I remembered that because he died on my birthday.
-
ATTENTION: Do you have a local card shop near you? If so, please help us out by adding their location into our new card shop tool.
2020 RIP Thread
- Thread starter katester44
- Start date
That is quite a coincidence, Hondo was an all time great, probably not as well remembered in this generation, but a real foundational player in the Celtics dynasty!
Blessings,
Kevin
Yes! He was famous for running everywhere, and kept in great condition at a time when training in the off season was in its infancy. One wonders if players of that day would stack up against more recent players if conditioning were on the same level in both eras. So many players only worked out during training camp, spring training, etc. and relied more on natural abilities than superior physicality.
Love the stories about Heinsohn - by all accounts that I had heard, he was a great guy.
Another unfortunate passing yesterday -- The Golden Boy - Paul Hornung. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Green Bay Packers. If we are to believe the story, completely hungover not expecting to play, ends up the MVP of Super Bowl I??
Getting back to the passing of Alex Trebek - many names have been rumored to be a potential replacement - Ken Jennings, George Stephanopoulos and than the one that I think would be an outstanding choice - LeVar Burton.
Another unfortunate passing yesterday -- The Golden Boy - Paul Hornung. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Green Bay Packers. If we are to believe the story, completely hungover not expecting to play, ends up the MVP of Super Bowl I??
Getting back to the passing of Alex Trebek - many names have been rumored to be a potential replacement - Ken Jennings, George Stephanopoulos and than the one that I think would be an outstanding choice - LeVar Burton.
Holy crap! Another Lombardi era Packer passes away in 2020. In addition to Hornung, Willie Wood, Willie Davis and Herb Adderley died this year! The passing of an era I'm sad to say.
Not to make light of this by any means but with all of these 1960s and 70s HOFers passing away this year it seems like the majority of my sports card collection has passed away too. Given the age of these former players it is not surprising but the incredible number of these guys who died in the past few months is just a shock!
Here is a Hornung factoid for you. He set the single season scoring record in 1960 when they only played 12 games with 176 points. This record was not broken until 2006 when LaDanian Tomlison broke it in a 16 game season. Hornung served as both the place kicker and the halfback for the Packers so he did have an advantage with that but holding that record for nearly a halgf a century is impressive. He also should have been in the Pro Football HOF decades before he did but a bettig scandal in 1963 prevented both he and Alex karas from getting in earlier.
That is really interesting, Jeff, I had no idea he was the single season scoring leader, that is so cool! He was a great player, no doubt!
As far as the ending of an era, that is so true. The HOFers and old timers are passing at an alarming rate this year. So sad.
Blessings,
Kevin
Kevin one old time player that is still alive is Johnny Lujack. I almost picked up a beautiful 1950 Bowman card of him in a local trade a week or so ago and I remembered us talking about him still being alive. I looked it up and he is still with us at 95 years old! I'm pretty sure you had a custom autograph card of him and I was surprised you were able to get his autograph since I jsut assumed he had passed away many years ago.. This was a few years ago and I was glad to see he was still alive.
Johnny is still alive, but unfortunately not signing anymore due to his advanced age. He was a very reliable and gracious TTM signer for many years though! I gave that custom away to a friend of mine who loves the Bears, as Johnny is probably one of the only old timers from that era still living! He lives most of the year in Bettendorf, Iowa, and spends winters in San Diego I believe. Neat man, a WWII vet, who has been a class act his whole life!
Blessings,
Kevin
Some of his longevity may be due to the fact he only played 2 years at Notre Dame and 4 years with the Bears. Football back then was just a brutal affair. After WWII pro football was probably a walk in the park for those guys though.
For such a legendary name in football, it is surprising that I know so little about him. I always think of him with Notre Dame and am not sure I would have correctly guessed the Bears as his pro team. I need to read up on him.
Here are two interesting facts about him. Both an aging Sid Luckman and a young George Blanda backed him up as the Bear's QB in 1949 and 1950. Luckman was obviously on the way out due to age and Blanda was an up and comer. Also Lujack left the Bears after 4 years to become an assistant at Notre Dame as a favor to his former coach Frank Leahy. I cannot even imagine anything like that happening today but that shows college football was much more important and popular then pro football back then. Quitea life this guy has lived!
For such a legendary name in football, it is surprising that I know so little about him. I always think of him with Notre Dame and am not sure I would have correctly guessed the Bears as his pro team. I need to read up on him.
Here are two interesting facts about him. Both an aging Sid Luckman and a young George Blanda backed him up as the Bear's QB in 1949 and 1950. Luckman was obviously on the way out due to age and Blanda was an up and comer. Also Lujack left the Bears after 4 years to become an assistant at Notre Dame as a favor to his former coach Frank Leahy. I cannot even imagine anything like that happening today but that shows college football was much more important and popular then pro football back then. Quitea life this guy has lived!
RIP Diego Maradona - passed away at age 60. Fixture on the Argentina National Team. Had the famous "Hand of God" goal in the World Cup -- the last time that Argentina won the cup.
I would absolutely agree, what a life! And an interesting comment on the enduring popularity of college football, while the NFL was still a relatively new league (20-ish years old). To have played for both George Halas and Frank Leahy, quite an accomplishment! Johnny must be one of the last living players from that era, and one of the only people in history to have accomplished playing for both of those men!
God bless, Happy Thanksgiving!
Kevin
I was very sad to hear that the actor Hugh Keayes-Byrne passed away yesterday at age 73. He played the Toecutter who was the unforgetable main villain in Mad Max which is either 1 or 1A on my all time favorite movie list.. I have watched that movie so many times I pretty much know all the lines by heart. Given that movie is a "cult classic", I'm not sure what that says about me since I seem to favor a lot of things that have "cult" followings!! But I am sad to see one of my favorite movie characters pass away.
And to quote the Toecutter "Remember him when you look at the night sky".
And to quote the Toecutter "Remember him when you look at the night sky".
Have been missing a bunch the past couple of days -- RIP Rafer Johnson.
Love that movie and the quote that you pulled for him!
Don't remember his name, but the actor who played Darth Vader passed away this week. And another WWF superstar passed away -- Pat Patterson. His prime was a bit before my time as a wrestling fan, but do remember him as an "executive" type guy who showed up on many broadcasts.
RIP David Lander -- played Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley. Used to be a staple in my household when I was younger. Happy Days/L&S, back to back.
Much like Ginger/Mary Ann, you had to pick one -- and i was in the Shirley camp.
Much like Ginger/Mary Ann, you had to pick one -- and i was in the Shirley camp.
David Prowse was the actor who portrayed Vader in the original Trilogy. He possessed the distinction of playing Darth but not voicing the character, leaving that to the magnificent basso profundo voice of James Earl Jones, which I think is one of the main reasons that character made the original Star Wars in 1977!
Prowse had been a mainstay at autograph shows for many years, and had a very cool signature:
This is the picture of Rafer that I always think of, when he lit the torch at the 84 Summer Games. If I remember correctly it was the 2 page spread in SI the next week.
Attachments
-
20201206_170259.jpg
