Forever Young: Athletes Who Died in Their Late Twenties
Sports personalities who died between the age of 27 to 29.
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Pat Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004)
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Pat Tillman, an American football player, turned down a $3.6 million contract from the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army, and was deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was killed in action in Afghanistan by friendly fire while on patrol at the age of 27.
Mike Hawthorn (April 10, 1929 – January 22, 1959)
(Pictorial movie about Mike Hawthorn, starting from his 1955 victory at Le Mans to his fatal accident on the Guildford Bypass)
British race car driver, Mike Hawthorn won the 1955 “24 hours of Le Mans” race, despite being involved in the horrible crash that killed 80 spectators; and immediately retired after winning 1958 Formula One Championship. He died at 29 years of age in an automobile accident while driving his Jaguar sedan on the A3 bypass near Guildford.
Dražen Petrovic (October 22, 1964 – June 7, 1993)
Dražen Petrovic was a Croatian basketball player, who played for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA (1991-1993) and won the silver medal playing for the newly independent Croatia in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. At age 28, he was killed in a traffic accident on a rain-drenched autobahn at Denkendorf, near Ingolstadt, Germany.
Sergei Grinkov (February 4, 1967 – November 20, 1995)
Paired with Ekaterina Gordeeva who became his wife, Sergei Grinkov was a two-time Olympic (1988, 1994) and a four-time World champion (1986-1987, 1989-1990). This 28-year old Russian pairs figure skater suffered a massive heart attack in New York while rehearsing for the upcoming Stars on Ice tour.
Ray Chapman (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920)
Ray Chapman played as a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians his entire career. He was struck dead at age 29 by a baseball pitch. During his time, pitchers deliberately misshaped the ball by dirtying, cutting and scratching it to render it difficult to see when thrown. Carl Mays of the New York Yankees pitched such a ball with great force, smashing it into Chapman’s skull and creating so loud a sound that Mays thought it hit the end of Chapman’s bat, so he fielded the ball and threw it to first base.
Jesse Marunde (September 14, 1979 – July 25, 2007)
Jesse Marunde was an American athlete, who, in 2002 at 22 years of age, became the youngest candidate to ever compete in the World’s Strongest Man. His second-place finish in 2005 made him the first American to place in the top two spots in 15 years. His death at age 27 following a workout was attributable to a genetic heart defect, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a leading cause of heart failure among young athletes.
Paul Hunter (October 14, 1978 – October 9, 2006)
Nicknamed the “Beckham of the Baize” for his glamorous image, Paul Hunter was the 2002 British Open snooker champion and the three-time winner of the prestigious though non-ranking Saga Insurance Masters tournament (2001-2002, 2004). He was diagnosed to be suffering from malignant neuro-endocrine tumors and would die just 5 days short of his 28th birthday.
William “Bill” Masterton (August 13, 1938 – January 15, 1968)
A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bill Masterton was a center in the National Hockey League. He died at age 29 as a result of an injury he sustained during a game. After completing a pass to his teammate, Masterton was checked by two players of the opposing team and fell head first onto the ice causing a massive brain hemorrhage.
Forever Young Series:
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MUSICIANS Who Died in Their:
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ACTORS Who Died in Their:
- SPORTS PERSONALITIES Who Died in Their:
- Early Twenties
- Mid-Twenties
- Late Twenties
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HISTORICAL PEOPLE Who Died in Their:
3 Comments
Thanks for sharing 3 interesting sports article. i’ve learned lots from them.
i miss your work… great job as always!
Sad but true about all these sudden tragic deaths. Interesting as always. Like it!