R.I.P. SPORTS RELATED 2023(Non Wrestlers) (*)

[jimsteel]

Pro Skier Kyle Smaine Killed In Avalanche, Dead At 31

Professional skier Kyle Smaine -- who won gold at the 2015 Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships -- has died in a terrible ski accident, his family announced.

He was 31.

Smaine was in Japan skiing ... a place he enjoyed frequenting this time of year due to the "unbelievable snow quality," something he talked about on social media before the accident.

Smaine was on the trip with photographer Grant Gunderson, who recounted the frightening events in an emotional Instagram post, calling it his "absolute worst nightmare scenario."

[jimsteel]

Henry Moore, a former defensive back/halfback who played in the National Football League, passed away at the age of 88.

He was a star running back in college for the University of Arkansas and was elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. Moore was drafted after college by the New York Giants and was the teams 2nd round pick in 1956. As a rookie for the Giants, Moore scored a touchdown during their 47-7 victory over the Chicago Bears in the NFL Championship Game at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 30, 1956, when he blocked a punt and covered it in the end zone.

"Lombardi was about as tough as they got," Moore told Bailey. "He'd jump all over you if you did something wrong -- hundreds of words.

"If you happened to do something right, he was fair enough to acknowledge it with two or three words."

Moore played his second and final NFL season with the Colts in 1957. He played two seasons for the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts.

[jimsteel]

Johnny Cagle, a former American Football League defensive end, passed away at the age of 75.

The following is an excerpt from Cagle's online obituary: "A graduate of Brookland-Cayce High School, Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management with a minor in accounting, a Master's Degree in the School of Commercial Banking from LSU and a Master's Degree in Advanced Management from Georgia State University. John followed in his father and uncle's footsteps, earning a scholarship to play football for Clemson University. Upon graduation, John was drafted and played football for the Boston (New England) Patriots professional football team. Following his years with the Patriots, John served 6 years in the Army Reserve.

John began his career in banking with South Carolina National Bank in 1971 and moved to Aiken in 1981 where he served as the city and county executive for the bank. In 1988, he joined Palmetto Federal Savings Bank to establish a commercial loan and business development department. After 30 years in banking, he retired as the Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking for Regions Bank in Aiken, SC. Over his many years in the banking industry, he enjoyed helping both individuals and businesses in communities across the state."

Cagle was a 14th round pick by the Boston Patriots and played in parts of the 1969 season as a defensive end.

[jimsteel]

Ralph Avila, the Cuban expatriate who engineered the Dodgers’ rich pipeline of Caribbean baseball talent and signed Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, died. He was 92.

Avila, the father of former Tigers executive vice president and general manager Al Avila and grandfather of All-Star catcher Alex Avila, spent 55 years with the Dodgers, beginning in 1966. He became a scout in Latin America for general manager Al Campanis in 1970. In 1986, Avila helped with the planning of the Dodgers' academy in the Dominican Republic and was named vice president of the facility in 1991, serving in that position until his retirement in 1999. He continued in an advisory role until 2021.

Including Martinez, Avila was involved in the signings of more than 50 future Major Leaguers, including Pedro’s older brother, Ramon, and likely Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré, in addition to Raul Mondesi, Rick Rhoden, Mariano Duncan, Juan Guzman and Alejandro Pena.

Avila, under Campanis’ direction, is credited, along with fellow Latin American scout Epy Guerrero, with originating the development of training facilities and baseball leagues in the Caribbean. Specifically, Avila was the force driving the trailblazing construction of Campo Las Palmas in the Dominican Republic, the first of its kind when Avila, Campanis and owner Peter O’Malley opened it in 1987.
When the current Dodgers ownership group Guggenheim Baseball spent $8 million to renovate the complex in 2017, the president and CEO Stan Kasten called Avila “the Godfather of all this,” because “he literally found the land, cleared the sugar cane, planted the trees and dragged the infield in the camp’s early days.”
"I'm very happy," Avila said at the dedication of the updated facility. "We've had players from 27 different countries train here, learning the Dodger way. It's amazing to see how it has grown and the impact Campo Las Palmas has made on the game."

Now 70 acres with 100,000 square feet of indoor space, each building on the site is named after pioneers of the Dodgers and baseball in Latin America, from Walter O'Malley Headquarters and Avila Command Post to Jackie Robinson Hall and Roy Campanella Clubhouse, from Tom Lasorda Dining Hall to the classrooms named after Dodgers Hall of Fame Spanish language broadcaster Jaime Jarrín.

[jimsteel]

On Tuesday night, the college football world lost a longtime assistant and former head football coach.

Cleve Bryant, who was most well-known for his tenure at Texas, passed away this week, according to a statement from former Longhorns coach Mack Brown. He was 75 years old.

[jimsteel]

Dave Elder, a former MLB pitcher, passed away at the age of 47,

Elder played for the Cleveland Indians in 2002 and 2003. No cause of death is known and several family and friends have posted Mr. Elder's passing.

Elder attended Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola, Florida, and played college baseball for Georgia Tech. In 1996, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the fourth round of the 1997 MLB draft. Elder began his career with the rookie-level Pulaski Rangers and had a 1.95 earned-run average (ERA) in 20 games. He missed the 1998 season due to Tommy John surgery. Afterwards, he would play in 24 games for the Charlotte Rangers, finishing with a 4-2 win–loss record and a 2.84 ERA. He spent 2000 with the Tulsa Drillers, but struggled due to a high walk rate of 6.8 bases on balls per nine innings.

After spending 2001 with the Drillers and the Oklahoma RedHawks, Elder was traded to the Cleveland Indians on December 18 for John Rocker. He split 2002 with the Akron Aeros and the Buffalo Bisons, then made his major league debut on July 24, 2002. He pitched in 15 games that season and had a 0-2 record and a 3.13 ERA. On May 11, 2003, Elder surrendered Rafael Palmeiro's 500th career home run at The Ballpark in Arlington. This ended up being Elder's final major league game, as he was demoted to the minors shortly afterward.

Elder spent the rest of 2003 with the Bisons, then became a free agent after the 2003 season and signed with the Atlanta Braves. He spent 2004 with the Greenville Braves, the Trenton Thunder of the New York Yankees organization, and the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League. In 2005 and 2006, Elder split the season between Somerset and the Omaha Royals, the Kansas City Royals' Triple-A team. In 2007, he started two games for Somerset before finishing the season with the Vaqueros Laguna in the Mexican League, finishing the season with a 4-1 record and a 2.75 ERA in 26 games; he retired after the season.

While working as a coach and instructor for The Bullpen (a travel baseball organization) located in McDonough, GA., David Elder was responsible for helping develop several major college baseball players, as well as several who went on to play professional baseball

[jimsteel]

Sidney Thornton, a former NFL running back, passed away at the age of 68.

The Steelers organization released a statement on Thornton's passing. Thornton was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2nd round (48th overall) of the 1977 NFL Draft. A 5'11", 230 lb running back from Northwestern State University in Louisiana, Thornton played in 6 NFL seasons from 1977 to 1982 for the Steelers, winning two Super Bowl titles for the team. During his NFL career, he scored 24 touchdowns and played in 74 NFL games. A man called Franco Harris played in front of him.

Thornton returned to pro football in 1984, playing one season with the Oklahoma Outlaws and rushing for 288 yards on 101 carries.

[jimsteel]

Bobby Beathard, a Pro Football Hall of Fame executive who was a general manager in the National Football League, passed away at the age of 86.

Beathard died from Alzheimer's disease at his home in Franklin, Tennessee. He was a GM with the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers. Over the course of his 38 years in the NFL, his teams competed in seven Super Bowls (winning four times), beginning with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966, the Miami Dolphins in 1972 and 1973, the Redskins in 1982, 1983, and 1987, and the Chargers in 1994.

Beathard first joined pro football in 1963 as a part-time scout for the Kansas City Chiefs. He left the Chiefs briefly to scout for the American Football League and returned to Kansas City full-time in 1966. He earned his first AFL championship ring as a member of the 1966 Chiefs organization.

Beathard served as a scout for the Atlanta Falcons from 1968 through 1971. He was named director of player personnel for the Miami Dolphins on February 22, 1972, succeeding Joe Thomas, whose contract dispute with team owner Joe Robbie culminated with his resignation three days prior.The Dolphins won the following two Super Bowls.

In 1978, the Washington Redskins named Beathard general manager. During his tenure in Washington, Beathard, Russ Grimm, Joe Gibbs, and Art Monk helped lead the Redskins to three Super Bowl appearances and two championships. In addition, the 1991 championship team for the Redskins was primarily composed of players that Beathard had brought to the Redskins. Prominent draft picks for the Redskins under his tenure include Art Monk, Mark May, Russ Grimm, Dexter Manley, Charlie Brown, Darrell Green, Charles Mann and Gary Clark. Beathard resigned prior to the 1989 NFL Draft and spent the year as a studio analyst with the NFL on NBC. In 1990, Beathard joined the San Diego Chargers as general manager. In just his third season in San Diego, the organization won its first division title in more than a decade and appeared in its first Super Bowl in 1994. He retired in 2000.

[jimsteel]

Gary Pettigrew, a former NFL defensive tackle, passed away after a steadfast, years-long battle with Myelodysplastic Syndrome. He was 78.

The following is part of his online obituary: "He probably inherited his super-competitor attitude and his interest in athletics from his dad. He attended St. Francis of Assisi parochial school, where he played football, basketball and baseball, and was a standout student at Gonzaga Preparatory School (Class of 1962), where he was a Father Curtis Sharp Award winner (chosen by classmates of the graduating class in recognition of superior academic achievement, high moral standards, outstanding leadership, and committed participation in athletics), All-City football player, starter on the basketball team, and finalist in the half-mile at the Washington state track meet. His academic and athletic credentials qualified him for a football scholarship to Stanford University, where he attended from 1962 to 1966. Other schools wanted him to play for them, including Notre Dame and Oregon (we still have the letter from Oregon head coach Len Casanova inviting him to play for Oregon). It's no wonder, because he had amazing athletic talent: at six feet five inches and 215 pounds, he could run the hundred-yard dash in ten seconds, the quarter-mile in 50 seconds, the half-mile in under two minutes, high-jump over six feet, and put the shot over 50 feet.

Gary stood out as a football player at Stanford, where he played on the offensive line on the freshman team and then lettered for three years on the varsity team as a starter at defensive end. In 1964 Gary achieved All-Pacific Coast first-team honors and in 1965 was co-captain of the team and All-American candidate before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the second game of that season against Navy. In one Stanford-Washington football game (October 19, 1963) at Husky Stadium, when he played right defensive end, he ran down the bootlegging Husky quarterback and tackled him from the opposite side of the field. The astounding feat was featured in the Seattle Times newspaper the next morning with a series of still pictures showing Gary's progress across the field. Along with some other players on the football team, Gary also played rugby for the Stanford JV team in 1965. While at Stanford, he became a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Despite the knee injury, Gary was the second pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1965 National Football League draft, and was also the sixth pick by the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League. At that time, when he was still a Canadian citizen, he had discussions about playing for the BC Lions of Vancouver, his birthplace. He chose to play for the Eagles, who gave him a Chevy Corvette as a signing bonus, and played defensive end and defensive tackle for them for nine years before a one-year stint with the New York Giants in 1975 that marked the end of his football career. Ironically, his head coach with the Eagles was Joe Kuharich, who had tried to recruit him when he was the head coach for Notre Dame. Gary's career as a starting defensive lineman for the Eagles was distinguished, and in 1970 he was named the Eagles' Most Valuable Defensive Player. While in Philadelphia, Gary roomed in Penn Tower with long-time friend Steve Sabol, the president and co-founder of NFL Films and now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After his retirement from football, Gary worked as a sales representative for American Sign and Indicator, selling major league scoring and information display systems to major universities, professional teams, and municipalities. After eight years of that, he grew tired of the travel and in 1986 co-founded Spokane Exercise Equipment with his wife, Patti, who still runs the business. Gary and Patti had a lifelong passion for fitness and healthy lifestyles, and enjoyed helping thousands of people throughout the Northwest achieve their fitness goals."

He played for the following teams during his 9 year NFL career and played in 111 games and recorded 20 sacks with 5 fumble recoveries.
Philadelphia Eagles (1966–1974)
New York Giants (1974)

[TTX]

Meant to post that Bobby one and just forgot to copy the link

RIP to all of them.