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WASHINGTON — A pro football Hall of Famer and one of the best defensive players in NBA history. A female motocross racing pioneer. And a polarizing but charismatic gymnastics coach.
The world this year said goodbye to many key figures who left a lasting impact on their respective sports.
Here are sports legends and trailblazers the world lost in 2024.
Franz Beckenbauer, 78. He won the World Cup both as a player and coach and became one of Germany’s most beloved personalities with his easygoing charm. Jan. 7.
Dejan Milojevic, 46. He was the Golden State Warriors assistant coach, a mentor to two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and a former star player in his native Serbia. Jan. 16.
Shawn Barber, 29. He was a standout Canadian pole vault record holder who captured back-to-back NCAA indoor championships in 2014 and 2015. Jan. 18.
Jack Burke Jr., 100. He was the oldest living Masters champion and staged the greatest comeback ever at Augusta National for one of his two majors. Jan. 19.
Gigi Riva, 79. The all-time leading goal scorer for Italy’s men’s national team was known as the “Rombo di Tuono” (Rumble of Thunder). Jan. 22.
Carl Weathers, 76. A former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore.” Feb. 1.
Lefty Driesell, 92. The Hall of Fame coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs. Feb. 17.
Vontae Davis, 35. He was a former Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts cornerback who was drafted 25th overall by the Dolphins in 2009 out of Illinois. April 1.
Lou Whittaker, 95. A legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state. March 24.
O.J. Simpson, 76. The decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial. April 10.
Carl Erskine, 97. He pitched two no-hitters as a mainstay on the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series. April 16.
Dick Rutan, 85. He, along with copilot Jeana Yeager, completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling. May 3.
Sean Burroughs, 43. A two-time Little League World Series champion who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse. May 10.
Grayson Murray, 30. He was a two-time PGA Tour winner who won the Sony Open this year and the Barbasol Championship in 2017. May 25.
Bill Walton, 71. He starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Fame center for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars in basketball broadcasting. May 27.
Jerry West, 86. Selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, his silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo. June 12.
Willie Mays, 93. The electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players. June 18.
Pål Enger, 57. A talented Norwegian soccer player turned celebrity art thief who pulled off the sensational 1994 heist of Edvard Munch’s famed “The Scream” painting from the National Gallery in Oslo. June 29.
Richard Simmons, 76. He was television’s hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better. July 13.
Jacoby Jones, 40. A former NFL receiver whose 108-yard kickoff return in 2013 remains the longest touchdown in Super Bowl history. July 14.
Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, 88. A Hall of Fame golfer whose antics on the greens and inspiring life story made him among the sport’s most popular players during a long professional career. Aug. 8.
Al Attles, 87. A Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA champion Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador. Aug. 20.
Sid “Sid Vicious” Eudy, 63. He was a former wrestler who won two WWE championships, two World Championship Wrestling titles and a United States championship. Aug. 26.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31. An NHL player known as “Johnny Hockey,” he played 10 full seasons in the league. Aug. 29. Killed along with his brother when hit by a car while riding bicycles.
Joe Schmidt, 92. The Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team. Sept. 11.
Pete Rose, 83. Baseball’s career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied. Sept. 30.
Dikembe Mutombo, 58. A Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game. Sept. 30. Brain cancer.
Fernando Valenzuela, 63. The Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981. Oct. 22.
Bobby Allison, 86. He was founder of racing’s “Alabama Gang” and a NASCAR Hall of Famer. Nov. 9.
Bela Karolyi, 82. The charismatic, if polarizing, gymnastics coach turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport. Nov. 15.
Mary McGee, 87. A female racing pioneer and subject profiled in the Oscar-contending documentary “Motorcycle Mary.” Nov. 27.
Lou Carnesecca, 99. The excitable St. John’s coach whose outlandish sweaters became an emblem of his team’s rousing Final Four run in 1985 and who was a treasured figure in New York sports. Nov. 30.
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