OT: "What's the last athlete that passed away that made you emotional?"
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I wasn’t alive for Roberto Clemente, so I’d say Carlton Haselrig. My parents knew him when he was at UPJ, and he was way too young when he passed.
Pat Tillman the word Hero and Patriot gets thrown around. He is both….
I know this is beyond blasphemous… I know I this is heresy of the highest order….. But as Steelers fan with a deep affection for the city of Pittsburgh, I would say Franco Harris.
I know he was a nitter and a blind supporter of Joepa, but he was very generous with his time. To die a few days before having your uniform retired is a tough blow.
I know he was a nitter and a blind supporter of Joepa, but he was very generous with his time. To die a few days before having your uniform retired is a tough blow.
This. Nothing else has come close. I never felt as emotionally drained as I did his. Just crushing news.
I was super bummed out when news of Bill Fralic passing away
I know it probably doesn't count but as a kid growing up in Indiana PA, a guy on the IUP BB team was a big brother to a buddy of mine from that Big Brothers Big Sisters non-profit. My buddy got cancer and this player went and got his head shaved to support him through his treatments. He was great with all of us kids and we all loved him. I remember him getting jeered by opposing fans because of his bald head. Ironically, he died of cancer several years ago. He was a great guy.
Among actual famous guys, Tunch Ilkin. Another great guy that had a rough upbringing and some really bad stuff happen to him but was never anything but kind to everyone he met.
Among actual famous guys, Tunch Ilkin. Another great guy that had a rough upbringing and some really bad stuff happen to him but was never anything but kind to everyone he met.
I was too young. But it is crazy that the possibly greatest single moment in Pittsburgh sports history and worst moment in Pittsburgh sports history happened all in a span of 10 days. I can't imagine going from that high to that low.
None of these guys made me emotional. I didn't know them personally. I felt sad, perhaps, and sometimes their passing reminds me of how old I am. But I save my tears for family, friends, and neighbors, and too many of them are already gone from my life.
The only one that is truly thought provoking is Lou Gehrig. Basically becoming the textbook motor neuron disease case. Having his mobility and functioning slowly stripped away while mind preserved. That’s a gut wrenching. Clemente a shock and sad. Kobe crash one less rapist.
I have a similar feeling, for example the Clemente tragedy, some good guys like Andy Russell and Tunch because of their reputable goodness as it relates to sports and community. But it is mostly the reminder of my youth, things like when Tom Seaver passed and how I rooted for the Mets in the '69 series just because the were the lowly Mets. Or when Willie McCovey passed, I recalled a game McCovey and Mays went back to back in the first inning, and that was kinda of it, Pirates lost. When Donn Clendenon died,(Pirates 1st basemen like '63-'67 or so) it brought back old memories of home. My Dad was a Pirates fan, in South Carolina after dark he could get the last innings of the Pirates games on KDKA radio, so he would be out there with a can of Falstaff , windows down listening to Bob Prince. ....my brothers and I could not understand why he complained about Clendenon so much, we thought he was pretty good, but in retrospect he was a high strike out guy, so I guess that was it. So the passing of players like Clendenon just starts a flow of reminders of a carefree time, not so much sadness but a reminder of the passage of time..And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
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My backup at tackle at Garfield Jr. High...We eventually took different paths athletically after that...
The answer to the question for me, even though vicariously through film, would be Brian Piccolo. I'm just this side of 60 and I still cry watching that..
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Maybe not the most emotional personally, but Billy Gaines’s tragic death after his freshman year was a surprise to me.
www.fredericknewspost.com
Hindsight 2020: Local football star Billy Gaines dies at age 19 after fall in 2003
The local sports community reeled in 2003 after the tragic death of a star athlete that was partly responsible for building a Maryland high school football dynasty.
Dang, yea. I seriously had a hard time with that for a few days like he was a relative.
Never been emotional over a player death but I'll tell you what, Blake Hinson's goodbye video hit me. I love everything about that guy. Pitt basketball means a lot to me and the way he played, how he played, how he represented the university, I'm not sure I ever felt that way about a Pitt hooper even though we've had better players.
Franco Harris. 3 days before the Steelers retired his jersey.
My best friend was a well known high school basketball star in Pittsburgh and became very well known in the town played in for college. He died suddenly 9 years ago. Hit me hard.
I put Franco and Roberto Clemente in the same category. I was a little kid who loved baseball and to here Roberto died shocked me. I was equally shocked when Franco passed away. My son sent me a text at 6am that Franco passed away. He is a volunteer firefighter and found out right when it happened. I didn't want to believe it and checked the local websites (PG & Trib). At 645am or so nothing was posted on those sites, so I was hoping he heard some wrong information. Soon after that the news came out officially. My wife used to wait on him when she was a bank teller and would always tell me Franco was such a nice person.
I just watched replays of Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguilien getting into the Pirates HOF by Steve Blass ...
I gotta say seeing that crew brought back great memories .Not sure why Leyland got so emotional
. Got a little teary eyed myself ..
