2010 Notable Sports Deaths

Former Dallas Cowboys and Southern Methodist quarterback Don Meredith died December 5, 2010, at 72. He was reportedly battling emphysema. Meredith also became a staple as a member of the Monday Night Football broadcast team before retiring in 1984.  (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Longtime Chicago Cubs third baseman and radio broadcaster Ron Santo died at the age of 70, after suffering complications due to bladder cancer.   (Photo by Louis Requena/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Five-time MLB All-Star Gil McDougald died November 28, 2010, following a battle with cancer. He was the 1951 AL Rookie of the Year and and was part of five World Series winning New York Yankees teams through ten seasons. McDougald was 82.   (Diamond Images/Getty Images)

Pat Burns, who made an unconventional and accidental transition from police officer to hockey coach and was the only man voted the National Hockey League‘s coach of the year three times, died on Nov. 19 at a hospice in Sherbrooke, Canada. He was 58.  (Elsa/Getty Images/NHLI)

Former MLB utility player Ed Kirkpatrick died November 15, 2010, after a long battle with throat cancer. He played 16 seasons in the big leagues with five teams: California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers and the Milwaukee Brewers. Kirkpatrick was 66.  (Rogers Photo Archive/Getty images)

Former NFL lineman, coach and executive Ken Iman died November 13, 2010. He played fifteen seasons split between the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams. Iman was 71.   (Vic Stein/Getty Images)

Niehaus, who called the first pitch in Seattle Mariners history and described more than three decades of occasionally good and mostly bad baseball, died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack at his suburban Bellevue home, according to his family. He was 75.  (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson has died. He was 76. A family spokesman says Anderson died from complications from dementia. Anderson guided the Cincinnati Reds to World Series championships in 1975 and 1976 and then led the Detroit Tigers to the 1984 title.  (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Three-time world champion surfer Andy Irons died November 3, after withdrawing from an event because of an illness. Irons returned to the tour this year after taking a year off. He was 32.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Former NBA player and coach Maurice Lucas died October 31, after a long bout with bladder cancer. The power forward helped lead the Portland Trail Blazers to their first NBA title in 1977. He played in the league for 12 seasons with Portland, New Jersey, New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles Lakers and Seattle. Lucas was 58.  (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Jim Hunter, a NASCAR executive who spent portions of six decades in the industry, first as a newspaper reporter and later as a public relations official, died after a battle with cancer on October 29. He was 71.  (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Japanese motorcycle racer Shoya Tomizawa was killed in a Moto2 crash at San Marino Grand Prix on Sept. 5, 2010. He was 19.  (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)

Two-time Tour de France champion Laurent Fignon (Left) has died after a battle with cancer. He was 50.   (Photo by: AFP/Getty Images)

Olympian and North Carolina assistant track coach Antonio Pettigrew was found dead in his car.  (Stu Forster/ Allsport)

Former NBA player Lorenzen Wright‘s body was found in a field near Memphis on July 28, days after he was reported missing. Wright played 13 seasons in the NBA with 5 teams including the Grizzlies, Clippers, Kings, Hawks and Cavs. He was 34.  (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Former NFL lineman Harry Galbreath has died at the age of 45. Galbreath was drafted in 1988 spent five seasons with the Dolphins , three with the Packers and two with the Jets. He retired in 1997.  (GETTY IMAGES: CHRIS COLE/ALLSPORT)

Former Baltimore Ravens fullback Kenyon Cotton died following complications that possibly stemmed from surgery on his Achilles tendon. He played for the Ravens in 1997 and 1998 after starring at Southeast Louisiana. Cotton was 36.   (Andre F. Chung/Baltimore Sun/July 24, 1997)

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 80 years old.  (Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)

Bob Sheppard, the voice of the New York Yankees, holds up his microphone that he presented to the National Baseball Hall of Fame during the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony 23 July 2000 in Cooperstown, NY.  (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

Retired hockey enforcer Bob Probert, who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks and struggled to overcome drinking problems, has died. He was 45.   (Photo by Jim Prisching/Getty Images)

Former NBA player and humanitarian Manute Bol, best known for being 7’6” tall has died at age 47  (PETER MARTELL/AFP/Getty Images)

Raymond Parks, owner of NASCAR‘s first championship winning car and an integral part of the series’ formation, has died. He was 96.   (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Former Miami Dolphins’ safety Jarvis Williams (R) died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 45. Williams was selected into the University of Florida‘s All-Century team in 1999.  (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Former Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Norman Hand died after collapsing at his home in South Carolina.   (DAVE KAUP/AFP/Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Phillies’ Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, known as the “Wiz Kid”, died on May 6, 2010 at the age of 83. In the 1950’s Roberts pitched six consecutive 20 win seasons.  (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Colorado Rockies president Keli McGregor was found dead in his Utah hotel room April 20. He was 48.  (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Former Kansas State Quarterback Dylan Meier (2002-2006) reportedly died while hiking with family in Arkansas on April 19. Meier was 26. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)  (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

World Boxing Council (WBC) World Champion of the lightweight division Edwin Valero of Venezuela was found dead in his jail cell on April 19, hours after being charged in the murder of his wife. Valero allegedly hanged himself.   (Photo by OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

Football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen died March 10. Olsen played 14 seasons in the NFL, all with the Los Angeles Rams. After football he became an NFL and college football commentator and also starred for two seasons in the “Little House on the Prairie” spinoff “Father Murphy.” Olsen was 69.  (Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)

Former NFL running back Mosi Tatupu died February 15, 2010. He made the Pro Bowl as a special-teams player in 1986 with the New England Patriots where he played 13 seasons before retiring on the Rams in 1991. He was 54.  (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

MLB veteran Jim Bibby died February 16, 2010. Bibby threw a no-hitter while on the Texas Rangers in 1973 and pitched in Game 7 of the World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. He was 65.  (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)