Sporting figures who died in 2023

The sporting world lost several icons and beloved personalities in 2023.

On the gridiron, NFL legends Jim Brown and Dick Butkus both died, leaving behind lasting legacies of toughness.

In basketball, Willis Reed, long remembered for battling through injury to win NBA championships with the New York Knicks, died in March. The college game said goodbye to Hall of Fame coaches Bob Knight and Denny Crum, who won a combined five national titles.

Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2023:

January

Ken Block, 55. A motorsports icon known for his stunt driving and for cofounding the action sports apparel brand DC Shoes. Jan. 2, snowmobiling accident.

Constantine, 82. The former and last king of Greece, who won an Olympic gold medal in sailing and spent decades in exile after becoming entangled in his country’s volatile politics in the 1960s. Jan. 10.

Charles White, 64. The all-time leading rusher for Southern California who helped the Trojans win a national title in 1978 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1979. Jan. 11

Frank Thomas, 93. A three-time AllStar with his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates who later became the top hitter on the expansion New York Mets. Jan. 16

Chris Ford, 74. A member of the Boston Celtics 1981 championship team, a longtime NBA coach and the player credited with scoring the league’s first 3-point basket. Jan. 17.

Billy Packer, 82. An Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS. Jan. 26.

Jessie Lemonier, 25. An outside linebacker who appeared in seven games for the Detroit Lions in 2021 in a brief NFL career highlighted by a sack of Aaron Rodgers. Jan. 26

Bobby Hull, 84. A Hall of Fame forward who scored more than 600 goals and helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup Final. Jan. 30.

February

Conrad Dobler, 72. One of the NFL’s top offensive linemen in the 1970s and known as one of the league’s dirtiest players. Feb. 13

Tim McCarver, 81. The All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as one of the country’s most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators. Feb. 16.

March

Just Fontaine, 89. The French soccer great who scored a record 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup. March 1.

Bud Grant, 95. The stoic and demanding Hall of Fame coach who took the Minnesota Vikings and their mighty Purple People Eaters defense to four Super Bowls in eight years and lost all of them. March 11.

Dick Fosbury, 76. The lanky leaper who revamped the technical discipline of high jump and won an Olympic gold medal with his “Fosbury Flop.” March 12.

Willis Reed, 80. He dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain. March 21.

April

Larry “Gator” Rivers, 73. He helped integrate high school basketball in Georgia before playing for the Harlem Globetrotters and becoming a county commissioner in his native Savannah. April 29.

May

Tori Bowie, 32. The sprinter who won three Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. May 2, complications of childbirth.

Vida Blue, 73. A hardthrowing left-hander who became one of baseball’s biggest draws in the early 1970s and helped lead the brash A’s to three straight World Series titles before his career was derailed by drug problems. May 6.

Denny Crum, 86. He won two NCAA men’s basketball championships and built Louisville into one of the 1980s’ dominant programs during a Hall of Fame coaching career. May 9.

Doyle Brunson, 89. One of the most influential poker players of all time and a two-time world champion. May 14.

Jim Brown, 87. The pro football Hall of Famer was an unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s. May 18.

June

The Iron Sheik, 81. A former pro wrestler who relished playing a burly, bombastic villain in 1980s battles with some of the sport’s biggest stars and later became a popular Twitter personality. June 7.

George Frazier, 68. The former pitcher was a World Series champion who had a nearly three-decade run as a television broadcaster. June 19.

July

Mikala Jones, 44. A Hawaii surfer known for shooting awe-inspiring photos and videos from the inside of massive, curling waves. July 9, surfing accident.

August

Gil Brandt, 91. The Pro Football Hall of Fame member was the player personnel director alongside the stoic, fedorawearing coach Tom Landry and mediasavvy general manager Tex Schramm as part of the trio that built the Dallas Cowboys into “America’s Team” in the 1970s. Aug. 31.

September

Roy Kidd, 91. He coached Eastern Kentucky to two NCAA Division I-AA football championships in a Hall of Fame career. Sept. 12.

October

Tim Wakefield, 57. The knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year. Oct. 1.

Dick Butkus, 80. A Hall of Fame middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears whose speed and ferocity set the standards for the position in the modern era. Oct. 5.

Bobby Charlton, 86. An English soccer icon who survived a plane crash that decimated a Manchester United team destined for greatness to become the heartbeat of his country’s 1966 World Cup triumph. Oct. 21.

Bishan Bedi, 77. The India cricket great whose dazzling left-arm spin claimed 266 test wickets. Oct. 23.

November

Bob Knight, 83. The brilliant and combustible coach who won three NCAA titles at Indiana and for years was the scowling face of college basketball. Nov. 1.

Terry R. Taylor, 71. In two trailblazing decades as the first female sports editor of The Associated Press, she transformed the news agency’s emphasis into multilayered coverage of rigorous reporting, entertaining enterprise and edgy analysis. Nov. 14.

Bobby Ussery, 88. A Hall of Fame jockey who won the 1967 Kentucky Derby and then crossed the finish line first in the 1968 edition only to be disqualified days later. Nov. 16.

Terry Venables, 80. A charismatic and tactically innovative English soccer coach who led his national team to the European Championship semifinals in 1996 after winning trophies at club level with Barcelona and Tottenham. Nov. 25.

December

Frank Wychek, 52. Three-time Pro Bowl tight end who threw the lateral that started the “Music City Miracle,” launching the Tennessee Titans’ run to the franchise’s lone Super Bowl appearance. Dec. 11

Vic Davalillo, unknown. A two-time World Series champion who spent 16 seasons in the major leagues and won a Gold Glove in 1964. Dec. 13

George McGinnis, 73. A Hall of Fame forward who was a two-time ABA champion and three-time All-Star in the NBA and ABA. Dec. 14

MARK DUNCAN/AP, FILE Jim Brown, seen during a 2014 event at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was a legendary NFL running back before becoming an actor and social activist. He died on May 18 at the age of 87.

DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP, FILE Tori Bowie won a gold, silver and bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She died on May 3. She was 32.

DARRON CUMMINGS/AP, FILE Bob Knight won 899 games over 42 seasons at three schools. He died on Nov. 1.

AP Willis Reed won two championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. He died on March 21.

AP, FILE Dick Butkus was a fearsome linebacker for the Chicago Bears. He died on Oct. 5. He was 80.

AP, FILE Dick Fosbury won an Olympic gold medal in 1968 with his “Fosbury Flop.” He died on March 12.

Grant

Wakefield

McCarver

Packer

Blue