Younts coached Ardmore to a pair of state titles
Farewell to people with Oklahoma ties who enjoyed the game day experience:
•Ted Younts, 68, of Haslet, Texas. He spent 40 years as a prep basketball coach, 30 of those in Oklahoma.
Younts attended Stonewall High School and East Central University before going on to a decorated career, which included boys state title teams at Ardmore in 1993 and '94.
He also spent eight years at Graham High, taking that boys basketball program to the state championship game six times. He moved to Texas, where he coached at Boswell High School for 10 seasons before retiring.
He was The Oklahoman's
All-State Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1993. The Oklahoma Coaches Association added Younts to its Hall of Fame in 2012.
•Dorothy Giasson, 98, of Oklahoma City. She played golf until age 93.
•Tommy Johnson, 75, of Moore. He played football at Stillwater High School and the University of Tennessee.
•Joe Stanka, 87, of Katy, Texas. The Waynoka High School graduate played baseball at Oklahoma A&M before a lengthy pro career. Stanka, standing 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers; he pitched for the Dodgers' Class D farm teams in Duncan, Shawnee and Ponca City. Stanka made his big league debut in 1959 with the powerful Chicago White Sox, pitching three innings of relief and earning his only win, over the Detroit Tigers.
Stanka eventually signed with the Nankai Hawks of the Japanese Baseball League and would become one of the circuit's greats. Stanka won 100 career games, tying him for the most by a foreign pitcher, a record that still stands. He was named league MVP for winning 26 games in 1964 and World Series MVP that same season for throwing three shutouts in a sevengame series.
•Charles Heatly, 84, of Lindsay. The legendary girls basketball coach made an impact not only in the state but the nation. Approximately 50,000 girls from coast to coast attended Heatly's Lindsay Basketball Camp from 1971-96, including future singing star Reba McEntire of Kiowa.
Heatly was Lindsay High's coach from 195786; the Leopards notched 669 victories as well as two state titles and three runner-up finishes. For more on Heatly's career, go to NewsOK.com and read staff writer Jacob Unruh's story.
•Bobby Steele, 85, of Midwest City. He played basketball at New Concord High School in his native Kentucky.
Steele, who started as a freshman, later played intramural hoops while serving in the Air Force. Also liked to play golf.
•Marlin Dahlke, 62, of Oklahoma City. Played several sports at Del City High School, but he excelled in baseball. Dahlke was a lefthanded pitcher who was on the All-State team as a senior.
He played scholarship baseball at Rose State Junior College in Midwest City and then Oklahoma City University. After retiring from the Rush Truck Center, he was a volunteer pitching coach for Southeast High School.
•Sarah Rose Million, 25, of Fort Worth, Texas. She grew up in Texas, but had many family ties in Oklahoma. Million attended her first OU football game before she could walk. She was a swimmer for Paschal High School in Fort Worth, and then attended OU, where she earned a degree in zoology.
•Rev. John Williams, 72, of Tulsa. The Tulsa Edison High School graduate wrestled for two national championship teams at Oklahoma State. The Vietnam veteran established a Marine Corps. wrestling team during his time of service.
•Gordon Holland, 97, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The Enid native was a four-sport high school standout for the Plainsmen. He went on to become a member of the OU football and track teams. A World War II veteran who retired to South Carolina after living 60 years in Ponca City.
•Buddy Cagle Jr., 69, of Ramona. Cagle came from a racing family spanning five generations.
His father was a race car driver, and Buddy Jr. coached his daughter and grandchildren during their start in quarter-midget racing.
•Dr. Jerry Wootan of Tulsa. The doctor of Osteopathy liked to race Corvettes. Also raised show dogs and enjoyed scuba diving.
•Bud Jackson, 62, of Tulsa. A star baseball and football player at Jesuit High School in his native Shreveport, Louisiana.
The outfielder caught the last out that gave the Flyers the 1974 state championship. A four-year letterman in both sports. The LSU fan worked in the sporting goods industry before becoming a physical therapist.