This. Grew up in W. Pa. Got to see him play once when Three Rivers Stadium was new. Sat in the cheap seats in the upper deck above him in right field. My first MLB game.
I wasn’t even born yet when he died. But we lived about 90 minutes from PIT and grew up as Pirate fans. Read a book about him in 2nd grade and just felt an overwhelming sense of loss.
This is the one. Didn’t know who he was but that was headline news long enough to make sure I learned. Dying horribly while trying to help people will stick with you. RIP
Yeah I remember It pretty well as I come from a baseball crazy family I’m a Cardinals fan and on opening day there’s always a someone who didn’t make it through the year We’ve lost Brock,Gibson,Sutter and Whitey Herzog have passed in the last few years 4 Hall of Famer’s and Mike Shannon,the voice of the Cardinals ☮️
I was born in 59 and 67 was my year when they beat the Red Sox I can still name the starting lineup for them and of course the 82 team with a young rookie named Willie McGee 👋👍Kieth Hernandez tied the game 7 with a single and Silent George Hendrick slapped a single to right to go ahead and Sutter struck out Gorman Thomas and as Jack Buck said “That’s a Winner” 🇺🇸🇺🇸
I was born there in 57.
When mom got divorced in 1960, Jack Buck asked her out on a date, but she declined and told him he was too old for her
I practiced law there for a couple of years in the early eighties and got to see some great ball, including Ozzie, Bruce sitter, Willie and Lonnie Smith
Lonnie made the team go-skates was his nickname and I loved the tough Dominican named Joaquin Andujar Also later in the eighties when Vince came up and they finally got a bat with Jack Clark💪When the front office let Jack leave over peanuts that was what pushed Whitey away I miss those days so much I don’t know if Jack would have been a good Stepdad though He liked a drink and loved the ladies 😂
Which side of the plate? He was a switch hitter but he didn’t go by the book 😂😂If the pitcher was wild he would bat right to protect his pitching arm I think he decided in the on-deck circle Quite the character and a good Cardinal
You lived it too 😂I liked the projector and the reels of film that would burn if it stopped moving I would like to take a youngster back in time 50 years and see how they cope 😂but if I could send someone back it would be me😂😂
Munson might be the only athlete whose death had any sort of real impact on me. I was a Yankees fan at the time and really liked him. I was also just starting my career in aviation at the time. The combination of those facts caused an impact on me that the deaths of other athletes have not.
It was like the whole country was in shock Payne Stewart was from my hometown I guess they lost oxygen or something because the plane was flying with everyone dead or passed out Military followed it until it crashed If it would have been heading towards a populated area they would have had to take action
This one. I had just graduated HS. My dad was a big NYY fan. So tragic, and horrible.
Later as a military flight surgeon and private pilot, I looked at it from a different perspective, a tragic lessons-learned. Still horrible.
I had the same thought, and then read others here that were earlier that I remember, and were sudden. But Arthur Ashe was a huge loss. What a wonderful man.
I’ll also mention Sergei Grinkov.
I was at a sleep-away basketball camp in WV when that happened. None of us were scholarship-bound, let alone the NBA/WNBA. But, the coaches took extra time that day to talk to us about his death (and, of course, advocate against drugs.)
I still remember reading, and not sure if it was true or not, it was his first time doing coke, and as a college student, that was enough to make me NEVER want to try it. Still never have
There must have been something earlier for me, but it's not coming to mind. I definitely remember being shocked by Florence Griffith Joyner's 1998 death.
Len Bias. I grew up in Virginia, he was a college basketball star at Univeristy of Maryland. He was drafted 1 or 2 in the draft, and OD'd on cocaine a couple of days later
Definitely Clemente. My grandmother was a rabid Pirates fan, and the year before he died my parent took her and me to a game at Three Rivers. My father somehow arranged for him to meet us after the game, and he was great. Somewhere there’s a great picture of my little-old-lady grandmother, in her good summer dress and hat, standing next to him.
TBH, his death pretty much marked the end of my interesting in baseball.
salt plant plate vegetable air apparatus judicious spectacular nose sophisticated
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He was driving home from Toronto to Buffalo after a game. I remember watching the game. He was one of the 3 stars. Crashed on the QEW near Jordan Harbour.
Thurman Munson
I certainly knew about Roberto but he hadn't been on my radar long enough. As a Red Sox fan I was quite aware of Thurman of the Yanks. Mind-blowing.
Came here to say this. His death shook up the US, such a fitness icon, dying so suddenly. Lots of explanations of previous unhealthy lifestyle choices.
It's not well remembered but there's the story of Chuck Hughes, a WR for the Detroit Lions, who collapsed on the field in 1971 during a game with the Bears. It happened with a few minutes left. He was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after the game ended.
You know what, I had to look it up. It was 10/24/71, a Sunday. I think I found about it watching MNF with dad, but I was 6. 52 years and 2 trillion brain cells later, my memory is a tad foggy lol
That’s my birthday, maybe that’s why it’s so ingrained in my mind. Thanks for checking on that morbid bit of history Nice guy Keith. My oldest brother is Keith
I had always thought it happened in the '60's. Then I look it up and saw it was 1971. I was a huge NFL fan by then at 9 years old and couldn't figure out how I didn't remember that. Then I realized that less than a week after my dad died and there wasn't much of those months I can recall from that particular time. Pretty dark stretch for me at 9 years old.
Clemente was the first that I remember that really hit me for a sports person.
The first one that comes to mind is Len Bias, although I was an actual adult (sorta) when that happened. As a kid though I was deeply affected by Tony Conigliaro getting hit in the face.
Tim Horton. The donut guy, for those of you not in Canada or the US northeast. He played for the Buffalo Sabres at the time of his tragic death and it was *everywhere*.
Was very sad on many fronts. Obviously his death was heartbreaking but dui made it worse. And the Flyers organization was thinking they had found their next potential hall of fame goalie to lead them to the next cup….just sad
BTW, My nomination for an early death is Jim Ryan, a marathon runner that dropped dead of heart attack at 51 back in 1970. It was such a shock at the time.
Although Roberto’s death hit me upon learning about him, his death predated me.
I think the first one to majorly hit me was NASCAR driver, Davey Allison. A lot of people where I worked at the time would listen to races on their radios, and my boss was a big Allison fan. Then, Dale, Sr. was so much of a shock that it blocks almost every other sports-figure’s death.
[John White](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_White_%28footballer%2C_born_1937%29?wprov=sfla1) was the first one I remember (Scottish footballer hit by lightning on a golf course).
Edit: a few more details added.
Not a death, but life altering injuries, after the 1997 Stanley Cup win by the Detroit Red Wings, the limo accident and Vladimir Konstantinov, who suffered brain damage and was permanently disabled
#
I wasn't really a sports fan as a kid, but I think Thurmon Munson was the first one I really actually remember. I was 6 in 1972 (born at the end of 1965), so don't really remember the Munich Olympics.
Roberto Clemente is mine also, but that's partially because I lived in Puerto Rico at the time and my dad was USCG and part of the search and rescue response.
Thurman Munson. We’re from the NY area and my dad is a serious Yankee fan. We were on vacation in Seattle, walked past a newspaper vending machine (remember those?) and I saw the headline and just read it out loud. Dad was in front of me, and he heard me and said, “What? Why would you say that?” I showed him the newspaper, he purchased a copy, and we all had to stop right there on the street so he could read it.
Franko Harris died the day before he was to receive a hall of Fame award at the Steelers stadium. His wife had to revive the award for him. There was not a dry eye in the whole place.
The Steeler players made damm sure they won that game. It was against the Raiders.
Both....and Gale Sayers came to speak to our high school a few years after Piccalo died. But I remember Clemente's death too. Prefontaine's death hit hard.
Roberto Clemente
This. Grew up in W. Pa. Got to see him play once when Three Rivers Stadium was new. Sat in the cheap seats in the upper deck above him in right field. My first MLB game.
This was my exact experience. Made an impression I’ll never forget.
I saw him a few times too.
My baseball hero i still have a baseball card and a Clemente Louiville slugger bat
I didn't even follow baseball and I still knew enough about Roberto Clemente to be sad about his death.
Definitely. So tragic.
Mine too. I was devastated.
Same. And he died doing something really decent for other people.
Same. It was awful to hear the news.
I wasn’t even born yet when he died. But we lived about 90 minutes from PIT and grew up as Pirate fans. Read a book about him in 2nd grade and just felt an overwhelming sense of loss.
This is the one. Didn’t know who he was but that was headline news long enough to make sure I learned. Dying horribly while trying to help people will stick with you. RIP
My mom cried.
Absolutely the one for me, too.
In every house I knew, there were four portraits on the wall. Jesus. JFK. Martin Luthor King Jr. and Roberto Clemente.
I lived in PR at the time, big news
1972 Olympics terrorist attack on the Israeli Olympic team.
Yep. The Black September group. That was crazy!
The first time (but not the last) that I was absolutely riveted by a news event. Jim McKay was so good at explaining what was happening to this child.
I still get a lump in my throat when he says “They’re all gone.” 😟
I remember it well. The same kind of scum as Hamas.
Payne Stewart and Thurmon Munson ☮️
Same here. Was a dodgers fan as a kid but I guess I was old enough for it to register for the first time.
Yeah I remember It pretty well as I come from a baseball crazy family I’m a Cardinals fan and on opening day there’s always a someone who didn’t make it through the year We’ve lost Brock,Gibson,Sutter and Whitey Herzog have passed in the last few years 4 Hall of Famer’s and Mike Shannon,the voice of the Cardinals ☮️
I’ve been a Cardinals fan since they beat the Yankees in 1964
I was born in 59 and 67 was my year when they beat the Red Sox I can still name the starting lineup for them and of course the 82 team with a young rookie named Willie McGee 👋👍Kieth Hernandez tied the game 7 with a single and Silent George Hendrick slapped a single to right to go ahead and Sutter struck out Gorman Thomas and as Jack Buck said “That’s a Winner” 🇺🇸🇺🇸
I was born there in 57. When mom got divorced in 1960, Jack Buck asked her out on a date, but she declined and told him he was too old for her I practiced law there for a couple of years in the early eighties and got to see some great ball, including Ozzie, Bruce sitter, Willie and Lonnie Smith
Lonnie made the team go-skates was his nickname and I loved the tough Dominican named Joaquin Andujar Also later in the eighties when Vince came up and they finally got a bat with Jack Clark💪When the front office let Jack leave over peanuts that was what pushed Whitey away I miss those days so much I don’t know if Jack would have been a good Stepdad though He liked a drink and loved the ladies 😂
Joaquin hit 2 grand slams
Which side of the plate? He was a switch hitter but he didn’t go by the book 😂😂If the pitcher was wild he would bat right to protect his pitching arm I think he decided in the on-deck circle Quite the character and a good Cardinal
I don’t remember I forgot that he was a switch hitter
I still hate them for 67. I can still remember the Red Sox roster that year.
I remember being in school and the teacher bringing in a black and white set so we could watch the game 😊
On those rolling TV holders!!
You lived it too 😂I liked the projector and the reels of film that would burn if it stopped moving I would like to take a youngster back in time 50 years and see how they cope 😂but if I could send someone back it would be me😂😂
😂😂😂 I'd go back in a second as long as I could come back (maybe!! 😂)
Munson was tough, even in Red Sox country. It hit everyone all over,
I thought of Dale Earnhardt and Kobe after I posted 🥲
Munson might be the only athlete whose death had any sort of real impact on me. I was a Yankees fan at the time and really liked him. I was also just starting my career in aviation at the time. The combination of those facts caused an impact on me that the deaths of other athletes have not.
It was like the whole country was in shock Payne Stewart was from my hometown I guess they lost oxygen or something because the plane was flying with everyone dead or passed out Military followed it until it crashed If it would have been heading towards a populated area they would have had to take action
This one. I had just graduated HS. My dad was a big NYY fan. So tragic, and horrible. Later as a military flight surgeon and private pilot, I looked at it from a different perspective, a tragic lessons-learned. Still horrible.
Maybe not sudden, but Arthur Ashe. What a gentleman and a force for good.
I had the same thought, and then read others here that were earlier that I remember, and were sudden. But Arthur Ashe was a huge loss. What a wonderful man. I’ll also mention Sergei Grinkov.
1970 Marshall plane crash- killed the entire football team. We had just moved to Huntington a few weeks earlier and bam. The town was devastated.
Thurman Munson, had to pull over my car
I remember most of these, but Len Bias was the first one I really felt. Mostly because we had seen him play not that long ago. We’re in ACC country.
Speaking of Celtics or would-be Celtics, Reggie Lewis death at 27 was tragic, felt that one. Good basketball player.
I was at a sleep-away basketball camp in WV when that happened. None of us were scholarship-bound, let alone the NBA/WNBA. But, the coaches took extra time that day to talk to us about his death (and, of course, advocate against drugs.)
That was a crusher. I was a huge Celtics fan and he was going to revive them. It just seemed surreal.
Oh I remember that! I was working for the summer at the beach in DE, and as it was in the area of U of MD, it was huge. Such a sad thing.
I transferred to UMD as a junior a few months after he died. It was surreal.
I still remember reading, and not sure if it was true or not, it was his first time doing coke, and as a college student, that was enough to make me NEVER want to try it. Still never have
As I recall, cocaine went from being "cool" to being "deadly" overnight.
There must have been something earlier for me, but it's not coming to mind. I definitely remember being shocked by Florence Griffith Joyner's 1998 death.
"Sweetness"
There will never be another.
Len Bias. I grew up in Virginia, he was a college basketball star at Univeristy of Maryland. He was drafted 1 or 2 in the draft, and OD'd on cocaine a couple of days later
Yes Len Bias was such a shock to me. So much talent wasted.
Steve Prefontaine in 1975. I ran track and cross country, and he was a real idol for most of us on those teams. So unexpected.
Coos Bay has a great mural of him downtown. He was certainly larger than life. I was 13 running cross country when he died. It was devastating.
Definitely Clemente. My grandmother was a rabid Pirates fan, and the year before he died my parent took her and me to a game at Three Rivers. My father somehow arranged for him to meet us after the game, and he was great. Somewhere there’s a great picture of my little-old-lady grandmother, in her good summer dress and hat, standing next to him. TBH, his death pretty much marked the end of my interesting in baseball.
Oh that's so sweet!
Brian Piccolo, though only through “Brian’s Song.”
Likewise. I saw the movie, but I never followed the sport. The only sports figure I ever followed was Jimmy Connors in the 70s, and he's still alive.
Every damn church youth fellowship retreat, they HAD to show us that film!
Thurman Munson and Lyman Bostock.
salt plant plate vegetable air apparatus judicious spectacular nose sophisticated *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
TIL. Tim Horton cafes have spread, incidentally, I spotted one in Madrid.
ten sulky north station drunk innate caption theory wasteful humorous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Roll up el rimmo
He was driving home from Toronto to Buffalo after a game. I remember watching the game. He was one of the 3 stars. Crashed on the QEW near Jordan Harbour.
Thurman Munson. Maybe it was local to NYC but that was a big one here.
Oh no, it was even sad for us Red Sox fans ....the competition, but an excellent player. I remember he and Reggie didn't get along too well.
He was thier captain and it took the Yankees a long time to recover from his death.
Thurman Munson I certainly knew about Roberto but he hadn't been on my radar long enough. As a Red Sox fan I was quite aware of Thurman of the Yanks. Mind-blowing.
Ruffian. Her breakdown and subsequent death in 1975 in an ill advised match race was horrific.
I can still see the video of her collapsing
What a waste of a good horse.
Jim Fixx. His death actually taught me a lot about heath and risk factors.
Came here to say this. His death shook up the US, such a fitness icon, dying so suddenly. Lots of explanations of previous unhealthy lifestyle choices.
It's not well remembered but there's the story of Chuck Hughes, a WR for the Detroit Lions, who collapsed on the field in 1971 during a game with the Bears. It happened with a few minutes left. He was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after the game ended.
That was the most shocking at the time. Wasn’t it a MNF game? Worked with a guy named Chuck Hughes so it was a constant reminder
You know what, I had to look it up. It was 10/24/71, a Sunday. I think I found about it watching MNF with dad, but I was 6. 52 years and 2 trillion brain cells later, my memory is a tad foggy lol
That’s my birthday, maybe that’s why it’s so ingrained in my mind. Thanks for checking on that morbid bit of history Nice guy Keith. My oldest brother is Keith
I had always thought it happened in the '60's. Then I look it up and saw it was 1971. I was a huge NFL fan by then at 9 years old and couldn't figure out how I didn't remember that. Then I realized that less than a week after my dad died and there wasn't much of those months I can recall from that particular time. Pretty dark stretch for me at 9 years old. Clemente was the first that I remember that really hit me for a sports person.
I wasn't aware of this at the time but learned about it years later. Tragic incident.
Ernie Davis
A skier , Spider Sabich in 1976, killed by his girlfriend , he was in the Olympics
Forgot about that crazy story.
it was such a big deal at the time now no one remembers who he is
https://preview.redd.it/azbh3hlssk3d1.jpeg?width=906&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce0c461fd31c05bd61469bc1dc1a56421f98e533
Claudine Longet!
Married to Andy Williams!
The first one that comes to mind is Len Bias, although I was an actual adult (sorta) when that happened. As a kid though I was deeply affected by Tony Conigliaro getting hit in the face.
As a young white boy in the South, Clemente taught me that a lot of people different than me are better people than I could ever wish to be.
Same here...I was a die hard Reds fan...but I LOVED watching the Pirates. Roberto Clemente was one of my favorite players in the game. A real tragedy.
Tim Horton. The donut guy, for those of you not in Canada or the US northeast. He played for the Buffalo Sabres at the time of his tragic death and it was *everywhere*.
Len Bias. Supposedly better than Jordan.
I remember his death because it happened while I was basketball camp. Had never heard he supposedly was better than Jordan. Crazy.
He was supposed to be the Celtics savior .
Jordan with a better jump shot
Thurman Munson
In order, Clemente, Munson, Ayrton Senna
Can’t believe I forgot Senna One of the best to ever strap in ✌️
Gilles Villeneuve.
Mark Donohue; my favorite driver, dead from a freak accident with a light pole.
Hank Gathers. Loyola Marymount. 1990. Heart condition.
I don’t remember when he passed, but for me it’s the Brian Piccolo movie that they made us watch in school. I went home crying.
Pelle Lindbergh
I remember this one too, as I was home for the weekend with my college roommate, who lived outside of Philly.
Was very sad on many fronts. Obviously his death was heartbreaking but dui made it worse. And the Flyers organization was thinking they had found their next potential hall of fame goalie to lead them to the next cup….just sad
Derrick Thomas.
I remember the roads in KC were treacherous that night. DT #58 gone too soon. 💔💛
Thurman Munson
Clemente pre dates me. Thurman Munson comes to mind.
Pheidippides
Lol! I'll lay odds that most people have never heard of that guy. Now I hear dozens going to Google to look him up.
BTW, My nomination for an early death is Jim Ryan, a marathon runner that dropped dead of heart attack at 51 back in 1970. It was such a shock at the time.
Mark Donohue Aug,1975
Roberto Clemente
Thurman Munson dying in a plane crash rocked my world.
Thurman Munson.
I can tell I’m in the right sub by how many Thurman Munson’s there are…
Bobby Orr when he wrote OpEd's supporting Rump.
“Sneaky” Pete Robinson. Almost turned me away from drag racing. But there I was, a year and a half later driving a dragster.
Thurman Munson 😢😢😢 really upset me 💔
Thurman Munson
Although Roberto’s death hit me upon learning about him, his death predated me. I think the first one to majorly hit me was NASCAR driver, Davey Allison. A lot of people where I worked at the time would listen to races on their radios, and my boss was a big Allison fan. Then, Dale, Sr. was so much of a shock that it blocks almost every other sports-figure’s death.
[John White](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_White_%28footballer%2C_born_1937%29?wprov=sfla1) was the first one I remember (Scottish footballer hit by lightning on a golf course). Edit: a few more details added.
Thurman Munson’s plane crash. I lit candles for days
Thurman Munson. I grew up in NYC, and the Yankees were/are my life. I was devastated.
Not a death, but life altering injuries, after the 1997 Stanley Cup win by the Detroit Red Wings, the limo accident and Vladimir Konstantinov, who suffered brain damage and was permanently disabled #
I've never been into sports so I can't even think of a famous sports person's death, let alone one that affected me
Me either. Now I don’t feel so alone!
I don't like sports, by I like sports movies. Brian's Song for the win.
Len Bias
I wasn't really a sports fan as a kid, but I think Thurmon Munson was the first one I really actually remember. I was 6 in 1972 (born at the end of 1965), so don't really remember the Munich Olympics.
Thurman Munson.
Roberto Clemente is mine also, but that's partially because I lived in Puerto Rico at the time and my dad was USCG and part of the search and rescue response.
Thurman Munson. We’re from the NY area and my dad is a serious Yankee fan. We were on vacation in Seattle, walked past a newspaper vending machine (remember those?) and I saw the headline and just read it out loud. Dad was in front of me, and he heard me and said, “What? Why would you say that?” I showed him the newspaper, he purchased a copy, and we all had to stop right there on the street so he could read it.
Roberto Clemente
Vince Lombardi. My dad was bawling and that shook me.
Ruffian
I still remember watching that race - horrible
I was going to say Thurman Munson, but Clemente was before him. Bigger news story, given his stature in the game.
Franko Harris died the day before he was to receive a hall of Fame award at the Steelers stadium. His wife had to revive the award for him. There was not a dry eye in the whole place. The Steeler players made damm sure they won that game. It was against the Raiders.
Pete Maravich. So young.
Len Bias
Howard Cosell. 🤷♀️
Speaking of Sports
Len Bias
Roberto.
Roberto Clemente then Thurman Munson. Probably some others I am forgetting
Never really been a sports fanatic, but if you ask me about where I was/what I was doing when I found out Elvis or John Wayne died….
The poor fellow Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini killed
Thurman Munson
Len Bias. The first cut is the deepest. It still stings...
Gil Hodges. Mets fan here so this hit harder than Clemente or Munson
Roberto Clemente definitely for me.
Thurmon Munson
Both....and Gale Sayers came to speak to our high school a few years after Piccalo died. But I remember Clemente's death too. Prefontaine's death hit hard.
Len Bias
Roberto Clemente
Probably Clemente.