Celebrity deaths
Former South Carolina football star, AD Dixon dead at 83

Jul. 07, 2020 01:03 PM EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former South Carolina running back, athletic director and board of trustees member King Dixon died Monday. He was 83. ...

FILE - In this April 14, 2018, file photo, Blue team coach Johnny Majors, a former Pittsburgh NCAA college football coach, is shown before the annual Blue Gold game in Pittsburgh. Majors, the coach of Pittsburgh’s 1976 national championship team and a former coach and star player at Tennessee, has died. He was 85. Majors died Wednesday morning, June 3, 2020, at home in Knoxville, Tenn., according to a statement from his wife, Mary Lynn Majors.(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
Johnny Majors, former Tennessee and Pitt coach, dies at 85

Jun. 03, 2020 11:11 AM EDT

FILE - This is a 2015 file photo showing Tarvaris Jackson of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. Former NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has died in a one-car crash outside Montgomery, Ala., authorities said Monday, April 13, 2020. He was 36. The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro that Jackson was driving went off the road, struck a tree and overturned at 8:50 p.m. Sunday, Trooper Benjamin “Michael” Carswell, an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency spokesman, said in a news release. Jackson was pronounced dead at a hospital. (AP Photo/File)
Ex-NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, 36, dies in car crash

Apr. 13, 2020 12:49 PM EDT

Star Navy offensive lineman found dead in academy dorm

Feb. 22, 2020 11:48 AM EST
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — David Forney, a star lineman for Navy's record-breaking offense, was found dead in his dormitory, the cause of death undisclosed. He was...

FILE- In this Aug. 7, 2010, file photo, Marylou Whitney watches horse racing from her box seats at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Philanthropist, socialite and horse-racing enthusiast Marylou Whitney, known as the "Queen of Saratoga," died on July 19, 2019, at her Saratoga Springs estate after a long illness. She was 93. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)
Sports losses in 2019: Newcombe, Robinson, Starr, Havlicek

By Fred Lief Dec. 29, 2019 11:26 AM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2018, file photo, Luke Perry poses for a portrait during the 2018 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. A publicist for Perry says the "Riverdale" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" star has died. He was 52. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2019

By Bernard Mcghee Dec. 23, 2019 10:13 AM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 1993, file photo, Iowa football coach Hayden Fry is carried off the field after his team defeated Minnesota in an NCAA college football game, giving him his 200th career victory in Iowa City, Iowa. Fry, the Texan who revived Iowa football and became a Hawkeye State institution, died Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, after a long battle with cancer. He was 90. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
Hayden Fry, Texan who turned around Iowa, dies at 90

By Ralph D. Russo Dec. 17, 2019 09:34 PM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2018, file photo, Luke Perry poses for a portrait during the 2018 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. A publicist for Perry says the "Riverdale" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" star has died. He was 52. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
2018 Summer TCA - "xxx" Portrait Session

Dec. 16, 2019 12:48 PM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2010, file photo, Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead (4) throws a pass during the first half of the Cotton Bowl NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Snead, the former Mississippi quarterback who ranks among the school's career passing leaders, has died in Texas. He was 32. Police say officers responding to a deceased-person call found Snead dead in Austin, Texas, Saturday night, Sept. 21, 2019. Austin police provided no information except to say Snead's death isn't considered suspicious. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes, File)
Jevan Snead, ex-Ole Miss quarterback, dies in Texas at 32

By Jim Vertuno Sep. 23, 2019 11:59 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 file photo, Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Neiron Ball (58) stands on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Oakland, Calif. Former Oakland Raiders linebacker Neiron Ball, who played college football at Florida after recovering from brain surgery, has died. He was 27.(AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Bengals-Raiders 9/13/2015

Sep. 10, 2019 05:11 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 file photo, Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Neiron Ball (58) stands on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Oakland, Calif. Former Oakland Raiders linebacker Neiron Ball, who played college football at Florida after recovering from brain surgery, has died. He was 27.(AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Former Raiders, Gators linebacker Neiron Ball dies at age 27

By The Associated Press Sep. 10, 2019 04:59 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2004 file photo Texas running back Cedric Benson is shown in the bench area during the fourth quarter of his team's 56-35 victory over Oklahoma State in Austin, Texas. Benson, one of the most prolific rushers in NCAA and University of Texas history, has died in a motorcycle accident in Texas, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. He was 36. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck, file)
Former Longhorns, NFL RB Benson dies in motorcycle accident

By Jim Vertuno Aug. 18, 2019 12:58 PM EDT

In this circa 1988 photo, AP sports writer Ed Shearer covers an NCAA college football game between Georgia and Tennessee at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. Shearer, a longtime sports writer with The Associated Press who covered the Olympics, Super Bowl, World Series and Hank Aaron's 715th homer but left his most lasting mark as the "SEC Seer," a prognosticator of Southern football known throughout the nation, died Monday., June 14, 2019. He was 82. (AP Corporate Archives via AP)
Longtime AP sports writer Ed Shearer dies at 82

By Paul Newberry Jun. 24, 2019 05:02 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2009, file photo, sports writer Dan Jenkins, right, stands next to his daughter, Sally Jenkins, at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Jenkins, the sports writing great and best-selling author known for his humor, has died. He was 89. TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati confirmed Jenkins died Thursday, March 7, 2019, in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Dan Jenkins, sports writing great and author, dies at 89

Mar. 08, 2019 09:32 AM EST

Sports mourns 1960s touchstones: Mikita, Taylor, McCovey

By Fred Lief Dec. 28, 2018 10:40 AM EST
They were touchstones of sports in the 1960s, and sports lost three of the best in 2018: big-hitting Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants; Jim Taylor, the...

FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2015, file photo, Bill Fralic watches a news conference in Pittsburgh. Former star Atlanta Falcons lineman Bill Fralic died Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. He was 56. Fralic was a three-time All-American offensive lineman at Pittsburgh. The university said he had cancer and died at his home in suburban Atlanta. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
Bill Fralic, star lineman for Pitt and Falcons, dies at 56

Dec. 14, 2018 01:56 PM EST

Former Michigan State star Walt Kowalczyk dies at age 83

Nov. 08, 2018 07:13 PM EST
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Walt Kowalczyk, a star halfback at Michigan State who finished third in the 1957 Heisman Trophy race, has died. He was 83. ...

Longtime Eastern Illinois football coach Bob Spoo dies at 80

Oct. 15, 2018 03:19 PM EDT
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) — Former Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo, whose players included future NFL quarterbacks Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo, has died at age 80. ...

FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2012, file photo, Indiana University alumnus and former NFL player George Taliaferro holds the "COLORED" sign he took from the Princess Theater during the 1940s, when all the Bloomington theaters were segregated, in Bloomington, Ind. He spoke at a celebration of the 90-year-old Indiana Theater. Taliaferro, a standout running back for Indiana who became the first black player to be drafted by an NFL team when George Halas and the Chicago Bears took him in the 13th round of the NFL draft, has died. He was 91. Senior associate athletic director Jeremy Gray said Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018, the Hoosiers had spoken with Taliaferro’s family about his death in Mason, Ohio. (AP Photo/Bloomington Herald-Times, Jeremy Hogan)/The Herald-Times via AP)
George Taliaferro, 1st black drafted by NFL team, dies at 91

Oct. 09, 2018 04:10 PM EDT

Former Southern California DB Kevin Ellison dies at 31

Oct. 08, 2018 08:35 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Southern California defensive back Kevin Ellison, who was a captain for the Trojans before a brief NFL career, has died, He was 31. ...