On This Day

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Athletes Who Died on December 9

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  • 1929 Willis Cuttell, English cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 6 wickets; Lancashire CCC), dies at 66
  • 1930 Jim Slight, cricketer (represented Australia at Oval 1880), dies
  • 1930 Rube Foster, American Baseball HOF manager and executive (Negro National League pennant 1920–22, 26; Chicago American Giants), dies from insanity at 51
  • 1933 Morice Bird, cricketer (scored 280 runs in 10 Tests for England), dies
  • 1948 Sir Timothy O'Brien, cricketer (Bart 5 Tests England 1884-96), dies
  • 1954 Bill McGowan, American Baseball HOF umpire (AL 1925-54; 8 x World Series; 4 x MLB All-Star Games), dies from a heart attack at 58
  • 1957 Carswell Adams, sportscaster (Your Sports Special), dies

Branch Rickey (1881-1965)

American Baseball HOF catcher (St. Louis Browns), manager (St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals), and executive (GM St. Louis Cardinals - 4X World Series champions, Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates), noted for bfreaking MLB color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson, dies of heart failure at 83

Branch Rickey
  • 1974 George Carew, cricketer (4 Tests for WI between 1935 & 1949), dies
  • 1975 Jeff Heath, Canadian baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1941, 43, 45; Cleveland Indians), dies from a heart attack at 60

Wes Ferrell (1908-1976)

American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1933, 37; no-hitter 1931; record 37 career HRs hit by a pitcher), dies at 68

Wes Ferrell
  • 1978 Ed Healey, NFL tackle (Rock Island Independents, Chicago Bears), dies at 83
  • 1992 Carl Barger, American baseball executive (President of Pittsburgh Pirates, Fla Marlins), dies at 62
  • 1993 Danny Blanchflower, Irish soccer midfielder (56 caps Northern Ireland; Tottenham Hotspur 337 games, Aston Villa) and manager (Northern Ireland, Chelsea), dies of pneumonia at 67
  • 1994 Alex Wilson, Canadian athlete (Olympic silver 800m, 2 x bronze 400m, 4x400m relay 1932), dies at 87

Archie Moore (1913-1998)

American light-heavyweight boxing champion (1952-60), dies at 84

Archie Moore
  • 2003 Norm Sloan, American basketball coach (b. 1926)
  • 2008 Ibrahim Dossey, Ghanaian football player (b. 1972)
  • 2012 Alexander Moulton, English engineer and bicycle designer (folding bicycle), dies at 92
  • 2015 Gheorghe Gruia, Romanian handball player, dies at 75

Alex Olmedo (1936-2020)

American-Peruvian tennis player (Australian C'ships, Wimbledon 1959), dies from brain cancer at 84

Alex Olmedo
  • 2020 Gordon Forbes, South African tennis player and author (French Open mixed doubles [Darlene Hard] 1955), dies from COVID-19 at 86
  • 2020 Paolo Rossi, Italian soccer striker (48 caps; FIFA World Cup 1982 [Golden Boot, Golden Ball]; L.R. Vicenza, Juventus), dies at 64
  • 2020 Ray Hunter, Northern Irish cricket all-rounder (28 international matches) and rugby union centre (10 Tests; British & Irish Lions 1962; Portadown RFC), dies at 82
  • 2020 Ray Perkins, American football coach (New York Giants, University of Alabama, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arkansas State University), dies from heart disease at 79

Al Unser (1939-2021)

American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1970-71, 78, 87), dies of cancer at 82

Al Unser
  • 2021 Brian Aldridge, New Zealand cricket umpire (26 Tests, 45 ODIs), dies at 81
  • 2021 Demaryius Thomas, American football wide receiver (Super Bowl 2015; 4 × Pro Bowl; Denver Broncos), dies at 33
  • 2021 Speedy Duncan, American football cornerback (Pro Bowl 1971; AFL All-Star 1965, 66, 67; SD Chargers, Washington Redskins), dies at 79
  • 2023 Frank Wycheck, American football tight end (Pro Bowl 1998, 99, 2000; Washington Redskins, Houston/Tennessee Oilers-Titans), dies after a fall at 52


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