While 2024 was an incredible year in sports, it was also one that saw the deaths of so many legends — some beloved, some polarizing, but all who undoubtedly made their mark on sports history.
Before we look ahead to 2025, let’s remember those we lost in 2024.
Jan. 7: Franz Beckenbauer
The German soccer legend known as “Der Kaiser” is one of three people to win the World Cup as a player and manager. Beckenbauer won the Ballon d’Or twice and was named Germany’s Footballer of the Century in 2000. At the club level, he won four Bundesliga titles, three European Cups and the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Bayern Munich, and he later added another Bundesliga title with Hamburg. He joined the New York Cosmos in 1977 to play with Pelé, who described Beckenbauer as “one of the best I ever saw play.”
Jan. 11: Bud Harrelson
Harrelson died after a six-year battle with Alzheimer’s. He played for three teams during his 15-year MLB career, most notably with the New York Mets, with whom he was a two-time All-Star and part of the 1969 World Series winning “Miracle Mets.” He was involved in one of the most memorable playoff moments when he fought Pete Rose at second base during the 1973 NLCS. After retiring as a player, Harrelson became a coach and was on Davey Johnson’s staff when the Mets won their second World Series in 1986.
Jan. 16: Don Catlin
The modern field of anti-doping was built on Catlin’s research. The founder of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, the United States’ first anti-doping lab, devoted his career to finding ways to detect substances that were previously slipping past the authorities. That included the carbon isotope ratio to determine if an anabolic steroid was produced naturally or from banned substances and the identification of the active ingredient in “The Clear,” which was used by Barry Bonds and others.
The Warriors were rocked by the sudden loss of Milojević, who died of a heart attack at a team dinner in January. Milojević had worked as an assistant coach for Golden State since 2021, winning a ring in 2022 and becoming a popular figure among players. Before the Warriors, the Serbian enjoyed a successful career as both a player and coach in Europe, winning three straight MVP awards in Eastern Europe’s ABA League and three trophies as a coach in Serbia and Montenegro.
Weathers was a great athlete in real life and an even better one in fiction. Many movie fans might not know that the man who became Apollo Creed was originally a football player, playing at San Diego State for two undefeated seasons and spending another two seasons with the Oakland Raiders under legendary coach John Madden. It was Madden who helped convince Weathers to pursue acting full-time after seeing his player star in Shakespeare’s “Othello.” It wound up being a good move.
The world record for the marathon still belongs to the late Kelvin Kiptum, who became the first man to break the 2:01:00 mark when he blew away the field at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. There is no way to calculate what the long-distance running world lost when the 24-year-old prodigy died in a car crash in his native Kenya. He was responsible for three of the seven fastest seven marathon times in history, and he was just getting started.
Driesell turned Maryland into a top college basketball program during his 17 years in College Park. He also started the tradition of an opening practice for the public with “Midnight Madness,” which is now an event for schools throughout the country. During his 41-year career, Driesell also coached at Davison, James Madison and Georgia State. When he retired in 2003, Driesell had the fourth-most coaching wins in Division I men’s basketball. He was 92 years old when he died.
For many football fans, Mortensen was the original NFL insider. He joined ESPN after stints with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The National and became a ubiquitous presence across the network’s TV and radio programming as the appetite for the NFL became insatiable. Dominating the beat and setting a standard for 25 years, Mortensen stepped back after being diagnosed with throat cancer. He retired in 2023 to focus on his health before his death in March at 72 years old.
Were it not for Angelos, who died in March at 93, the Baltimore Orioles could have left the city like the Bullets in 1973 and the Colts in 1983. He and the ownership group he assembled paid $173 million, a record price at that time, in 1993 to keep the Orioles under local control. Angelos put up $40 million of his own money to guarantee the sale. His meddling in baseball operations eventually caused the fans to turn on him, but as long as the O’s are in Baltimore — something new owner David Rubenstein doesn’t plan to change — Angelos’ legacy will live on.
Vontae Davis was found dead in his South Florida home in April at just 35 years old. Authorities have yet to announce a cause of death. At his peak, Davis was one of the better NFL cornerbacks of his generation and a two-time Pro Bowler with the Colts. He also played with the Dolphins and Bills in a 10-year career that spanned from 2009 to ’18. He played in the NFL at the same time as his brother Vernon, a two-time Pro Bowl tight end.
Simpson was a Heisman-winning running back at USC, then reached superstardom as the first player in NFL history to post 2,000 rushing yards in a season, the apex of a career that saw him earn five All-Pro nods, four rushing titles and an MVP. He went on to enjoy successful careers in acting and broadcasting. Nobody cared about any of that for the final three decades of his life, though, and you know why.
Herzog managed four MLB teams over his 17-year managerial career and led the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1982 World Series title. He also served as the franchise’s general manager for three seasons and acquired future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith. Herzog won 1,281 games as a manager, securing six division titles and the 1985 NL Manager of the Year award. In 2010, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He’s also a member of the Cardinals and Kansas City Royals Halls of Fame.
April 15: Ken Holtzman
The winningest Jewish pitcher of all time is not Sandy Koufax. It is Holtzman, who faced the Dodgers legend as a rookie, then proceeded to have an outstanding career in his own right. The southpaw threw two no-hitters with the Cubs (the first being one of three in history with zero strikeouts), then became an All-Star after he was traded to the Athletics in 1971. The rotation trio he formed with Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue was a vital part of Oakland’s World Series three-peat.
May 8: Jimmy Johnson
When facing the 49ers, quarterbacks rarely threw to Johnson’s side of the field. He was a lockdown corner long before that became a term, talented enough to go step-for-step with the opposing wide receiver and versatile enough to give pass-catching a try in 1962. The eight-time All-Pro made the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade team and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
Otto played for the Raiders since the franchise’s inception in 1960, lining up at center for 15 seasons without missing a single game. That took a toll on his body, resulting in 70 surgeries and his right leg being amputated in 2007. Otto won an AFL title in 1967 and played in six AFL or AFC championship games with the Silver and Black. He was a 10-time first-team All-Pro and 12-time Pro Bowler and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980. Otto died at 86 years old.
Murray died by suicide one day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, after citing illness. Five months earlier, the 30-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina, native snapped a six-year winless drought after earning his second PGA Tour victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Prior to joining the PGA Tour, Murray was a three-time Junior World Champion and the second-youngest golfer to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour at age 16.
Walton, one of basketball’s most colorful characters, died after battling cancer in recent years. He was 71 years old. The 6-foot-11 center won two national championships at UCLA and was the No. 1 overall pick by the Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA Draft. As a professional, he won two NBA titles (one with the Celtics) and an MVP award. But generations of basketball fans likely know Walton better as an offbeat broadcaster, calling college and NBA games with memorable stories, unusual tangents and observations for CBS, NBC, the Clippers and ESPN/ABC.
Larry Allen was a staple in the Cowboys’ offensive line for more than a decade, where he protected both Troy Aikman during the team’s most recent Super Bowl run and Tony Romo at the beginning of his career. The Hall of Famer, who grew up in the Los Angeles area and was once stabbed 12 times while protecting one of his brothers, was described by Aikman as a “gentle giant.” He’ll go down as one of the best linemen in the history of the league and one of just three players to be named to both the 1990s and 2000s All-Decade teams.
Basketball Hall of Famer and seven-time NBA All-Star Chet “The Jet” Walker died in June at 84 years old. A 6-foot-7 forward known for his speed on the court, Walker played in the playoffs in each season of his 13-year career with the 76ers and Bulls. He helped lead the 76ers to a championship in 1967 while playing alongside Wilt Chamberlain. Walker later sued the NBA and the Bulls, alleging anti-trust violations regarding his contract negotiations, and ultimately retired in 1975 when he reached a settlement. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame 37 years later in 2012.
The Logo was an inner-circle Hall of Famer two times over, first as a player who was one of the NBA’s first great guards, then as the executive who built multiple Lakers dynasties. He even played a role in the league’s most recent dynasty with the Warriors, serving as an executive board member. Everywhere he went, everything he did, he turned his teams into winners with one of the sharpest basketball minds in history, not to mention sheer force of will.
There is really no way of evaluating baseball that doesn’t result in the Say Hey Kid being one of the best. Power: 660 home runs. Contact: 3,293 hits. Defense: an outfield-record 12 Gold Gloves, plus the greatest defensive highlight in the history of his position. Longevity: two full decades as an All-Star. Advanced stats: the most WAR of any player since integration not tainted by steroids. Character: the inaugural Roberto Clemente Award winner. It’s easy to call Mays the greatest two-way player ever, but you can also probably remove the “two-way” from that.
Mays wasn’t the only groundbreaking Giants legend to die this year. One of baseball’s first great Puerto Rican players, Cepeda rose from humble origins to stardom while hitting behind Mays and Willie McCovey in the Giants lineup. A trade later landed him with the Cardinals, with whom he won a World Series and MVP honors in 1967. A drug arrest marred his reputation after retirement, but he successfully rehabilitated his life as a Giants ambassador and made the Hall of Fame in 1999.
Jackson, a rookie cornerback for the Vikings, was killed in an auto accident with two friends and former teammates in their native Maryland. He was only 24 years old. Jackson was a fourth-round pick by Minnesota in the 2024 NFL Draft and appeared poised to win a roster spot, impressing coaches in minicamps and OTAs with his press coverage. He actually quit football for two years and worked at a grocery store before playing at Alabama, then Oregon.
Perhaps no name is more synonymous with the Buccaneers’ rise to relevance from the dregs of the NFL than Monte Kiffin. Kiffin joined Tony Dungy’s staff in 1996 as the defensive coordinator in Tampa Bay, where they masterminded an iconic defense that finished as a top-10 unit 12 times in Kiffin’s 13-year tenure. The Tampa 2 concept became a blueprint in college and the NFL and gave the Oakland Raiders fits in Super Bowl XXXVII. Bucs defenders intercepted Rich Gannon five times and returned three for touchdowns to deliver the franchise its first Super Bowl win.
The Ravens do not reach Super Bowl XLVII without Jones catching the ball that came to be known as the “Mile High Miracle.” The Ravens do not win Super Bowl XLVII without Jones becoming the first player to score a receiving touchdown and kick-return touchdown in the big game. The New Orleans native reached the apex of his career at the Superdome. He died at the age of 40 in his hometown due to complications from high blood pressure.
Haynes was the AFL’s first Rookie of the Year and MVP, playing five seasons for the Chiefs (beginning as the Dallas Texans). A multi-purpose threat as a halfback, he still holds the team record with five touchdowns in a game. Haynes was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1991, and his jersey No. 28 was retired. At North Texas, he was one of the first Black athletes in Texas to play major college football. Haynes died at 86 years old.
Seldon, 22, died in an apparent cliff-diving accident shortly before he was to begin his first season at Utah State as a fifth-year senior. A native of Belleville, Michigan, the cornerback played two seasons at Michigan followed by two years at New Mexico State, where he played 28 games and started 24. Seldon then went with coach Nate Dreiling from NMSU to Utah State, who became the interim head coach and defensive coordinator.
July 22: Carolyn Schuler
An International Swimming Hall of Famer, Schuler came out of nowhere to win two gold medals in the 1960 Summer Olympics at the age of 17. Before achieving gold, she had never won an individual national championship. She wasn’t even the best swimmer in her favorite event on her elite YMCA team. She made the Olympic team by a fingertip and remained the underdog in Rome. Then she won.
July 28: Reyes Moronta
Moronta pitched six seasons in MLB from 2017 to ’23. He died in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic at the age of 31. The right-hander played for the Giants, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Angels and Rangers during his career. He compiled a 3.05 ERA and 10-11 record in 177 appearances with 202 strikeouts in 171 1/3 innings. Moronta’s best season was 2018, with a 2.49 ERA and 5-2 record in 69 games, averaging 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Prior to his death, Bean was MLB’s only living openly gay player. He died at 60 years old following an 11-year struggle with acute myeloid leukemia. Bean came out in 1999, four years after his six-year major-league career concluded. He was the fourth-round pick of the Tigers in 1986, with whom he played for three seasons. Bean also played for the Dodgers and Padres. He was MLB’s Senior VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, hired in 2014 by commissioner Bud Selig.
Attles was a legendary figure in Warriors team history as a player, coach and general manager. Known as an enforcer and for his tough defense as a point guard, he later became the third Black coach in NBA history. Attles coached a Golden State team led by Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes to the 1974-75 NBA championship. His No. 16 jersey was retired by the Warriors in 1977, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Attles was 87 years old when he died.
The Gaudreau brothers were killed after they were struck by an alleged drunk driver while bike riding near their family home in New Jersey. Johnny Gaudreau, 31, was a seven-time All-Star and scored 243 goals and 743 points in 763 games over 11 NHL seasons with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets. Matthew Gaudreau, 29, had a professional playing career that lasted five seasons before he was hired to coach at Gloucester Catholic High School, where both brothers attended.
Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon for Uganda at the Paris Olympics in August. One month later, her former partner doused her with gasoline and set her on fire at her home in Kenya, reportedly over a land dispute. She died in the hospital with burns on more than 80% of her body. The story is horrific, but making it even worse is that she was the third Ugandan runner to be killed by their partner since 2021.
In the golden age of ’90s post play, Dikembe Mutombo stood out as perhaps the greatest defender of his era. A menacing presence as a rebounder and shot blocker, Mutombo embodied defensive intimidation, and his iconic finger wag carries on as an homage to his greatness. Off the court, he was anything but a menace, a beloved figure in the global basketball community who focused much of his post-basketball career on philanthropy in his home continent of Africa. He’s gone too soon at 58 years old.
Rose should primarily be remembered as baseball’s all-time hits leader, but his legacy was twisted by everything that came after his playing career, including a lifetime ban for betting on baseball and a statutory rape allegation. The former is most known and might have been lifted by now had Rose played ball with MLB rather than repeatedly lying about his gambling. When it came to Rose’s career, the good and the bad were both direct products of the man himself.
Oct. 2: Susie Berning
Susie Maxwell Berning was a pioneer in the golf world from the very beginning. She was the first female player to earn a golf scholarship at Oklahoma City University, where she played alongside the men. She went on to win the U.S. Women’s Open three times and returned to win the tournament in back-to-back years after giving birth to her first daughter in 1970. The 11-time LPGA Tour winner and former Rookie of the Year was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame alongside Tiger Woods in 2022.
Shaw, 85, was the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who never actually played in the NFL. He played nine seasons at offensive guard for the Bills, who were in the AFL during his career. Shaw was part of two AFL championship teams in 1964 and 1965, selected to seven All-AFL teams and named an eight-time AFL All-Star. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
“El Tiante” pitched for six teams over a 19-year MLB career, was a three-time All-Star and won 229 games with Cleveland, the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels. Tiant, known for his unique delivery, made three starts during the 1975 World Series, helping the Red Sox force Game 7 against the Cincinnati Reds. He finished his MLB career with 187 complete games and 49 shutouts before retiring in 1982.
“Fernandomania” gripped baseball and permanently changed the Dodgers fan base as Valenzuela became a national hero in Mexico. Every time the screwball-throwing southpaw reared back and looked to the Dodger Stadium sky, it was worth watching, from a rookie year that saw him win a Cy Young Award and World Series ring to the no-hitter in his final year in Los Angeles. The Dodgers winning the World Series a week after his death in 2024 was a fitting tribute to a man who defined the organization.
Abdur-Rahim was a rising star in the college basketball coaching ranks after leading Kennesaw State to its first winning record at 26–9 and an NCAA tournament bid, then South Florida to a 25–8 mark and first-ever conference title. That success made him a candidate for jobs including Michigan, Vanderbilt and Louisville, but he decided to stay in Tampa and signed a contract extension. Abdur-Rahim was only 43 years old when he died due to complications from a medical procedure.
One of NASCAR’s great winners and the patriarch of a racing family, Bobby Allison died in November at 86. Allison’s 85 wins are fourth-most in NASCAR history. Despite his win tally, he won just a single Cup Series championship in 1983. His airborne crash at Talladega in 1987 was one of the worst in NASCAR history and was the impetus for the introduction of restrictor plates. The founder of the Alabama gang, Allison was the father of NASCAR drivers Davey and Clifford Allison and the brother of driver Donnie Allison. Davey tragically died in a helicopter crash at Talladega at 32 years old in 1993.
Karolyi and his wife, Marta, oversaw the United States’ breakthrough in women’s gymnastics, coaching the likes of Mary Lou Retton and every other great American gymnast of the ’80s and ’90s. Time was not kind to their reputation, though, as the pair have become infamous for their harsh treatment of the girls placed under their tutelage. After Karolyi spent so much effort preventing his talented students from growing up, the sport ended up outgrowing him.
There are few greater compliments than a city concluding it is cursed because its team traded you away. Such was the fate of Babe Ruth and Colavito. The latter slugger joined Cleveland in the later years of the club’s golden age and did his best to extend it, earning a home run title and posting MLB’s eighth four-homer game in 1959. His trade to the Detroit Tigers right before the 1960 season was met with fan outrage; the longest World Series drought in MLB has only reinforced the Curse of Rocky Colavito.
