Sporting World deaths in 2002

September

Sept. 1 -- Brandon Hall, 19, a Minnesota football player was shot to death, hours after playing in his first college game. Hall was shot about eight blocks from the Metrodome during a dispute between a group of teammates and three other men about 2 a.m.

Sept. 2 -- Abe Lemons, the folksy college basketball coach who won 599 games and seemed to have a one-liner for any occasion, died at age 79. Lemons was as well known for his sense of humour as his coaching ability. He compiled 599 victories in 34 years in stops at Texas, Oklahoma City (twice) and Pan American. He finished his career by returning to Oklahoma City in 1983. He retired after the 1989-90 season with a record of 599-343. He lost by one point in his bid for victory No. 600.

Sept. 2 -- Leon "Muscles" Campbell, a former NFL player who earned his nickname after bending a railroad spike shortly after enrolling at the University of Arkansas, died at age 75. He played for Baltimore, Chicago and Pittsburgh in a six-year NFL career and retired after the 1955 season.

Sept. 11 -- Johnny Unitas, the Hall of Fame quarterback who broke nearly every passing NFL record and won three championships with the Baltimore Colts in an 18-year career, died at age 69. "Johnny U," with his trademark crewcut and black hightops, captured the public's imagination and helped drive the growing popularity of professional football. He led the Colts to victory over the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL championship game, an overtime thriller that was essential in building the league's fan base. A pure dropback passer with an uncanny knack for making the big play, Unitas was the first to throw for 40,000 yards. Unitas retired after the 1973 season with 22 NFL records, among them marks for most passes attempted and completed, most yards gained passing, most touchdown passes and most seasons leading the league in TD passes.

Sept. 11 -- Anthony Sacco Sr., who officiated with the NFL for 18 years, died at age 84. Sacco worked the 1961 and 1965 championship games and the 1971 Super Bowl. Sacco began refereeing Big Ten football during the 1947 season. Ten years later he began officiating for the NFL and retired from the league in 1975.

Sept. 17 -- Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, former Brazilian soccer star who helped his nation win the 1958 World Cup, died at age 68. He was with Rio's Flamengo Club from 1954 to 1964 and scored 244 goals -- second only to the 508 scored by Zico.

Sept. 18 -- Mauro Ramos de Oliveira, captain of Brazil's national soccer squad that won the 1962 World Cup, died at age 72. Oliveira played 30 games for the national team, helping it win its second World Cup in Chile.

Sept. 18 -- "Bullet" Bob Hayes, the Olympic gold medal sprinter who went on to an outstanding career as a receiver with the Dallas Cowboys, died at age 59. Hayes had a sparkling athletic career -- he earned the title "World's Fastest Human," and later redefined the way the NFL plays pass defence. At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Hayes won the gold medal in the 100 meters, tying the then-world record of 10.05 seconds, and anchored the United States 400-meter relay team to victory in a world-record 39.06. Hayes' relay split was a sensational 8.6. When Dallas won the Super Bowl after the 1971 season, Hayes became the only athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. More than 30 years later, he's still the only person with both. He finished an 11-year NFL career with 71 touchdown catches, a 20-yard average per catch, and three trips to the Pro Bowl.

Sept. 19 -- Chester "Swede" Johnston, former Green Bay Packers running back, died at age 92. Johnston played as a rookie on Green Bay's 1931 championship team and also was with the team from 1934-38, helping the Packers win another title in 1936.

Sept. 19 -- Mike Reasor, who shot two of the highest scores in PGA Tour history, died at age 60. Reasor played on the PGA Tour from 1969-78 and had 10 top-10 finishes. In 1974, Reasor separated his left shoulder, tore rib cartilage and damaged knee ligaments when he was thrown from a horse between rounds of the Tallahassee Open. Swinging only a 5-iron with one hand, and with the other hand tucked inside his belt, Reasor shot closing rounds of 123 and 114, among the highest scores recorded on tour.

Sept. 21 -- Harrison Smith Glancy, who won a swimming gold medal and set a world record at the 1924 Olympics as part of a relay team with Johnny Weissmuller, died at age 98. A 19-year-old Glancy swam the first leg for the 800 freestyle relay team that set a world record at the Paris Summer Games. A winner of three AAU national championships, Glancy was a member of three relay teams that set world records. He was captain of the team that won a gold medal at the 1927 Pan Pacific Games in Japan.

Sept. 24 -- Mike Webster, the Hall of Fame centre who helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win four Super Bowls, died at age 50. Webster was widely considered one of the game's greatest centres and he was voted in 2000 to the All-Time NFL Team. During his career from 1974-90, he made the Pro Bowl nine times and won the four Super Bowls in his first six seasons. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

Sept. 24 -- Leon Hart, who won the 1949 Heisman Trophy and helped Notre Dame win three national titles, died at age 73. He also was a member of three NFL championship teams in his eight seasons with the Detroit Lions. The Irish went 36-2-0 during Hart's four years at the school, winning national championships in 1946, 1947 and 1949, and finishing No. 2 in 1948. He was The Associated Press athlete of the year in 1949. Hart was one of only two linemen to win the Heisman. Larry Kelly of Yale was the other, in 1936. Playing in the NFL from 1950-57, Hart helped the Lions win titles in 1952, 1953 and 1957. He earned All-Pro honours in 1951.

Sept. 24 -- Hobbs Adams, captain of Southern California's 1925 football team and its 1926 baseball team and head football coach at Kansas State in the 1940s, died at age 99. Adams was a three-year letterman end for the Trojans from 1923-25. He also lettered in baseball from 1924-26 and in track in 1926. He was head football coach at Kansas State in 1940, 1941 and 1946. He had records of 2-7, 2-5-2 and 0-9 in those years, respectively.

Sept. 25 -- Lewis Oehmig, the only three-time Senior Amateur champion and the oldest golfer to win a U.S. Golf Association event, died at age 86. A lifelong amateur, Oehmig won Senior Amateur titles in 1972 and 1976. In 1985, at 69, he beat Ed Hopkins in 20 holes to become the oldest USGA champion.

Sept. 25 -- Ray Hayworth, who worked in baseball for more than 50 years, spent 15 seasons in the majors as a catcher, almost all of it with the Detroit Tigers, died at age 98. Hayworth came to the majors in 1926 and was a member of Detroit's World Series teams in 1934 and 1935. He set an American League record for most consecutive chances by a catcher without an error at 439 from Sept. 2, 1931 to Aug. 29, 1932 and his glove is in the Hall of Fame.

Sept. 28 -- John Cannady, a linebacker for the New York Giants from 1947-54, died at age 79.

Sept. 30 -- Billy Westmoreland, a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, died at age 65. Westmoreland had a syndicated TV show in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was a former Bass Angler Sportsman Society tournament winner, specializing in small mouth fish.