R.I.P. Celebrities(Non Wrestlers) 2022

[jimsteel]

Jeff Jordan, a former defensive back in the NFL, passed away at 78 years of age.

The following is text from his online obituary: "Jeff was most accomplished on the football field, being named an all-state quarterback and a Prep All-American, but also played varsity basketball and golf.

Jeff received a full football scholarship to the University of Tulsa, where he played both offense and defense, earning accolades on both sides of the ball. Many of his school records stand today, including most interception return yards in a single game and career, and longest interception return for a touchdown. Jeff was elected to the Missouri Valley Conference's all-conference team twice and went on to be named MVP of the 1964 Hula Bowl. Off the field, Jeff remained committed to his studies - ultimately becoming a Rhodes Scholarship finalist – graduating with a degree in industrial psychology.

Jeff was a lifelong supporter of the University, serving twice as the president of its alumni association, and constantly adorned in blue and gold. He was inducted into the TU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted him in 1965 and he went on to play three seasons for the team as a free safety. It was in Minnesota where Jeff acquired the nickname "The Blade", likening his tall, thin stature to a blade of grass. Upon his exit from the NFL, Jeff moved back to Tulsa and began his career with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith. He was with the firm for 50 years prior to retiring in 2018. Jeff was the Resident Manager of the South Tulsa office for 20 years and a perennial member of the Chairman's club."

The Minnesota Vikings drafted Jordan in the 8th round (107th overall) of the 1965 NFL Draft. He played with the Vikings for three seasons from 1965-1967. During his career, he played in 37 games and recorded 4 interceptions.

[jimsteel]

Frank Youso, a former NFL tackle, passed away at the age of 86.

He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and professionally for the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League and for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League. He was named an All-American with Minnesota, and played in the Blue–Gray Football Classic and the Senior Bowl.

The New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) selected Youso in the second round of the 1958 NFL Draft. He played three seasons with the Giants as an offensive tackle, and he played as a defensive tackle during the 1958 NFL Championship Game due to an injury to Roosevelt Grier. The Minnesota Vikings selected Youso in the 1961 NFL Expansion Draft. In 1963, the Vikings shifted Youso to play as a defensive tackle. However, the Vikings cut Youso before the start of the 1963 season. Youso signed with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League as an offensive tackle before the start of the 1963 season. Youso missed three weeks of the 1965 season due to a synovial bursa and missed about half of the 1965 season after suffering a knee injury. Youso retired before the 1966 season.

[jimsteel]

Joe Roberts, a former professional basketball player who played three seasons in the National Basketball Association and one season in the American Basketball Association, passed away at the age of 86.

Roberts played for the Syracuse Nationals and Kentucky Colonels from 1960 to 1968, having earlier played for Ohio State University's 1960 NCAA champions. After retiring from playing, served as assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. Roberts was drafted in the third round by the NBA's Syracuse Nationals. He was a reserve at both forward positions behind stars Dolph Schayes, Lee Shaffer and Johnny Kerr. He played with the Nats three seasons, with the Nats making the playoffs each year under coach Alex Hannum. The Nats were very good, but could not get past the Boston Celtics in their division.

Feeling that his race was limiting his opportunities, Roberts declined to stay with the team when they became the Philadelphia 76ers in 1963.

Roberts returned to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio for the 1966-67 season as the player/manager for the Columbus Comets of the newly formed and short-lived North American Basketball League (NABL) where he played with former East High and Ohio State teammate Mel Nowell as well as former Ohio State alumni Dick Reasbeck, Gary Bradds and Jim Doughty. Also on the team was a guard from Kent State named Gene Michael who at the time was a member of the Columbus Jets baseball team, the minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Michael would go on to become a player, and later General Manager for the New York Yankees.

Roberts did return to play for the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA for one season in 1967

[jimsteel]

Bill Nieder, a former USA Olympic Gold Medalist, passed away at the age of 89.

is an American athlete who mainly competed in the shot put.

Nieder was born in Hempstead, New York, and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. At the time of 1956 Olympics he was married to Sue and had a daughter Connie of about one year of age. At those Games he won a silver medal, losing to Parry O'Brien. Four years later, he placed fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials and was selected to the national team only after Dave Davis withdrew due to an injury. At the Olympics Nieder won a gold medal with a throw of 19.68 m. The mark was the Olympic record and was an improvement of 5 feet from his mark 4 years earlier. Parry O'Brien had also improved over that time but was almost 2 feet behind Nieder.

A graduate of the University of Kansas, Nieder was the first collegiate athlete to better the 60-foot mark with a 16-pound shot. He was also the first high school prep athlete to break the 60-foot barrier with a 12-pound shot putt.

Nieder, who set the shot put world record on three occasions, tried boxing when his track and field career ended following the 1960 Olympics. He was knocked out in his first bout and hung up the gloves for good.

He was employed by 3M and was instrumental in developing artificial athletic turf. Nieder sold the first ever synthetic track surface for the Olympic Games to 1968 Mexico City organizers.Such tracks are now standard at all major track meets. Nieder later developed a new version of the rubber room.

In 2006 Nieder was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Nieder helped subdue a passenger attempting to enter the cockpit of American Airlines flight 1561 headed to San Francisco on Sunday, May 8, 2011. He was 77 years old at the time. Some people rise to meet the moment and their story should be known.

[TTX]

www.yahoo.com/entertainment/angela-lansbury-screen-broadway-icon-192927402.html

Very much RIP

[Crimson Cross]

RIP Angela Lansbury, my family watched Murder She Wrote and then later after that series I watched her in Gaslight, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Manchurian Candidate...

[jimsteel]

Tyrone Davis, a former NFL tight end who played eight seasons in the National Football League, passed away at the age of 50.

Davis played college football for the University of Virginia and during the 1992 season, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in receiving yards per reception (23.😎 and had the second-most receiving touchdowns (7). Two years later, he led the conference in receiving touchdowns (10) and finished third in touchdowns from scrimmage (10) and receiving yards per reception (18.2). He later set a school record for touchdown receptions with 28, breaking the previous record set by Herman Moore, whom Davis replaced as a starting wide receiver in 1991. Davis was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round (107th overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft, the only wide receiver drafted by the franchise that year. During his NFL career, he had 13 TD receptions. During the later years of his NFL career, Davis struggled with weight issues, ending the 2000 season at 277 pounds. He then turned up at post-draft minicamp the following April at approximately 280 pounds, even though he had been instructed to lose weight. He retired from the NFL after the 2002 season. The following is from Davis's online obituary: "He was a wide receiver at the University of Virginia for the Virginia Cavaliers from 1991 to 1994. During the 1992 season, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference with receiving yards, averaging 23.8 yards. In his final season with the Cavaliers, he led the conference in receiving touchdowns with 10.

That same year, he set a school record for reception touchdowns at 28. In the 1995 National Football League (NFL) draft, he was selected in round 4 as the 107 overall pick by the New York Jets. He made his NFL debut with the Jets on September 3, 1995 where he played until the end of the 1996 season. After leaving the Jets, he joined the Green Bay Packers in 1997 and remained with them until 2002. In his 8 year NFL career he played in 75 games, of which he started in 27 of them, had 73 receptions for 795 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. In 2012 he was inducted into the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame." No cause of death was publicly released.

[jimsteel]

Joe Crozier, a former NHL defenseman and head coach who played and coached primarily in the minor leagues, passed away at the age of 93.

After playing the better part of 12 seasons in the minor leagues with the Quebec Aces of the Quebec Senior Hockey League, which included a five game stint in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Crozier retired in 1961 and became a head coach for 22 years, beginning in 1963. He had also previously been a head coach for the Quebec Aces while he was still playing with them in 1957–58.
As head coach in several leagues, Crozier is a three-time Calder Cup champion with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, a two-time Lester Patrick Cup champion with the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League, and a Memorial Cup champion with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. During his coaching career, he also made brief appearances in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres for two and a half seasons and the Toronto Maple Leafs from the end of 1979–80 to the first half of 1980–81.
In 1985, Crozier was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame for his individual efforts, then once again in 2007 as part of a team induction of the Memorial Cup-runners-up 1948–49 Brandon Wheat Kings. Joe is the father of the professional hockey player, Greg Crozier.

He played for the following teams during his pro hockey career which spanned from 1949-1961:
PCHL
San Francisco Shamrocks
Vancouver Canucks
USHL
Denver Falcons
QHL
Quebec Aces
AHL
Springfield Indians
Providence Reds
Rochester Americans
NHL
Toronto Maple Leafs
WHL
Spokane Spokes

After a heart attack to Buffalo Sabres coach "Punch" Imlach, Crozier was given Imlach's position and made his National Hockey League coaching debut in 1972. Although he finished the Sabres' 1971–72 season with just 8 wins in 36 games, Crozier coached the Sabres to a playoff berth the following season, posting a winning record of 37–27–14. After finishing his third season with the Sabres out of the playoffs, however, he was replaced by Floyd Smith after the 1973–74 season.

Upon leaving the Sabres, he joined the NHL-rival-league World Hockey Association with the Vancouver Blazers in 1974–75, then the Calgary Cowboys for two seasons as the franchise relocated. In 1975–76, Crozier made it to the semi-finals with the Cowboys but lost to the Winnipeg Jets. In his third and final season with the Blazers-Cowboys franchise, in which Calgary failed to make the playoffs, Crozier dumped the team's spare hockey sticks from the bench onto the ice during a game in protest of a disputed call. Another incident with the Cowboys involved a mishap while trying to return to Calgary after a game against the San Diego Mariners. The pilot had failed to refuel and there was not enough gas to return home. Although Crozier asked the team to collectively pitch in, they still did not have enough money. The team was bailed out by their play-by-play announcer who used his wife's Texaco card to front the $1,500 bill.[1] During his stint with the franchise, Crozier also rose to the position of general manager.[1]
In 1980–81, Crozier received his second break in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, having been named to coach the team at the start of the season. However, the Leafs started with 13 wins in the first 40 games and Crozier was replaced mid-season by Mike Nykoluk

[jimsteel]

Al Neiger, a former MLB pitcher, passed away at the age of 83.

He was a left-handed pitcher who played for five seasons as a professional — including six games as a relief pitcher for the 1960 Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball — after a stellar career at the University of Delaware. Neiger's six MLB games played were divided evenly, with two appearances in each of the months of July, August and September 1960. In his debut, he was unscored upon in 11⁄3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up only one hit, a single, to St. Louis pitcher Larry Jackson. Three rough outings followed, two against the Cardinals and one against the eventual National League and 1960 world champion Pittsburgh Pirates, in which Neiger gave up 13 hits and eight earned runs in 81⁄3 innings. Neiger was then unscored upon in his last two outings, in September, against the Milwaukee Braves and Cincinnati Reds.All told, he allowed eight earned runs, 16 hits and four bases on balls in 122⁄3 MLB innings with three strikeouts. He never got another chance to pitch in a MLB game.

In minor league baseball, Neiger was more successful, winning 43 of 75 decisions in 126 games.

But at the University of Delaware, he was a standout. Neiger was selected as a first-team All-American in 1959, when he stuck out 166 batters in 103 innings pitched, racked up 55 consecutive scoreless innings, and posted a 0.88 earned run average and a 9–3 record. He still holds the school record for strikeouts, the lowest ERA and consecutive scoreless innings pitched. A mechanical engineering major, he retired after the 1963 season and entered private business in the Wilmington area. Neiger is a member of both the University of Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame, the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame. The following is an excerpt from Neiger's online obituary: "A native of Wilmington, DE, Al graduated from Wilmington High School in 1958. He attended the University of Delaware in 1959; becoming the first ever player in Blue Hen baseball history to earn All-American honors. His UD record of 166 strikeouts in 103 innings still stands today. In 1960, during his junior year, Al was signed to a bonus contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played 5 seasons with the Phillies organization, advancing to the major leagues in 1960 appearing in 6 games as a relief pitcher. He left the Phillies in 1964 in order to spend more time with his growing family, which was his #1 priority throughout his life.

His 3 daughters recall their dad saying that in addition to his cherished family, his greatest accomplishment was being inducted into the University of Delaware Sports Hall of Fame for Baseball in 2011. He was an avid supporter of UD Baseball and in 2019, at the age of 80, he was privileged to throw out the first pitch at his Alma Mater during one of the UD spring season baseball games. He was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum & Hall of Fame and the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also named Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association (DSBA) Delaware Athlete of the Year for 1959."

[jimsteel]

R.I.P. Eileen Ryan, actress from The Twilight Zone, Bonanza and mother to actor Sean Penn
Ryan had a rich career, one she got to share with multiple family members in multiple ways

She was 93