Bruno Balke; Pioneer in Sports Medicine

Bruno Balke, 92, a professor of kinesiology and physiology who was considered to be a founding father of sports medicine. Born in Germany, Balke was educated at the University of Berlin, where he received his doctorate in medicine and taught there from 1937 to 1942. He contracted infectious hepatitis while serving with the German Army on the Russian Front during World War II and was transferred to the School of Mountain Rescue in the Tirol. While there he established two physiology laboratories, one at 2,000 feet above sea level and the other at 10,000 feet. At those sites, Balke studied the impact of environmental factors such as cold, heat and altitude, in addition to the impact of exercise and nutrition. After the war, Balke received his second doctorate, this one in physiology, from the University of Leipzig. In 1950 he was recruited by the U.S. Air Force to join the staff of the School of Aviation Medicine in San Antonio. While on staff there from 1950 to 1960, Balke worked in the Human Performance Laboratory, investigating human adaptation to high altitude, in-flight stress and simulated deep space. After leaving the Air Force school, Balke taught at the University of Oklahoma before moving on to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1964. It was there that he wrote a number of papers linking oxygen consumption, exercise and cardiovascular health. In 1967, he led a committee to create the American College of Sports Medicine Journal. In 1968, he helped train U.S. athletes preparing for the high altitude of the Olympics in Mexico City. He also encouraged exercise among University of Wisconsin faculty, including the Faculty Soccer Group, which is still active today. Balke retired from the university in 1973 and moved to Colorado. On June 7 in Aspen, Colo.

Jabu Nkosi; Keyboardist Played With Belafonte

Jabu Nkosi, 46, jazz keyboardist who played with such luminaries as Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte. The son of legendary alto sax and clarinet player Zakes Nkosi, the keyboardist left school at an early age and began performing with friends and relatives. He never learned to read music but amazed fellow musicians with his intuitive grasp of harmony and other concepts. Nkosi’s keyboard style was characterized by an infinite delicacy and his ability to improvise. He had suffered with high blood pressure, diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver and, unable to perform for the past two years, was living in poverty. Reported on Sunday in Johannesburg, South Africa, of heart failure.