On This Day

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Athletes Who Died on January 1

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  • 1905 Mabel Cahill, Irish tennis player (US National C'ship 1891-92), dies at 41
  • 1923 Willie Keeler, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (highest career AB-per-strikeout ratio in MLB history; NL batting champion 1897, 98 Baltimore Orioles), dies of tuberculosis at 50
  • 1944 Charles Turner, Australian cricket fast bowler (17 Tests; 101 wickets @ 16.53; fastest to 50 Test wickets; NSWCA), dies at 81
  • 1949 William H. Lewis, American College football center and coach (first African-American selected as an All-American; Harvard), dies of heart failure at 80
  • 1964 Alf Hall, South African cricket fast bowler (7 Tests, 40 wickets), dies at 67
  • 1967 Maurice Leyland, English cricket batsman (41 Tests, 2764 runs @ 46.06; Yorkshire 1920-46, 1,000+ runs in 17 consecutive seasons), dies at 66
  • 1968 Andy Oberlander, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Dartmouth College; National C'ship 1954), dies at 62
  • 1969 Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver pole vault & bronze javelin 1906; bronze pole vault 1908; popularized bowling in Sweden), dies at 87
  • 1975 Ken Loeffler, American College and Basketball Hall of Fame coach (National Invitation Tournament 1952; NCAA Basketball Tournament 1954, La Salle Explorers), dies from a heart attack at 72
  • 1980 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), dies at 70
  • 1981 Ceferino Garcia, Filipino boxer (World Middleweight champion 1939-40), dies at 74

Mauri Rose (1906-1981)

American auto racer and three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (1941, 1947-48), dies at 74

Mauri Rose
  • 1984 Ken Sitzberger, American diver & broadcaster (Olympic gold 3m springboard 1964), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 38
  • 1986 Bruce Norris, American Hockey Hall of Fame executive (owner Detroit Red Wings 1952-82), dies at 61
  • 1986 Marty Friedman, American Basketball Hall of Fame guard and coach (tied World C'ship series, New York Whirlwinds 1921), dies at 96
  • 1990 Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricket batsman (23 Tests, 1,636 runs @ 46.74; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies at 78
  • 1992 M. J. Frankovich, American football player and film producer (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), dies at 82
  • 1994 Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, dies at 93
  • 1997 John Burgess, English rugby coach and administrator (England coach 1971-75; RFU President 1987-88), dies at 71
  • 1998 Åke Seyffarth, Swedish speed skater (Olympic gold 10,000m 1948; WR 3,000 & 5,000m), dies at 78

Helen Wills Moody (1905-1998)

American tennis player (19 Grand Slam titles), dies of natural causes at 92

Helen Wills Moody
  • 2003 Joe Foss, American fighter ace, football executive (Medal of Honor-1943; first commissioner American Football League) and politician, dies at 87
  • 2004 Harold Henning, South African golfer (2 PGA Tour titles; 3 senior PGA titles; World Cup 1965), dies at 69
  • 2006 Paul Lindblad, American baseball pitcher (World Series champion 1973-74, 78; Kansas City Athletics, Oakland Athletics), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 64
  • 2011 Billy Joe Patton, American golfer (Masters 1954 3rd; Walker Cup captain 1969), dies at 88
  • 2012 Bob Anderson, English fencer & film fight choreographer (Lord of the Rings, Die Another Day), dies at 90
  • 2012 Tommy Mont, American football quarterback (Washington Redskins) and coach (University of Maryland 1956-58, DePauw University 1959-76), dies of heart failure at 89
  • 2013 Christopher Martin-Jenkins, British cricket journalist and broadcaster (President MCC; BBC Radio), dies of cancer at 67
  • 2020 Carlos De León, Puerto Rican boxer (WBC cruiserweight champion (1980–82, 83–85, 86–88, 89–90), dies of a heart attack at 60
  • 2020 David Stern, American basketball executive (NBA commissioner 1984-2014; longest-tenured commissioner in history of major North American sports leagues), dies from a brain haemorrhage at 77
  • 2020 Don Larsen, American MLB pitcher (only perfect game in World Series history, Game 5 1956; World Series MVP 1956; NY Yankees), dies from esophageal cancer at 90
  • 2020 Doug Hart, American NFL defensive back (NFL champion 1965, 66, 67; Super Bowl 1967, 68; Green Bay Packers), dies at 80
  • 2020 Les Josephson, American football running back (NFL Pro Bowl 1967; Los Angeles Rams), dies at 77
  • 2021 Floyd Little, American Pro/College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Syracuse University; 5 x Pro Bowl; First-team All-Pro 1969; Denver Broncos), dies from cancer at 78
  • 2022 Dan Reeves, American football coach (AP NFL Coach of the Year 1993 NY Giants, 1998 Atlanta Falcons; Denver Broncos), dies from complications of dementia at 77
  • 2023 Art McNally, American Pro Football HOF referee and executive (NFL Head of Officiating, 1968-91), dies at 97
  • 2023 Frank McGarvey, Scottish soccer forward (7 caps; Celtic, St Mirren) and manager (Queen of the South FC), dies from pancreatic cancer at 66
  • 2024 Frank Ryan, American football quarterback (NFL C'ship 1964, 3 × Pro Bowl, NFL passing TD leader 1964, 66; Cleveland Browns), dies from complications of Alzheimer's disease at 87
  • 2024 Mario Boljat, Croatian soccer defender-midfielder (5 caps; Hajduk Split, Schalke 04), dies at 72


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