Ex-Raider Cannon dies at age 80
Former Raiders running back and tight end Billy Cannon died Sunday at age 80 at his home in St. Francisville, La. The cause of death was not immediately known.
“The Raiders family is saddened to learn of the passing of Billy Cannon,” the team said in a statement. “One of many Heisman Trophy winners to wear the Silver and Black, Cannon always embodied the Raiders spirit.”
Cannon was the No. 1 overall pick in both the American Football League and NFL drafts in 1960. He chose to sign with the AFL’s Houston Oilers instead of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams.
Houston traded him to Oakland in 1964. He switched to tight end a year later and led the Raiders with 10 receiving touchdowns as they won the AFL championship in 1967. He won two AFL titles with Houston in 1960 and 1961, and was the title game MVP both times.
Cannon led LSU to a national championship in 1958 and won the Heisman Trophy the following year, highlighted by a memorable Halloween night punt return touchdown against Mississippi. His tackle-breaking 89-yard punt return is still regularly shown on the video board at Tiger Stadium during LSU games.
“Nearly 60 years later, Louisianans still talk about that Halloween night,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said.
After football, Cannon became a dentist. He served 2½ years in prison for counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke.
Rome win makes Nadal No. 1
Rafael Nadal came out on top in a matchup of this year’s top two clay-court players in Rome, beating defending champion Alex Zverev 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to win a record-extending eighth Italian Open title. Nadal will reclaim the No. 1 ranking on Monday from Roger Federer, who is sitting out the clay season to prepare for Wimbledon.
Earlier, Elina Svitolina successfully defended her women’s title with little resistance from top-ranked Simona Halep in a 6-0, 6-4 win. College baseball: Third-ranked Stanford earned a series sweep with a 4-2 win over visiting Washington State. The Cardinal (43-8) play their final three games at Washington, needing one win to clinch a Pac-12 title. Soccer: First it was Fernando Torres, then Andres Iniesta. The Spanish league season ended with two Spanish soccer idols bidding farewell. Torres ended his storied career with boyhood club Atletico Madrid by scoring twice in a 2-2 draw against Eibar. Iniesta capped 16 successful seasons with Barcelona in the team’s 1-0 win over Real Sociedad.
⏩ In MLS, Alberth Elis scored two second-half goals to help Houston beat host Chicago 3-2 . ... Khiry Shelton scored his first goal of the season in Sporting Kansas City’s 1-1 tie at Minnesota United . ... Bradley-Wright Phillips scored two second-half goals in the New York Red Bulls’ 3-1 win at Atlanta.