kepdawg
12-27-2008, 11:50 PM
Notable Texas sports deaths in 2008
10:30 PM CST on Saturday, December 27, 2008
From Staff and Wire Reports
Lone Star salutes to those with Texas ties who died this past year
Tony Elliott
The nose tackle for UNT and the New Orleans Saints in the 1980s died at his home in Bridgeport, Conn., on Jan. 3. He was 48. Elliott was left paralyzed from the waist down after a shooting in 2000.
Ernie Holmes
A member of the Steelers' "Steel Curtain" in the 1970s and a two-time Super Bowl champion, Holmes died Jan. 17 in a car wreck in Lumberton, Texas. He was 59. He was a preacher in Wiergate, Texas, a town close to the Louisiana border.
William 'Rooster' Andrews
Andrews, the water boy at Texas who was asked to drop-kick a few extra points in the mid-1940s, died Jan. 21 at age 84. Andrews later owned a sporting goods store on Guadalupe Street in Austin and was a familiar sight on campus. He is a member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, though he never played or coached high school football.
Mike Holovak
The former general manager of the Houston Oilers and the coach who took the Patriots to their first championship game died Jan. 27 at 88.
John Grimsley
The former Houston Oilers linebacker who played 10 NFL seasons was found fatally shot, apparently a victim of a gun-cleaning accident, on Feb. 6.
Marion 'Red' McCollum
The longtime Dallas ISD football coach (at J.B. Hood Junior High and Skyline) died Feb. 8. He was 82.
Raleigh Blakely
The SMU tight end in the late 1940s died Feb. 10 at age 83.
Jack Keck
The former Carter football coach died Feb. 21 at age 81. He coached in the DISD for more than 20 years and was the head coach at Carter before Freddie James took over in 1982.
Margaret Koy Kistler
Believed to be the first female sportswriter in Texas, Kistler, 63, died of a heart attack Feb. 22 in Bellville, Texas. She began covering sports at The Bellville Times at age 13 and had stints in Abilene, Temple and at the Austin bureau of The Dallas Morning News.
David Edwards
The former high school football player who was paralyzed in a 2003 playoff game and whose injury was fictionalized in TV's Friday Night Lights, died Feb. 27 in San Antonio at age 20. He had pneumonia.
Gilbert 'Buddy' Dial
The former Cowboys wide receiver (1964-66) and an All-American at Rice died Feb. 29 at age 71.
Gary Hart
One of the top performers in the 1980s in Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling in the role of a villainous manager, Hart (birth name Gary Williams) died of a heart attack March 16 at age 66.
Fred Jacoby
The former Southwest Conference commissioner from 1982-93 died March 15. He was 80. He also was commissioner of the Lone Star and American Southwest conferences until retiring in 2006.
Bill McClure
The former Abilene Christian and LSU track coach, and assistant for the 1972 U.S. team at the Olympics, died May 24. He was 86.
Tom Hadley
The longtime rodeo announcer, who spent much of his life in Mason, Texas, and was the voice of the National Finals Rodeo in 1971, 1973 and 1982, died at age 80 on June 2.
Stoney Garland
The former Texas Tech defensive tackle died June 4 at home in Plains. He was 33 and spent the last 10 ½ years in a wheelchair after he was paralyzed in a car accident.
Dwight White
The former Steelers defensive end from East Texas State (now Texas A&M-Commerce) died on June 6. He was 58. White, known as "Mad Dog," helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls in the 1970s.
Tom Catlin
The former NFL assistant coach, onetime coach of the AFL's Dallas Texans, and a member of Bud Wilkinson's 1950 national championship team at Oklahoma, died June 10. He was 76.
Dan Cook
The San Antonio sports writer, who was famous for the phrase "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings," died at age 81 on July 3. He worked at the San Antonio Express-News for 51 years.
Terrence Kiel
The former Texas A&M and San Diego Chargers safety was killed July 5 in a car accident. He was 27.
Bob Ackles
The Cowboys' first director of pro personnel, hired in 1986 by Tex Schramm and promoted to director of player personnel by Jerry Jones, died July 6 of a heart attack at age 69. He was also president and CEO of the CFL's B.C. Lions.
Mike Souchak
The former PGA Tour professional, who set a record for lowest four-round score at the 1955 Texas Open (257) that stood until 2001, died July 10 in Clearwater, Fla., from complications after a heart attack. He was 81. Souchak won twice more in Texas, at the 1956 Colonial and the 1964 Houston Classic.
Jim 'Hoss' Brock
The former Cotton Bowl Athletic Association executive and Fort Worth native died Aug. 14 at age 74. Brock was the Bowl's executive director from 1979-1992 and also served as TCU sports information director.
Frank Cornish IV
The offensive lineman, who played on the Cowboys' Super Bowl- winning teams in 1992 and 1993, died in his sleep in Southlake on Aug. 22. He was 40.
Alvin VanZandt
The former football coach at Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and others died Aug. 28 in Beaumont at age 69.
Evan Tanner
The Ultimate Fighting Championship star and state wrestling champ at Caprock High in Amarillo was found dead in the desert near San Diego on Sept. 8, apparently the victim of heat exposure. He was 37.
Bill Bookout
Euless Trinity's first football coach, who was also a cornerback for Oklahoma and played for the Green Bay Packers, died from a heart attack suffered at Pennington Field on Oct. 10. He was 76.
John Robert 'Red' Murff
The New York Mets scout who discovered and worked with Rangers president and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan died Nov. 28 in Tyler, Texas, at age 87. Ryan mentioned Murff in his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1999.
Marion Thornton Starling
The three-time Baylor baseball letterman, who was the oldest living Baylor letterwinner at age 95, died Nov. 29.
Jack Mildren
The former Oklahoma Wishbone quarterback and former lieutenant governor of Oklahoma died May 22 from complications of stomach cancer. He was 58. Mildren led the Sooners to an 11-1 record in 1970 and had 5,196 yards on 813 rushes.
Don Haskins
The Hall of Fame college basketball coach, who won a national championship at Texas Western (now UT-El Paso) in 1966, died Sept. 7 at age 78.
Orville Moody
The PGA Tour professional, whose only victory was the 1969 U.S. Open over Miller Barber at Champions Golf Club in Houston, died Aug. 8 from multiple myeloma in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He was 74. Moody won 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour).
Sammy Baugh
A charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Baugh, who was a two-time All-America at TCU before starring for the Washington Redskins, died Dec. 17 at age 94.
Compiled by Staff Writer Richard Durrett
LINK (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/122808dnspotexdeaths.3b4f203.html)
10:30 PM CST on Saturday, December 27, 2008
From Staff and Wire Reports
Lone Star salutes to those with Texas ties who died this past year
Tony Elliott
The nose tackle for UNT and the New Orleans Saints in the 1980s died at his home in Bridgeport, Conn., on Jan. 3. He was 48. Elliott was left paralyzed from the waist down after a shooting in 2000.
Ernie Holmes
A member of the Steelers' "Steel Curtain" in the 1970s and a two-time Super Bowl champion, Holmes died Jan. 17 in a car wreck in Lumberton, Texas. He was 59. He was a preacher in Wiergate, Texas, a town close to the Louisiana border.
William 'Rooster' Andrews
Andrews, the water boy at Texas who was asked to drop-kick a few extra points in the mid-1940s, died Jan. 21 at age 84. Andrews later owned a sporting goods store on Guadalupe Street in Austin and was a familiar sight on campus. He is a member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, though he never played or coached high school football.
Mike Holovak
The former general manager of the Houston Oilers and the coach who took the Patriots to their first championship game died Jan. 27 at 88.
John Grimsley
The former Houston Oilers linebacker who played 10 NFL seasons was found fatally shot, apparently a victim of a gun-cleaning accident, on Feb. 6.
Marion 'Red' McCollum
The longtime Dallas ISD football coach (at J.B. Hood Junior High and Skyline) died Feb. 8. He was 82.
Raleigh Blakely
The SMU tight end in the late 1940s died Feb. 10 at age 83.
Jack Keck
The former Carter football coach died Feb. 21 at age 81. He coached in the DISD for more than 20 years and was the head coach at Carter before Freddie James took over in 1982.
Margaret Koy Kistler
Believed to be the first female sportswriter in Texas, Kistler, 63, died of a heart attack Feb. 22 in Bellville, Texas. She began covering sports at The Bellville Times at age 13 and had stints in Abilene, Temple and at the Austin bureau of The Dallas Morning News.
David Edwards
The former high school football player who was paralyzed in a 2003 playoff game and whose injury was fictionalized in TV's Friday Night Lights, died Feb. 27 in San Antonio at age 20. He had pneumonia.
Gilbert 'Buddy' Dial
The former Cowboys wide receiver (1964-66) and an All-American at Rice died Feb. 29 at age 71.
Gary Hart
One of the top performers in the 1980s in Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling in the role of a villainous manager, Hart (birth name Gary Williams) died of a heart attack March 16 at age 66.
Fred Jacoby
The former Southwest Conference commissioner from 1982-93 died March 15. He was 80. He also was commissioner of the Lone Star and American Southwest conferences until retiring in 2006.
Bill McClure
The former Abilene Christian and LSU track coach, and assistant for the 1972 U.S. team at the Olympics, died May 24. He was 86.
Tom Hadley
The longtime rodeo announcer, who spent much of his life in Mason, Texas, and was the voice of the National Finals Rodeo in 1971, 1973 and 1982, died at age 80 on June 2.
Stoney Garland
The former Texas Tech defensive tackle died June 4 at home in Plains. He was 33 and spent the last 10 ½ years in a wheelchair after he was paralyzed in a car accident.
Dwight White
The former Steelers defensive end from East Texas State (now Texas A&M-Commerce) died on June 6. He was 58. White, known as "Mad Dog," helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls in the 1970s.
Tom Catlin
The former NFL assistant coach, onetime coach of the AFL's Dallas Texans, and a member of Bud Wilkinson's 1950 national championship team at Oklahoma, died June 10. He was 76.
Dan Cook
The San Antonio sports writer, who was famous for the phrase "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings," died at age 81 on July 3. He worked at the San Antonio Express-News for 51 years.
Terrence Kiel
The former Texas A&M and San Diego Chargers safety was killed July 5 in a car accident. He was 27.
Bob Ackles
The Cowboys' first director of pro personnel, hired in 1986 by Tex Schramm and promoted to director of player personnel by Jerry Jones, died July 6 of a heart attack at age 69. He was also president and CEO of the CFL's B.C. Lions.
Mike Souchak
The former PGA Tour professional, who set a record for lowest four-round score at the 1955 Texas Open (257) that stood until 2001, died July 10 in Clearwater, Fla., from complications after a heart attack. He was 81. Souchak won twice more in Texas, at the 1956 Colonial and the 1964 Houston Classic.
Jim 'Hoss' Brock
The former Cotton Bowl Athletic Association executive and Fort Worth native died Aug. 14 at age 74. Brock was the Bowl's executive director from 1979-1992 and also served as TCU sports information director.
Frank Cornish IV
The offensive lineman, who played on the Cowboys' Super Bowl- winning teams in 1992 and 1993, died in his sleep in Southlake on Aug. 22. He was 40.
Alvin VanZandt
The former football coach at Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and others died Aug. 28 in Beaumont at age 69.
Evan Tanner
The Ultimate Fighting Championship star and state wrestling champ at Caprock High in Amarillo was found dead in the desert near San Diego on Sept. 8, apparently the victim of heat exposure. He was 37.
Bill Bookout
Euless Trinity's first football coach, who was also a cornerback for Oklahoma and played for the Green Bay Packers, died from a heart attack suffered at Pennington Field on Oct. 10. He was 76.
John Robert 'Red' Murff
The New York Mets scout who discovered and worked with Rangers president and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan died Nov. 28 in Tyler, Texas, at age 87. Ryan mentioned Murff in his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1999.
Marion Thornton Starling
The three-time Baylor baseball letterman, who was the oldest living Baylor letterwinner at age 95, died Nov. 29.
Jack Mildren
The former Oklahoma Wishbone quarterback and former lieutenant governor of Oklahoma died May 22 from complications of stomach cancer. He was 58. Mildren led the Sooners to an 11-1 record in 1970 and had 5,196 yards on 813 rushes.
Don Haskins
The Hall of Fame college basketball coach, who won a national championship at Texas Western (now UT-El Paso) in 1966, died Sept. 7 at age 78.
Orville Moody
The PGA Tour professional, whose only victory was the 1969 U.S. Open over Miller Barber at Champions Golf Club in Houston, died Aug. 8 from multiple myeloma in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He was 74. Moody won 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour).
Sammy Baugh
A charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Baugh, who was a two-time All-America at TCU before starring for the Washington Redskins, died Dec. 17 at age 94.
Compiled by Staff Writer Richard Durrett
LINK (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/122808dnspotexdeaths.3b4f203.html)