THESE PEOPLE LEFT US FAR TOO EARLY
SARAH BURKE
Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died after sustaining serious injuries in a skiing accident.
Burke died at the age of 29 in hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, after tearing the artery that supplies blood to the brainstem during a training run in the superpipe at a personal sponsor event at the Park City Mountain resort.
As the result of a fall after completing a jump, she suffered a ruptured vertebral artery, one of the four major arteries supplying blood to the brain. This caused her to go into cardiac arrest.
Burke was rushed to hospital, where she was put on life support and therapeutic hypothermia was initiated to protect her brain. Sarah had surgery to repair the torn artery, and had been in a medically induced coma until she passed away.
Burke's love of freestyle skiing started early. As a teenage moguls skier in Midland, Ont., she'd often sneak onto snowboard halfpipes for the last runs of the day.
"We did it on the last run so that if we got our tickets pulled we wouldn't be too bummed," she once told ESPN.
Burke went from an unwanted pest on the halfpipe to one of its biggest stars and advocates, winning Winter X Games gold medals and lobbying for the sport's inclusion in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Born in Barrie, Ont., and raised in Midland, Burke got her start skiing with her family when she was five years old. She took up moguls skiing and competed for Team Ontario before switching to freestyle and winning the halfpipe competition at the 2001 U.S. Open of Freeskiing.
Burke won four gold medals in superpipe at the Winter X Games and an additional gold in the event at the Winter X Games Europe, having swept both competitions in 2011. She was the early favourite for the event's Olympic debut.
She also won the 2005 world championships, was the first woman to land a 1080-degree spin (three full rotations) in competition and won the 2007 ESPY award as Best Female Action Sports Athlete.
Clemente played 18 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates as their right fielder from 1955 through 1972. He wore jersey number 21. Clemente was a great ball player, a friend of the common man, a humanitarian and a wonderful role model for minority boys growing up without a father. This year, in New York City, they paid a long over due tribute to the man. A bronze statue was erected in the state park in the Bronx that bears his name. The statue was created by Maritza Hernandez, the sculptor who took 2 years to complete the work. “Clemente is home. I can’t believe it.” She whispered as the workers fastened the larger than life sized sculpture to its base.
For Puerto Rican New Yorkers, Clemente was the countryman who uplifted them when others shunned them. He was a model of class, sportsmanship, and honesty, breaking baseball records as well as racial barriers. On Sept. 30, 1972, he reached the plateau of 3,000 hits. Three months later he was killed in a plane crash while taking relief supplies to survivors of a devastating earthquake in Nicaragua.
A Puerto Rican man who made a difference, even though it cost him his life, rests atop a pedestal in a State Park in New York City.
Clemente's baseball achievements:
- 1966 National League MVP
- 12 Gold Gloves
- 4 NL batting championships1971 world Series MVP
- He achieved his 3000 hit in 1972
- Elected posthumously to the Hall of Fame in 1973
Clemente's Lifetime Stats:
| Batting average | .317 |
|---|---|
| Hits | 3,000 |
| Home runs | 240 |
| Runs batted in | 1,305 |
SAMMI KANE KRAFT
Sammi Kane Kraft was an American recording artist, child actress and baseball player. Born in Livingston, New Jersey, she starred in the 2005 remake of Bad News Bears as Amanda Whurlitzer.
Apart from her flourishing acting career, Kraft also competed in the Junior Olympics. She dreamed of competing in the future Olympic Games as a baseball player.
BORN: April 2, 1992, Livingston, N J, USA.
DIED: October 9, 2012.
BILL BARILKO
His plane crashed in 1951 but investigators did not find the crash until 1962. Barilko played five seasons and won 4 Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1947 to 1951. He scored the legendary Cup-winning goal in overtime of game 5 in the 1951 Finals. The Leafs retired his number 5. Bill Barilko inspired the song "Fifty Mission Cap" by The Tragically Hip.
PAT TILLMAN
DEATH DATE: April 22, 2004
EDUCATION: Leland High School; Arizona State Univ.
PLACE OF BIRTH: San Jose, California
PLACE OF DEATH: Afghanistan
The first reports indicated that he was shot during a clash with enemy forces during an ambush. Many questions remained unanswered about Tillman's death at the time, but a week later this account of his death became recognized as the official story. Pat Tillman was honored in a nationally televised memorial service on May 3, 2004,
Yet there were still many unanswered questions and conflicting accounts concerning the circumstances surrounding his death. As more details emerged, Tillman's family began demanding answers from the military. By the end of May, media outlets reported that Tillman was actually killed in an incident of fratricide—otherwise known as "friendly fire." Official documents would later reveal that the U.S. Army was aware of the possibility of fratricide surrounding Tillman's death even before his memorial service, but withheld that knowledge from the public and from Tillman's family until well after the memorial. Senator John McCain delivered the eulogy.
The Pentagon reopened the investigation into Tillman's death in 2005, but the more than 2,000 pages of testimony only revealed more contradictions and inaccuracies. What did become known was that Tillman's platoon was forced to split up when one of their vehicles broke down during a routine search of an Afghan village. Half the platoon members were ordered to tow the vehicle, but were attacked by Taliban insurgents. When Tillman and his half of the platoon came to the rescue, they were mistaken for enemy soldiers. Tillman was shot three times in the head while protecting a young soldier. Two other Americans were wounded.
Investigation and Scandal
Documents that surfaced years later also proved that those involved in the incident were aware that Tillman had died from friendly fire within 24 hours of his death—including General Stanley McChrystal, who had approved the Silver Star honour. After Tillman's death, the investigation proved, Army commanders and members of the Bush administration concealed the truth behind the soldier's shooting by destroying items of his clothing, his notebooks, and even hiding parts of Tillman's body to cover up evidence. Even now, the Tillman family remains unsure as to whether the real story of what happened to Pat will ever be fully unearthed. Yet the Tillmans remain persistent in their quest to find out the truth behind Pat's final moments. "This isn't about Pat, this is about what they did to Pat and what they did to a nation," said Pat's mother, Mary Tillman. "By making up these false stories, you're diminishing the true heroism. [The truth] may not be pretty but that's not what war is all about. It's ugly, it's bloody, it's painful. And to write these glorious tales is really a disservice to the nation."
In addition to his Purple Heart and Silver Star medals from the military, Pat's numbers for the ASU Sun Devils and the Arizona Cardinals were retired in his honor. In June 2010, The N.F.L. and the Pat Tillman Foundation joined forces to create the N.F.L-Tillman Scholarship to honour an individual who "exemplifies Pat Tillman's enduring legacy of service."
TERRY SAWCHUCK
He played 21 seasons and 972 games in the NHL from 1949 to 1970. 14 of those seasons were with the Detroit Red Wings who retired his number 1 jersey. Sawchuck set numerous NHL goalie records and won numerous NHL awards. He was considered by many to be one of the greatest goalies of all time and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
LILLI HENOCH
Lilli Henoch, a female German track and field athlete who set four world records and won 10 German national championships, in four different disciplines. Henoch set world records in the discus, the shot put, and the 4 × 100 meters relay events.
Lili was Jewish, and during the Holocaust she and her mother were deported and machine-gunned to death by the Nazis.
TIM HORTON
CAR ACCIDENT FEB21/74
WHILE DRIVING ON THE QEW. Lost control of car at high speed; ejected from the car; autopsy revealed he had a blood alcohol level of twice the legal limit.
Horton played 24 seasons and 1,446 games in the NHL from 1949 to 1974 including 20 seasons and 1,185 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was named to the NHL First & Second All-Star Teams three times each and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
PAYNE STEWART
Payne Stewart: William Payne Stewart was a professional golfer who played for the United States on five Ryder Cup teams and two World Cup teams. Stewart won 24 tournaments, three majors (US Open, British Open and PGA) and over twelve million dollars in prize money. In 1999, on route to Dallas from Orlando to the tour championship, Payne was killed when his Lear Jet suffered a loss of cabin pressure which killed all on board of hypoxia.
THURMAN MUNSON
Thurman Munson: Thurman was a catcher for the New York Yankees for 11 years and his leadership and clutch hitting enabled him to be the first Yankee captain since Lou Gehrig. (After Gehrig’s untimely illness and death, the Yankees decided not to have a captain, in honour of Gehrig, until Munson.) Munson earned three Golden Gloves, won the MVP in 1976, a “Rookie of the Year” in 1970, six All Star bids, 2 World Series rings and boasted a nearly .400 batting average for the post-season. His baseball career was tragically cut short when he died in an airplane accident while practicing landing in Canton, Ohio. His number 15 was retired by the Yankees. Owner George Steinbrenner stated, “Thurman Munson was indispensable and irreplaceable”.
Munson was 32 years old.
SEAN TAYLOR
Sean Taylor: Taylor was an All American safety for University of Miami and led them to the national championship in 2001. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins with the fifth pick in the draft and signed a seven year eighteen million dollar contract. In 2007, Sports Illustrated wrote that Taylor was the hardest hitter in the NFL. Within two months of that article, intruders broke into Taylor’s Miami home and shot him in the leg. The bullet pierced his femoral artery and with significant loss of blood, Sean fell into a coma and died the next day after two emergency surgeries. He was 24 years old. The four gunmen were apprehended and sentenced to life in prison. The first game after Taylor’s death, the Redskins lined up with only 10 players on defence for the first play at the game, as a tribute to Taylor, leaving his safety position empty.
QUESTION: When do memories fade and die?
QUOTE: "I guess that's how death works. It doesn't matter if we're ready or not. It just happens."-Randy K. Milholland
LAURELS TO: ALL THE ABOVE MEN & WOMEN AND ALL THE STARS OF TOMORROW!
CLIP OF THE WEEK:
No comments:
Post a Comment