Notable sports deaths in 2017

Johnny Bower

Bower, a beloved former Maple Leaf goalie who helped Toronto win its last Stanley Cup in 1967, died Tuesday, Dec. 26. He was 93. Bower's family said in a statement the Hall of Famer died following a short battle with pneumonia.

Dick Enberg

The legendary sportscaster who got his big break with UCLA basketball and went on to call Super Bowls, Olympics, Final Fours and Angels and Padres baseball games, died on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. He was 82.

Pete Brown

Brown, who helped form the Bengals franchise and served in the team's personnel department, died on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the age of 74.

Tommy Nobis

Nobis, the first player drafted by the expansion Atlanta Falcons and a hard-hitting middle linebacker who was never fully recognized for his talents on a struggling franchise that failed to make the playoffs during his long career, died Wednesday, Dec. 13, after an extended illness. He was 74.The team said he died at his suburban Atlanta home with his wife, Lynn, at his side.

Terry Glenn

Glenn, a former wide receiver for the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, died early Monday, Nov. 20, following a one-vehicle rollover traffic accident near Dallas that left his fiancée slightly hurt, officials said. He was 43.

Jana Novotna

Novotna, the 1998 Wimbledon women's singles champion and 12-time doubles Grand Slam winner, died on Nov. 19 after a long battle with cancer in her native Czech Republic surrounded by her family, the WTA announced. She was 49.

Bobby Doerr

Doerr, the Hall of Fame second baseman dubbed the "Silent Captain" of the Boston Red Sox by longtime teammate and friend Ted Williams, was 99. Doerr died in Junction City, Oregon, the Red Sox said in a statement. The Red Sox said Doerr had been the oldest living major league player.

Roy Halladay

Halladay, an eight-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award winner, died in a small plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, the Pasco County Sheriff Department confirmed.

Connie Hawkins

Basketball great Connie Hawkins, 75, died on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, according to a statement by the Phoenix Suns, the team with which he spent his most productive NBA seasons. The Suns told The Associated Press they confirmed the death with his family.

Y.A. Tittle

Y.A. Tittle, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Giants to three division titles in the 1960s but never won a championship final in high school, college or the pros and is immortalized by one of sport's most famous images of defeat, died on Oct. 8, 2017. He was 90.

Red Miller

Miller, the fiery head coach who guided the Denver Broncos from obscurity to their first Super Bowl, died Wednesday, Sept. 27, after complications from a stroke. He was 89.

Jake LaMotta

Jake LaMotta, the former middleweight champion whose life was depicted in the film "Raging Bull," died at the age of 95 on Sept. 19, 2017. His fiancee, Denise Baker, says LaMotta died at a Miami-area hospital from complications of pneumonia.

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

WWE Hall of Famer Bobby "The Brain" Heenan died on Sunday, Sept. 17, after a long battle with throat and tongue cancer. He was 73.

Gary Wadler

Wadler, the Long Island physician and early authority on performance-enhancing drugs in sports, died Tuesday, Sept. 12, after a long battle with Multiple System Atrophy. He was 78.

Gene Michael

Gene Michael, the architect of the Yankees' dynasty in the 1990s, died Thursday, Sept. 7, the team's website announced. He was 79.

Rollie Massimino

Legendary college basketball coach Rollie Massimino died Wednesday, Aug. 30, at his home with his wife of 59 years and some of those closest to him at his side. Massimino was 82.

Frank Broyles

Frank Broyles, who guided Arkansas to its lone national football championship and later molded the overall program as its athletic director, died Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, at his home in Fayetteville, Ark., from complications of Alzheimer's disease, according to a statement from his family. He was 92.

Bryan Murray

Bryan Murray was a head coach and general manager in the NHL for 35 consecutive years. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014, and died Saturday, August 12. He was 74.

Dick MacPherson

Dick MacPherson, the former Syracuse football coach who led the Orange back to national respectability, died on Tuesday, August 8. He was 86.

Don Baylor

Don Baylor, a former Yankees designated hitter and 1979 AL MVP award winner, died on Monday, Aug. 7, after a battle with cancer. He was 68.

Darren Daulton

Former Phillies All-Star catcher Darren Daulton died on Aug. 6, 2017, after a four-year battle with brain cancer. He was 55.

John Reaves

John Reaves, a former Florida Gators and NFL quarterback, died on Aug. 2, 2017. He was 67.

Ara Parseghian

Ara Parseghian, who took over a foundering Notre Dame football program and restored it to glory with two national championships in 11 seasons, died on Aug. 2, 2017. He was 94.

Margaret Lambert

Lambert, 103, died in her home in Queens on July 25. Lambert was one of the premier high jumpers in the world and was specially requested to join the German Olympic team in a bid to paint the Nazis as non-discriminatory, and thus avoid a boycott of the 1936 Berlin Olympics by the United States and other countries, but was ultimately barred from competing due to her Jewish beliefs and heritage..

John Kundla

Basketball Hall of Fame coach John Kundla died on Sunday, July 23, 2017, at an assisted living facility in Northeast Minneapolis. He was 101.

Bob Wolff

Wolff, a legendary sportscaster who began calling games in the same year as the first live TV broadcast, was best-known for calling a World Series perfect game and "The Greatest Game Ever Played." He died Sunday, July 17, 2017 due to an undisclosed reason. He was 96.

Babe Parilli

Parilli, the former Jets quarterback who was the backup to Joe Namath when they won the Super Bowl in 1969, died Saturday, July 15. He was 87. The cause of death wasn't disclosed.

Chuck Blazer

Blazer, the disgraced American soccer executive whose admissions of corruption set off a global scandal that ultimately toppled FIFA President Sepp Blatter, died Wednesday, July 12, his lawyers said. He was 72.

Gene Conley

Former NBA and MLB champion Gene Conley, was an incredible athlete who won three NBA titles with the Boston Celtics and a World Series championship with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957. Conley died on Wednesday, July 5. He was 86.

Dave Semenko

Former Edmonton Oilers tough guy Dave Semenko, who protected Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s, died after a short battle with cancer on Thursday, June 29, in Edmonton, an Oilers spokesman said. He was 59.

Anthony Young

Former Mets pitcher Anthony Young died Tuesday, June 27 at age 51 in Houston after a long illness. He had told former teammates this spring that he had a brain tumor.

Pete Flynn

Flynn, who tended all three of the Mets' home fields, drove the Beatles from the stage at Shea Stadium and became a cherished part of the franchise that he served for six decades, died Wednesday morning, the team said. He was 79.

Tony DiCicco

U.S. Soccer confirmed DiCicco's death Tuesday, June 20, 2017. He was 68. His son, Anthony, tweeted that DiCicco died at home with his family present.

Tim Hague

Former UFC fighter Tim Hague died on Sunday, June 18, two days after he was knocked out in a boxing match against former Edmonton Eskimos defensive end Adam Braidwood in Edmonton.

James Hardy

Authorities say the former NFL wide receiver has been found dead in a river in northeast Indiana. The Allen County Coroner's Office says the 31-year-old's body was identified Thursday, June 8, 2017. Police later ruled his death to be a suicide.

Cheick Tiote

Cheick Tiote, a former Newcastle and Ivory Coast midfielder, died after collapsing in training with a Chinese team, his agent announced on Monday, June 5, 2017. He was 30.

Jack McCloskey

Jack McCloskey, the general manager who built the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" championship teams, died on Thursday, June 1, in Savannah, Georgia. He was 91.

Frank Deford

Legendary sportswriter Frank Deford died on Sunday, May 28, 2017 in Key West, Florida, his family said.

Jim Bunning

Bunning, a Hall of Fame pitcher who pitched the first perfect game in modern National League history and parlayed his sports fame into a political career as a U.S. Senator, died Friday, May 26. He was 85.

Cortez Kennedy

The Hall of Fame defensive tackle was found dead Tuesday, May 23, in Orlando, police confirmed. He was 48.

Nicky Hayden

Nicky Hayden, who won the MotoGP title in 2006, died Monday, May 22, five days after he was hit by a car while training on his bicycle, the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital announced. He was 35.

Steve Palermo

Steve Palermo, whose accomplished career as an MLB umpire ended when he was shot trying to break up a robbery in 1991, died on May 14, 2017 at age 67.

Steven Holcomb

Holcomb, , the longtime U.S. bobsledding star who drove to three Olympic medals after beating a disease that nearly robbed him of his eyesight, was found dead in Lake Placid, New York, on Saturday, May 6, 2017. He was 37.

Aaron Hernandez

Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end who was serving a life sentence for a murder conviction, died Wednesday, April 19, after hanging himself in his prison cell, Massachusetts prisons officials said. He was 27.

Dan Rooney

Dan Rooney, the Pittsburgh Steelers chairman who was one of the NFL's most influential and popular executives, died on Thursday, April 13, team spokesman Burt Lauten said. Rooney was 84.

Dallas Green

Dallas Green, the tough-talking manager who guided the Philadelphia Phillies to their first World Series championship and also managed the Mets and Yankees, died on Wednesday, March 22. He was 82. The Phillies say Green died at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. He had been in poor health for several years.

Jerry Krause

The Bulls' general manager that led them to six NBA titles during the 1990s died on Tuesday, March 21, the team confirmed. He was 77.

Dave Stallworth

Former Knick Dave Stallworth, who played a key role in the team's NBA Finals win over the Los Angeles Lakers in 1970, died Wednesday at age 75.

John Andariese

Andariese, a popular longtime Knicks TV and radio analyst, died Monday, March 13, 2017, at age 78, the team announced.

Lou Duva

Boxing Hall of Famer Lou Duva, who handled the careers of 19 champions including heavyweight titlist Evander Holyfield, died on March 8, 2017, at the age of 94.

Bill Webb

Longtime Mets TV director Bill Webb, pictured second from right, died Tuesday, March 7, after a long battle with cancer, SNY confirmed.

Vladimir Petrov

Vladimir Petrov, a two-time Olympic hockey champion who was on the Soviet Union team that lost to the United States at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, died on Feb. 28, 2017. He was 69.

George "The Animal" Steele

WWE Hall of Famer George "The Animal" Steele, whose given name was Jim Myers, died at age 79, the WWE announced Feb. 17, 2017. Sporting a bald head, hairy back and green tongue, Steele was famous for his signature move of sinking his teeth into the turnbuckle pads around the ring.

Charismatic

Former Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Charismatic, whose bid for the Triple Crown in 1999 ended with a dramatic leg injury as he neared the finish line in the Belmont Stakes, died at a thoroughbred retirement farm in Kentucky on Feb. 19, 2017.

Ivan Koloff

Ivan Koloff, the Canadian professional wrestler known as "The Russian Bear" in the ring, died on Feb. 18, 2017, after fighting liver cancer. He was 74.

Quentin Moses

Former NFL linebacker end Quentin Moses and two other people died in a house fire in Georgia on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2016.

Fab Melo

Former Syracuse University and Boston Celtics center Fab Melo died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, in his native Brazil, military police said. He was 26.

Mike Ilitch

Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, died Friday, Feb. 10, 2017. He was 87.

Charles Shackleford

Former Nets and NC State forward Charles Shackleford was found dead in his Kinston, N.C., home on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. He was 50.

Andy Marte

Former major leaguer Andy Marte died in a separate car accident in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 22, 2017. He was 33.

Yordano Ventura

Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura, who helped lead Kansas City to a World Series title in 2015, was killed in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. He was 25.

Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka

The WWE Hall of Famer who two weeks ago had murder charges against him dropped in a 1983 case, has died, according to his daughter and WWE. Snuka was 73 and had reportedly been battling stomach cancer.

Francois Van der Elst

Francois "Swat" Van der Elst, who won club titles in Belgium and with the New York Cosmos in the United States and made it to the 1980 European Championship final with the Belgian national soccer team, die on Jan. 11, 2017 at the age of 62 as a result of heart problems.

Willie Evans

Willie Evans, the star black halfback of Buffalo's 1958 team that balked at competing in the Tangerine Bowl because of a rule barring integrated football games, died on Jan. 5, 2017, at the age of 79.

Milt Schmidt

Milt Schmidt, a Hockey Hall of Famer and 1951 NHL MVP died on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, the Boston Bruins announced. He was 98.

Ron Smith

Ron Smith, a longtime NHL assistant coach and the 25th head coach of the New York Rangers, died on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017, at age 72.

Jean Vuarnet

Olympic skiing champion Jean Vuarnet, who helped pioneer the aerodynamic tuck position for downhill racers but suffered tragedy with the deaths of his wife and son in a doomsday cult murder-suicide, has died, the French Olympic Committee announced on Jan. 2. He was 83.