| OBITUARIES (The ONLY serious pages on this website) |
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| Elite contributers to sports who have passed away since the inception of the Panel Page 1 |
| Ted Williams August 30, 1918-July 5, 2002 Known as "The Splendid Splinter", "The Kid", and "The Thumper" during his 19 year career with the Boston Redsox, Ted Williams was the last man to bat .400 in the Major Leagues. His other accolades include two triple crowns (1942, 1947), two AL MVPs (1946, 1949), 18 All Star games, and a lifetime .344 BA. Ted was also known as a military hero, an accomplished sports fisherman, and author of "The Science of Hitting" (1971), which coaches still consider to be he bible of fundamental hitting. It was at age 20 that he first said: "All I want out of life is that, when I walk down the street, folks will say, there goes the greatest hitter who ever lived." |
| Herb Brooks August 5, 1937-August 11, 2003 Herb Brooks is best known for coaching the 1980 US hockey team to a gold medal, upsetting a heavily favored USSR team. Ironically, Brooks was the last player cut from the 1960 US gold medal teams, but made it onto the 1964 and 1968 Olympic teams. |
| Bobby Bonds March 14, 1946-August 23, 2003 Bobby Bonds was one of the first players to blend home-run power with base stealing speed. He was only the second man in the NL to hit 30 HR's and steal 30 bases in a single season, the first being his close friend Willie Mays. Bobby Bonds played in 3 All Star games, winning game MVP honors in 1973. |
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| Warren Spahn April 23, 1921-November 24, 2003 Warren Spahn stood up to Casey Stengel when he was 21, faught against Germany a year later, and then returned to the Major Leagues and won 363 games after his 25th birthday. All told, Spahn pitched 24 seasons in an era when pitchers routinely completed games on 3 days' rest. Warren Spahn is the winningest left hander in baseball history. |
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| Tug McGraw August 30, 1944-January 5, 2004 Lefty screwballer who coined the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe" with the New York Mets, and later closed out the Philadelphia Phillies only World Series championship. Tug is also the father of country music star Tim McGraw, who landed Faith Hill (props). When once asked if he preferred grass or an artificial surface, he replied, "I don't know, I never smoked any AstroTurf." |
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