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Post by jimsteel on Aug 16, 2024 19:39:55 GMT -5
Doug Asad, a former Tight End in the AFL, passed away at the age of 85 back on May 30th. The following is an excerpt from Asad's online obituary: "He completed grade school and went to Fairview High School in Fairview Park, OH. where he was inducted into the Fairview High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He attended Northwestern University, where he played football for the Wildcats and earned a BA. After graduation, he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders, where he was the nascent Tight End and leading Receiver in 1960 and 1961. After football, Doug became a Financial Advisor for the Illinois Company and Wells Fargo Advisors for over 50 years." during his two years in professional football, Asad played for the 1960-1961 Oakland Raiders and played in 27 games and started in 17 of those contests. During his tenure in Oakland, he had 789 yards receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.
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Post by jimsteel on Aug 17, 2024 21:58:20 GMT -5
Herschell Turner, a basketball player in the ABA and a beloved community leader, passed away on August 13, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the age of 86. Born on March 29, 1938, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Turner made a significant impact on the basketball court from a young age. He starred at Shortridge High School, where his exceptional skills and leadership made him a standout player. Turner continued his basketball journey at the University of Nebraska, becoming the first player in the school’s history to score over 1,000 career points and earning Helms All-American honors. In 1960, Turner was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the NBA draft, but he found his professional footing in the American Basketball Association, playing for the Pittsburgh Pipers and Anaheim Amigos during the 1967-68 season. His contributions to the sport were recognized with his induction into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
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Post by jimsteel on Aug 18, 2024 18:09:16 GMT -5
Tom Neumann, a former halfback for the Boston Patriots, passed away back on December 23, 2023 at the age of 83. This was not reported or recorded on the usual reference sites. The following is an excerpt from Neumann's online obituary: "Tom graduated from Peshtigo High School in 1958. He was a standout athlete in high school and a three-time state champion shot putter. He was offered a scholarship at the University Wisconsin-Madison for football and played in the 1960 Rose Bowl. He later transferred to Northern Michigan University, where he held the rushing record for over 20 years. While attending Northern, Tom found time to start one of the first fast food restaurants in the country named TOGO’s with his friend Gordon Reed. The two co-founders combined parts of their first names, the "TO" from Tom and "GO" from Gordon. He was drafted by the Boston Patriots after graduation. Tom, Sharon and baby Julie moved to Salem, MA, where Tom played football for the Patriots for two years before leaving football with injuries. He was on the first Patriot team to win a playoff game and played in the 1963 AFL championship. Tom’s Bachelor degree from Northern was in teaching and he went back to Wisconsin to teach English and coach high school sports. Eventually, Tom and Sharon moved to Flint MI where Tom served as rotating principal of elementary schools and achieved his master’s degree in education. After couple years, Tom moved to West Iron County schools in the UP as an assistant principal and coach. He began to pursue a career in financial advising during this time. Tom and Sharon chose to move south to Escanaba after it snowed on the fourth of July parade in Caspian Mi, and made Escanaba their personal home. He had a long career as a Financial Planner and was one of the first employees of Edward D Jones." During the 1963 AFL season, Neumann played in 10 games for the Patriots.
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Post by TTX on Aug 18, 2024 18:43:37 GMT -5
Boston Patriots..feels so long ago.
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Post by jimsteel on Aug 20, 2024 6:35:03 GMT -5
William Leslie "Bucky" Wegener, a former guard in the American Football League, passed away on August 7th at the age of 84. Wegener played college football at Missouri and after college he was drafted into the NFL by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16th round of the 1962 NFL Draft. However he never was rostered by the Cardinals and his football career went south to Houston, where he signed and played with the Oilers. During the 1962 and 1963 seasons he played in 18 games and started in 5 of those contests. He also played on the defensive line during his career and had a sack in the 1962 AFL championship game againt the Dallas Texans.
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Post by jimsteel on Aug 20, 2024 16:15:38 GMT -5
Mike Meeker, a former NHL center, passed away back on June 5th at the age of 66. The following is an excerpt from Meeker's online obituary: "Mike had a prolific hockey career which traversed tier two juniors (Nepean Raiders), NCAA (Wisconsin Badgers), OHL (Peterborough Petes), AHL (Binghamton Dusters), NHL (Pittsburgh Penguins) and professional hockey in Sweden (Karlskrona).
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Post by jimsteel on Aug 21, 2024 6:58:08 GMT -5
The Whitby Sports Hall of Fame acknowledges the passing of Frank Bonello on May 1, 2024, at the age of 91. Frank was inducted in 1998 as a member of the 1958 World Champion Whitby Dunlops hockey team. After his playing career, Frank won two Memorial Cup championships as coach and general manager of the Toronto Marlboros (1973 and 1975), and subsequently served as Director of Central Scouting for the National Hockey League from 1988 to 2005.
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Post by jimsteel on Aug 21, 2024 14:21:25 GMT -5
Alvin “Al” Attles, a beloved figure in the NBA and a cornerstone of the Golden State Warriors, passed away on August 20, 2024, at the age of 87. Known affectionately as “The Destroyer” for his tenacious playing style, Al’s legacy extends far beyond his on-court prowess. Al Attles dedicated more than six decades to the Warriors organization, a tenure that began when he was drafted in the fifth round of the 1960 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors. He played a pivotal role in some of the most memorable moments in NBA history, including Wilt Chamberlain’s legendary 100-point game in 1962. Transitioning from player to coach, Al made history as one of the NBA’s first Black head coaches. He led the Warriors to their first NBA Championship in 1975, orchestrating one of the greatest upsets in Finals history with a team that epitomized grit and determination. His coaching career spanned over 13 seasons, during which he earned immense respect for his strategic acumen and leadership. Beyond his coaching achievements, Al served as a general manager and team ambassador, embodying the spirit of the Warriors both on and off the court. His commitment to the team and the community was unwavering, earning him the title of “Mr. Warrior.” Al Attles’ impact on the game of basketball and the lives he touched will be remembered fondly. He leaves behind a legacy of excellence, humility, and dedication that will continue to inspire future generations.
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Post by TDalton on Aug 23, 2024 10:25:36 GMT -5
Think we missed former MLB player Mike Cubbage, who died on August 10th. Primarily known as a Twins third baseman in the late 1970s. Batted .258 over an 8 year career and had a .699 lifetime OPS. He always did well for me in Strat, though.
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Post by jimsteel on Aug 23, 2024 11:21:24 GMT -5
Nick Mileti, a former owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA and the Cleveland Indians in the MLB, passed away on August 21st at the age of 93. Born in southeast Cleveland, Mileti put himself through college, graduating from Bowling Green State University in 1953. The BGSU Alumni Center is now named in his honor. He was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity at BGSU. Following his time at BGSU, he earned a J.D. degree from Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law in 1956. After military service, he opened a law practice in Lakewood, Ohio and became prosecutor there after befriending the mayor. He became involved in sports after serving as chairman of the Bowling Green Alumni Association and organizing a BGSU game at the Cleveland Arena. Shortly thereafter, he purchased the Arena and its prime tenant, the original Cleveland Barons hockey team. Recognizing that the Arena needed another tenant, he sought an expansion NBA team for Cleveland.
Mileti spearheaded a group that purchased ownership rights to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1970 to enter the league as an expansion team, paying a fee of $3.7 million; he eventually sold his twenty percent interest in the team in 1980 for $1.4 million. Another syndicate he headed purchased the Indians in 1972 for $10 million from Vernon Stouffer. His partnerships with the Indians included Howard Metzenbaum and Ted Bonda.
Soon after winning the Cavaliers franchise, Mileti realized that Cleveland Arena was nearing the end of its useful life. But when politicians balked at building a new arena downtown, he bought land in Richfield, halfway between Cleveland and Akron, and built the Richfield Coliseum, at the time the largest arena in the country.
In late 1972, Mileti formed Ohio Communications with veteran radio executive Tom Embrescia, who acquired WKYC AM/1100 and FM/105.7 from NBC, renaming them "3WE" WWWE-AM and "M105" WWWM-FM. Mileti then moved the radio play-by-play rights for the Indians and Cavaliers, as well as pioneering sports talk host Pete Franklin's Sportsline, to WWWE. Already the most powerful AM station in Cleveland, with a 50,000 watt clear channel signal, WWWE quickly turned into a sports radio powerhouse.
In his sports ownership heyday, Mileti was a master of leverage of sorts, owning 51 percent of his enterprises with little of his own money at risk. The practice came back to haunt him not long after he bought the Indians. He only paid for controlling interest with $500,000 of his own money, with the rest secured through loans. The lenders first grew concerned when the construction of the Richfield Coliseum was bogged down by lawsuits and cost overruns.
Despite this, Mileti had ambitious plans for reviving a team that had spent the better part of the last two decades in the bottom half of the American League. One of his first acts as owner was to hire new scouts; Stouffer made drastic cuts to player development. However, his plans were brought undone when two major partners in his Indian syndicate, Steve O'Neill and Gabe Paul, joined George Steinbrenner's bid to buy the New York Yankees. While Mileti was able to find new investors, it wasn't enough to restore the confidence of his lenders, who believed he was spread too thin. Mileti was forced to name Bonda as the team's executive vice president and chairman. For all intents and purposes, his tenure as owner was over, though Mileti didn't formally sell out his stake to Bonda until 1975.
Mileti also founded and was the principal owner of the short-lived CFL team, the Las Vegas Posse in 1994.
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