Rick Forzano, American football coach, Died at 90

Richard Edward Forzano was born on November 20, 1928 and died on January 10, 2019.

He was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, most prominently as head coach of the National Football League's Detroit Lions from 1974 to 1976.

However, his football playing career ended by a high school eye injury, he then  turned to coaching and earned his first two opportunities at two Akron, Ohio high schools. 

His success led to his first college head coaching position at the University of Connecticut, where he was 7–10–1 in two years. 

During 1966, Forzano went on to become an NFL coach with the first of two seasons as the St. Louis Cardinals' offensive backfield coach.

He was known as a strict disciplinarian. However, Forzano was unable to lead the team to a winning record and resigned on October 4, 1976 after the team lost three of its first four games. 

Forzano completed his Lions' tenure with a 15–17 record and never returned to coaching, focusing on his own company, Rick Forzano Associates. 

That company, based in Detroit, serves as a manufacturer's sales representative.

He was  also served as a commentator for Big Ten Conference football games.

Rick Forzano passed away at 90 years old.

J. D. Gibbs, American race car driver, Died at 49

Jason Dean "J. D." Gibbs was born on February 21, 1969 and died on January 11, 2019.

He was a stock car racing driver and co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing.

After being born near Los Angeles, California, his family moved several times.

Upon completing high school, Gibbs began his to play football at The College of William & Mary.

He was married and had four children.

Gibbs resided in Davidson, North Carolina.

Gibbs was married to his wife Melissa (née Miller), and had four sons: Joe Jackson, William Miller, Jason Dean II, and Zachary Taylor.

Apparantly Gibbs  battled his neurological brain disease

J. D. Gibbs passed away at 49 old.

Jumping Johnny Wilson, American basketball player, Died at 91

John E. Wilson was born in 1927 and died on January 11, 2019.

 

Nicknamed Jumpin' Johnny Wilson.

 

He was an American basketball and baseball player.

 

Wilson earned his nickname for being the only player on his high school team able to dunk the basketball.

In 1946, during the high school championship game , Willson scored 30 of his team's 67 points in its victory over Fort Wayne Central High School, a record.

He served for eight years at head basketball coach at Wood High School in Indianapolis, then sixteen years as head coach and athletic director at Malcolm X College, compiling a 378-135 (.737) record.

 

Then, he worked as an assistant coach for Anderson College and Anderson High School.

He was the assistant basketball coach at Lock Haven University at the time of his death on January 11, 2019.

Jumping Johnny Wilson was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the Anderson University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Johnny Wilson passed away at 91 years old.

Gus Ganakas, American college basketball coach, Died at 92

Gus G. Ganakas was born on July 3, 1926, in Mount Morris, New York. and died on January 11, 2019.

He was an American sports broadcaster and Michigan State Spartans men's basketball coach. Ganakas served as the head coach there from 1969 to 1976.

Gus Ganakas studied at the Michigan State University (MSU) from 1946 to 1950 after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

Ruth his wife died in 2014. He resided in the Lansing area.

He became the sixth recipient of the Men's Basketball Distinguished Alumnus Award, in 2002.

Gus Ganakas passed away at 92 years old.

Laurie Gilfedder, English rugby league footballer, Died at 83

Lawrence M. Gilfedder was born in 1935 and died on January 7, 2019 ,in Warrington Hospital, Warrington, Cheshire, England.

 

He was also known by the nicknames of "Laurie", and "Gilly". 

He was an English rugby union and professional rugby league footballer.

 

Gilfedder was a ctive player in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Gilfedder  club years as a player in the rugby union (RU) for Warrington RUFC (in Walton, Warrington), and typical level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain and Lancashire, and at club level for Warrington (Heritage № 533), Wigan (Heritage № 625), and Leigh (Heritage № 758), as a goal-kicking centre, second-row, or loose forward, i.e. number 3 or 4, 11 or 12, or 13, during the era of contested scrums.

Laurie moved to Stockton Heath after his marriage in 1955.

Laurie Gilfedder passed away at 83 years old.

Julio Rubiano, Colombian racing cyclist, Died at 65

Julio Alberto Rubiano Pachón was born on August 17, 1953 and died on January 8, 2019.

 

He was a Colombian racing cyclist. 

Pachón participated with his the team time trial event at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

Julio Rubiano passed away at 65 years old.

John Nallen, Irish Gaelic footballer, Died at 86

John Nallen  was born in 1932 and died on January 4, 2019.

He was an Irish Gaelic footballer.

John played for club sides Crossmolina, Tuam Stars, Trim and Castlerahan and at inter-county level with the Mayo, Galway and Meath senior teams.

John Nallen passed at 86 years old.

Roy Hilton, American football player, Died at 75

Roy Lee Hilton was born on March 23, 1943 and died on January 6, 2019.

He was an American football defensive end in the National Football League from 1965 through 1975.

In that time Hilton appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V for the Baltimore Colts.

Hilton played college football at Jackson State University.

He develope dementia in his later years.

Roy Hilton passed away at 75 years old.

Khosro Harandi, Iranian chess master, Died at 68

Khosro (Hosrov) Sheikh Harandi was born on September 11, 1950, and died on January 8, 2019.

He was an Iranian chess International Master. Repeated Champion of Iran, he was a member of the national team in five Chess Olympiads.

He also represented Iran at first board in 19th World Student Team Chess Championship at Graz 1972 (+6 –3 =3.

 Harandi won twice zonal FIDE tournaments held in Tehran (1975 and 1978)

He was awarded the International Master title in 1975 and FIDE Senior Trainer title in 2009. Khosro Harandi passed away at 68 years old.

Jerry Buchek, American baseball player, Died at 75

Gerald Peter Buchek was born on May 9, 1942, in St. Louis, Missouri and died on January 2, 2019, in Springfield, Missouri .

He was an American middle infielder and third baseman.

Buchek was a player for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets over all or parts of seven seasons spanning 1961–1968.

He threw and batted right-handed, Dominic stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).

He was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Jerry Buchek passed away at 75 years old.

Dominic Filiou, Canadian strongman, Died at 41

Dominic Filiou was born on February 14, 1977 and died on January 2, 2019.

He was a Canadian strongman.

He took part in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 World's Strongest Man competitions.

Filiou finished third in the finals In 2005 , a career best.

Dominic Filiou was eliminated during the qualifying heats, In 2006 and 2007 .

Dominic Filiou was the winner of Canada's Strongest Man in 2007, making him the first man to defeat Hugo Girard on Canadian soil ( he was still in recovery from a knee operation 14 months prior to the competition).

Dominic Filiou passed away at 41 years old.

Bernard Tchoullouyan, French judoka, Died at 65

Bernard Tchoullouyan was born on April 12, 1953 and died on January 7, 2019.

He was a French judoka.

Tchoullouyan was the winner of a world title in 1981 and an Olympic bronze medal in 1980.

Tchoullouyan passed away at 65 years old.

Antal Bolvári, Hungarian water polo player, Died at 86

Antal Bolvári was born on May 6, 1932, in Kaposvár and died on January 8, 2019.

He was a Hungarian water polo player.

 In 1952, Antal Bolvári competed Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics.

He was a member of the Hungarian team that won the gold medal in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

Bolvári competed in six matches and scored one goal.

At the Melbourne Olympics four years after the fact, he was again an individual from the Hungarian group that won the gold decoration.

Bolvári played in four matches and scored two objectives, incorporating one in the notorious Blood in the Water coordinate against the USSR in the title round, held fourteen days after the Soviets had squashed the 1956 Hungarian uprising.

Bolvári was one of a few Hungarian competitors who abandoned toward the West in the repercussions of the Melbourne amusements.

Bolvári later came back to Hungary, where he kept on playing and, later, mentor at the club and national dimensions. He kicked the bucket in Budapest, because of what his family depicted as "a since quite a while ago, undisclosed disease.

Antal Bolvári passed away at 86 years old.

Sergei Khodakov, Russian paralympic athlete, Died at 52

Sergei Khodakov was born on March 11, 1966 and died on January 8, 2019.

He was a paralympic athlete from Russia entering mainly in category F12 throwing events.

Sergei Khodakov was part of the Unified team that travelled to Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Paralympics after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

There Sergei Khodakov was the winner of the silver medals in both the javelin and shot as well as winning the B2 discus gold medal.

After four years Sergei travelled with the Russian team to the United States for the 1996 Summer Paralympics where he defended his discus title but could only manage a bronze in the shot and fifth in the javelin.

Khodakov took part in a third and final games in Sydney in 2000 where he competed in the shot and discus once again but could not add any further medals.

Sergei Khodakov passed away at 52 years old.

Johan Claassen, South African rugby player and coach, Died at 89

Johan Claassen was born on September 23, 1929, and died on January 6, 2019.

He was a South African rugby player.

He played at the second-row forward position.

He became captain of the South African National Team before a match against the French in 1958.

Claassen was the leader of the South African team to a winning streak, including a major victory over the British and Irish Lions.

During the 1970s, Claassen became head coach of the South African team, known as the Springboks.

During his club rugby years, he was most notably a star for Western Transvaal.

Johan Claassen passed away at 89 years old.

Ben Coleman, American basketball player, Died at 57

Benjamin Coleman was born on November 14, 1961 and died on January 6, 2019.

He was an American professional basketball player.

He when to the University of Minnesota and the University of Maryland.

Choosen by the Chicago Bulls in the second round (37th overall) in the 1984 NBA Draft, but did not start his NBA career until 1986 with the New Jersey Nets.

Coleman made his final appearance in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons in 1994, after a three-year absence from the league.

Coleman coached in the greater Minneapolis area with the private coaching service, CoachUp.

He passed away at 57 years old.

Kwamie Lassiter, American football player, Died at 49

Kwamie Lassiter was born on December 3, 1969, in Hampton, Virginia, and died on January 6, 2019.

He was an American football safety.

Kwamie Lassiter was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 1995. Lassiter played college football at Kansas.

After the 2001 season, he was selected as an alternate for the 2002 Pro Bowl after reaching career highs with 112 tackles and 9 interceptions.

He spent the 2004 preseason with the Chargers and was cut.

On September 21, 2004, The St. Louis Rams signed Lassiter.

Kwamie Lassiter passed away at 49 years old.

Lenny Green, American baseball player, Died at 86

Leonard Charles Green was born on January 6, 1933, in Detroit, Michigan and died on January 6, 2019.

He was an American professional baseball player.

Green played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles (1957–59; 1964), Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (1959–64), Los Angeles Angels (1964), Boston Red Sox (1965–66) and Detroit Tigers (1967–68).

Lenny Green batted and threw left-handed and was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg).

Green's career began with the Orioles' farm system in 1955 after service in the United States Army.

After three trials with Baltimore, including most of the 1958 season, he was traded to the Senators in May 1959 for 1958 American League Rookie of the Year Albie Pearson.

 Lenny Green was the club's normal center fielder in its last year in Washington (1960) and its first two seasons in Minneapolis-St. Paul (1961–62), previous losing his regular job to Jimmie Hall in 1963.
 
Later, he was the regular center fielder for the 1965 Red Sox. Green completed his MLB career with his hometown Tigers in 1968, the same year the team won the World Series.

Green wasn't around for the pennant drive or postseason as the Tigers unconditionally released him in July of that year.

Over the period of his career, he was a .267 hitter (788-for-2,956) with 47 home runs and 253 RBI in 1,136 games, including 138 doubles, 27 triples, 78 stolen bases, and a .351 on-base percentage.

Lenny Green passed away at 86 years old.

George Crowe, Canadian ice hockey coach, Died at 82

George Crowe was born on June 28, 1936, Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada and died on January 6, 2019.

He was a Canadian ice hockey coach.

He has spent almost 40 years in the college and high school ranks.

He served as a coached for both the men's and women's programs at Dartmouth for 21years.

Ice hockey coach George Crowe passed away at 82 years old, in Florida, U.S.

Alexis Smirnoff, Canadian professional wrestler, Died at 71

Michel Lamarche was born on February 9, 1947, in Saint-Lin, Quebec and died on January 5, 2019.

He was a Canadian professional wrestler.

Smirnoff was mostly called by his ring name Alexis Smirnoff and Michel "Justice" Dubois (Mike "The Judge" Dubois).

Smirnoff took part in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, including the Mid-South, Central States, Georgia and San Francisco territories, as well as short stints in International Wrestling Enterprise, the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Cauliflower Alley Club's Facebook page posted the following about Lamarche on January 4, 2019: "Alexis Smirnoff is in hospice care in Marietta, Georgia, with kidney failure.

Where was said, The prognosis was grim, Please keep Alexis and his family in your thoughts and prayers.



Alexis Smirnoff passed away at 71 years old.