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

[jimsteel]

Rex Mirich, a former American football defensive lineman in the American Football League and the National Football League, passed away at the age of 80.

This went unreported in most reference circles. After playing college football for Northern Arizona, Mirich was drafted by both the AFL and the NFL in 1963. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 16th round (212th overall) of the 1963 NFL Draft and by the Oakland Raiders in the 20th round (153rd overall) of the 1963 AFL Draft. He went on to play seven seasons for the AFL's Oakland Raiders (1964–1966) and Denver Broncos (1967–1969), and the NFL's Boston Patriots (1970). During his 7 year football career he played in 83 games and started in 36 of them.

[jimsteel]

Alvin Maxson, a former NFL running back, passed away at the age of 70.

Maxson played college football at Southern Methodist University. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the eighth round of the 1974 NFL Draft. The following is an excerpt from Maxson's online obituary: "Alvin was born in Beaumont, Texas to the late Lloyd and Daisy Maxson on November 12, 1951. Alvin was an outstanding running back at Hebert High School and Southern Methodist University. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1974.

Maxson also played for the following teams during his NFL career:

New Orleans Saints (1974–1976)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1977)
Chicago Bears (1978)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1978)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1978)
Houston Oilers (1978)
New York Giants (1978)

[jimsteel]

Bill Bell, a former was a former NFL placekicker who passed away at the age of 74.

This passing was missed by the author. Bell played two seasons in the National Football League with the Atlanta Falcons and three games with the New England Patriots. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 17th round of the 1970 NFL Draft. Prior to being drafted, he played college football at the University of Kansas and attended Falls Church High School in West Falls Church, Virginia.

Bell wore jersey number 100 in 1969 while playing for the Kansas Jayhawks as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of college football; he is one of only two players to wear a number higher than 99 in an officially sanctioned football game. Bell scored 154 points in the NFL during his short career and played with the following teams: the Atlanta Falcons (1971–1972) and the New England Patriots

[jimsteel]

Bobby Ply, a former AFL defensive back, passed away at the age of 80.

Ply played college football at the University of Baylor, where he was then drafted by the New York Titans in the 5th round of the 1962 AFL Draft and by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 16th round of the 1962 NFL Draft. During his AFL career, he played for the following teams: the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs (1962–1967), the Buffalo Bills (1967) and the Denver Broncos (1967). He played in a total of 77 games and started in 16 during his 6 year career. He recorded 9 interceptions during his stay in the AFL.

The following is an excerpt from Ply's online obituary: "After graduating from high school in 1958, Bobby earned a Football Scholarship to attend Baylor University in Waco, TX.
In 1962, while at Baylor, he was drafted to play football for the Dallas Texans. A year later, the team would be moved to Kansas City, thus beginning Bobby's lifelong involvement with the Kansas City Chiefs' organization. He was a Defensive Halfback / Safety and played from 1962-1967.

Bobby worked for United Computing Systems and then 20 plus years with Central States Thermo-King, retiring in 2007.

[jimsteel]

Leo Reed, a former tackle in the old AFL passed away at 83.

Reed was raised in Kahuku, Hawaii. He was one of the first wave of Polynesians in American football. Reed was the first graduate of the now football powerhouse Kahuku High to play professional football, earning a football scholarship to Colorado State and going on to play for the Denver Broncos and the 1961 AFC Champion Houston Oilers. Reed credits Al Lolotai, the first Samoan to play pro football as a mentor, then the athletic director of Church College of Hawaii.

Sent down to the UFL Indianapolis Warriors in 1962, Reed returned to Hawaii in 1964 and joined the Honolulu Police Department prior to becoming a labor representative. embarking on a career in the labor movement in 1973 as a supervisory business agent for the Hawaii Government Employees Association. Two years later he was hired as a business agent by Hawaii Teamsters Local 996.

In 1980, he moved to Hollywood and became a driver in Local 399 and soon became a business agent. In 1988 he was appointed by the executive board to the position of secretary-treasurer, and a year later was elected by the membership to the post.

“Leo was a leader, a mentor, a husband, a father, a family member and a friend to many,” Dayan said. “His life and legacy will live on in the hearts of those that knew and loved him, and it will be baked into the fabric of this organization for generations to come. We offer our deepest condolences to everyone struggling with this significant loss at this time. Our entire Local 399 family mourns alongside his beloved family near and far.

[jimsteel]

Charley Trippi, a former halfback and quarterback in the NFL passed away at the age of 100.

As a former American football player.

He played professionally for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a running back, his versatility allowed him to fill a multitude of roles over his career, including quarterback, defensive back, punter and return specialist. A "quintuple-threat," Trippi was adept at running, catching, passing, punting, and defense.

Trippi attended the University of Georgia, where he played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1942 to 1946, with an interlude in 1944 while serving in the military during World War II. As a sophomore, he guided Georgia to victory in the 1943 Rose Bowl and was named the game's most valuable player. As a senior in 1946, he won the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding college football player, was named the Southeastern Conference's player of the year, and earned unanimous first-team All-America recognition.

Drafted first overall by the Cardinals as a "future pick" in the 1945 NFL Draft, Trippi was also pursued by the New York Yankees of the All-American Football Conference (AAFC) as well as multiple professional baseball teams. He ultimately signed a record $100,000 contract with the Cardinals. As a rookie, Trippi led Chicago's "Million Dollar Backfield" to victory in the 1947 NFL Championship Game. By the time he retired, he had compiled the most yards of total offense by a player in NFL history. Trippi was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

Multiple Major League Baseball teams attempted to sign him, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, but those deals fell through when he joined the NFL. Between the NFL seasons in 1948 and 1949, Trippi served as Georgia's baseball coach, compiling a 34–18 win–loss record.

The 26-year-old rookie had plenty of leverage as a star commodity, and so weighed his options: the Cardinals and the AAFC's New York Yankees. The Yankees were sure they had signed Trippi to a joint deal that included a contract with the Yankees of MLB, but Cardinals owner Charles Bidwill signed Trippi to a four-year contract worth an unprecedented $100,000 along with a first-year bonus of $25,000.[23] The contract was considered the most lucrative in pro football history. Trippi felt the NFL was more established and stable, and Bidwill had offered him job security.

Trippi's addition completed Bidwill's "Dream Backfield." Although Bidwill did not live to see it, Trippi became a game breaker in a talented corps that included Paul Christman, Pat Harder, Marshall Goldberg and, later, Elmer Angsman. Trippi served a multitude of roles for the Cardinals as a rookie: in 11 games, he rushed 83 times for 401 yards, caught 23 passes for 240 yards, averaged 43.4 yards on 13 punts, returned eight punts for 181 yards and 15 kickoffs for 321 yards, and on defense returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown. The Cardinals compiled nine wins and three losses, and faced the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1947 NFL Championship Game, in which the Cardinals won 28–21 largely due to a spectacular all-round performance by Trippi. Playing on an icy field in Chicago, Trippi wore basketball shoes for better traction and totaled 206 yards, including 102 yards with two punt returns. He scored touchdowns on a 44-yard run and a 75-yard punt return. During the punt return, he twice escaped an encirclement of tacklers and fell to his knees near midfield before cutting to the outside and sprinting for the score.] Trippi was named to the 1947 All-Pro second-team backfield by the United Press. Trippi was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959; the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1965; and the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. He is the only player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame to have accumulated at least 1,000 yards in the following: receiving, passing, and rushing.

The following are some of the accolades that Trippi achieved in his storied career:
NFL champion (1947)
First-team All-Pro (1948)
Second-team All-Pro (1947)
2× Pro Bowl (1952, 1953)
NFL 1940s All-Decade Team
Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor
National champion (1942)
Maxwell Award (1946)
SEC Player of the Year (1946)
Unanimous All-American (1946)
2× First-team All-SEC (1945, 1946)
Georgia Bulldogs No. 62

[jimsteel]

George Shirkey, a defensive tackle who played three seasons in the American Football League, passed away at 85.

He played college football at Stephen F. Austin State University and attended Fort Stockton High School in Fort Stockton, Texas. Shirkey played with the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders. Originally, he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixteenth round of the 1958 NFL Draft and he later signed with the Oilers in 1960. He played for the following teams during his AFL career: the Houston Oilers (1960–1961) and the Oakland Raiders (1962). He was part of the first two AFL championship teams as the Oilers won the 1960 and 1961 AFL championships. During his career he played in 35 games and started in 21 of them.

[throwingtoasters]

www.npr.org/2022/10/17/1129511108/nasa-astronaut-jim-mcdivitt-dies-gemini-apollo

Former NASA astronaut Jim McDivitt, who led Gemini and Apollo missions, dies at 93



Jim McDivitt, an astronaut who played a key role in making America's first spacewalk and moon landing possible, has died. He was 93.

NASA confirmed his death to NPR on Monday, adding that he was surrounded by family and friends when he died on Thursday.

Known for being a courageous test pilot and dedicated leader, McDivitt commanded two of the most crucial flights in the early space race — Gemini 4 and Apollo 9.

McDivitt grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich., and graduated from the University of Michigan. In 1951, he joined the Air Force and fought during the Korean War, where he flew 145 combat missions.

In 1962, McDivitt was selected by NASA to become an astronaut. He was chosen to pilot Gemini 4 — becoming the first-ever NASA rookie to command a mission.

Considered NASA's most ambitious flight at the time in 1965, the Gemini 4 mission was the first time the U.S. performed a spacewalk and the longest that a U.S. spaceflight had remained in Earth's orbit: 4 days.

Four years later, McDivitt commanded Apollo 9 — a 10-day shakeout mission orbiting the Earth in March 1969 that involved testing the lunar landing spacecraft. It paved the way for NASA to successfully land humans on the moon four months later in July 1969.

Apollo 9 was his last trip to space. Despite his instrumental role in propelling NASA's moon landing, McDivitt himself never reached the moon. Francis French, a spaceflight historian, said McDivitt chose not to command a moon landing mission and decided to take on a management role.

"It was more important to McDivitt that the overall program was a success than to personally land on the moon," he told NPR.

McDivitt became manager of Lunar Landing Operations in May 1969, and in August of that year became manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program. He was the program manager for Apollo missions 12-16.

French said McDivitt stood out as a leader for striking the perfect balance between fun, witty and serious.

"It's very unusual to find people in life who are both light-hearted and really dedicated to their job. And this guy was one of those rare examples of both," French said.

In 1972, he retired both from NASA and the Air Force, where he had been promoted to brigadier general. He logged more than 5,000 flying hours in his lifetime.

He later worked in executive roles in manufacturing companies.

McDivitt was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1993.

[TTX]

RIP to those who have passed.

[jimsteel]

Dale Williams, a former NFL official, passed away on at the age of 82.

Williams had a long and illustrious career as a sports official. He served as an umpire at four College World Series, officiated the 1984 Olympics, and walked the NFL sidelines for 24 years as a linesman-referee. He even worked the 1986 Super Bowl as a head linesman. After all that experience, the National College Baseball Hall of Fame named Williams the 2013 recipient of the National Collegiate Umpire Award, honoring a lifetime of excellence in umpiring.

“During my umpiring career, God has blessed me with great friends, experiences and success,” Williams told the Hall of Fame’s website, CollegeBaseballHall.org. “Having umpired with the other outstanding men on the ballot, I feel honored and humbled my colleagues have chosen me, and I thank them and the College Baseball Hall of Fame for this prestigious award.”

Williams’ baseball career shone at California State University, Northridge, back when it was San Fernando Valley State. He lettered from the moment he arrived on campus in 1961, and had an illustrious career that was capped off with a CSUN Hall of Fame induction in 1986.