dec 27 Ivan Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1991; Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos), dies from multiple firearm wounds at 41