The sporting figures we lost in 2022
Gone too soon
Andrew Symonds, Doddie Weir, Shane Warne, and Paul Green are some sports stars to have died in 2022.
Pele - October 23, 1940 - December 29, 2022
The Brazilian football icon is being remembered as arguably the best to ever play the game, after dying following a long battle with cancer at the age of 82.
Plaudits have come from far and wide, as people all around the world remember the man who burst onto the international scene as a World Cup 17-year-old.
His countryman and current World Cup star, Neymar, said it best.
"Before Pele, 10 was just a number," Neymar wrote.
"I read that phrase somewhere, at some point in my life. But that phrase, beautiful, is incomplete.
"I'd say before Pele, football was just a sport. Pele changed everything."
Stephan Bonnar - April 4, 1977 - December 22, 2022
Former fighter Stephan Bonnar, who played a significant role in the UFC's growth into the dominant promotion in mixed martial arts, has died, UFC announced. He was 45.
Bonnar, who was inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame in 2013, died from "presumed heart complications while at work", according to a statement from UFC.
No further details were released.
Bonnar, who originally was from Indiana, hadn't fought in the UFC since 2014, and he went just 8-6 during seven years with the promotion.
He was a contestant in 2005 on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter", the UFC's long-running reality competition show. He reached the competition's finale, where he had a spectacular, bloody brawl with Forrest Griffin.
Griffin won the decision, but the viral attention gained by the highly entertaining bout is widely credited with exposing the little-known sport to a larger worldwide audience online and on Spike TV, which broadcast it.
"Stephan Bonnar was one of the most important fighters to ever compete in the octagon," UFC president Dana White said in the statement.
"His fight with Forrest Griffin changed the sport forever, and he will never be forgotten. The fans loved him, related to him and he always gave them his best. He will be missed."
Ken Wilson - November 24, 1952 - December 23, 2022
Ken Wilson, a star playmaker for Newtown and Penrith in the 1970s and 1980s, has died at the age of 71 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Although Wilson still holds Newtown's points-scoring record, he's mainly remembered for his involvement in rugby league's only 1-0 scoreline in history and a 0-0 draw.
In a clash between Newtown and St George in 1973, he slotted a field goal to clinch victory for the Jets.
He then captained the club in a 0-0 draw with Canterbury in 1982, the only scoreless match in history.
"So sad to hear of the passing of my mate, rugby league legend Ken Wilson," Phil Gould wrote in a Twitter post.
"Words don't do justice to describe the man that he was, or what he meant to me, my life and career. Very, very sad today. RIP Kenny. Champion man. More on Kenny later."
Gould, who played with Wilson at Penrith and Newtown, wrote in another Twitter post that he had "wonderful memories" of him.
"Smart footballer. Great coach. Funny, quick-witted. Snappy one-liner," Gould wrote.
"Responsible for hundreds of nicknames given to players over the years. Loved a drink, a bet, a game of cards. But above all, his family and friends."
Ronnie Hillman - 14 September, 1989 - 21 December, 2022
Super Bowl-winning running back Ronnie Hillman has passed away, aged 31.
Hillman had renal medullary carcinoma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer that primarily affects young African American men with sickle cell trait.
Hillman was part of the Denver Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50, before retiring in 2017.
"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved son, brother & father, Ronnie K Hillman Jr," a statement from his family read.
"Ronnie quietly and peacefully transitioned today in the company of his family and close friends.
"We as the family, appreciate the prayers and kind words that have already been expressed. We ask that you would give us time to process our feelings as we prepare to lay our precious RJ to rest."
Franco Harris - 7 March, 1950 - 20 December, 2022
Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame running back whose heads-up thinking authored the "Immaculate Reception,” considered the most iconic play in NFL history, has died. He was 72.
Harris' son, Dok, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his father died overnight. No cause of death was given.
His death comes two days before the 50th anniversary of the play that provided the jolt that helped transform the Steelers from also-rans into the NFL's elite and three days before Pittsburgh is scheduled to retire his No. 32 during a ceremony at halftime of its game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Harris had been busy in the run-up to the celebration, doing media interviews on Monday to talk about a moment to which he is forever linked.
“It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe Franco Harris’ impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers, his teammates, the City of Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation,” team President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “From his rookie season, which included the Immaculate Reception, through the next 50 years, Franco brought joy to people on and off the field. He never stopped giving back in so many ways. He touched so many, and he was loved by so many.”
Harris ran for 12,120 yards and won four Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, a dynasty that began in earnest when Harris decided to keep running during a last-second heave by Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in a playoff game against Oakland in 1972.
With Pittsburgh trailing 7-6 and facing fourth-and-10 from its own 40-yard line and 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Bradshaw drifted back and threw deep to running back Frenchy Fuqua. Fuqua and Oakland defensive back Jack Tatum collided, sending the ball careening back toward midfield in the direction of Harris. Game officials weren’t sure who deflected the pass; replays were inconclusive.
While nearly everyone else on the field stopped, Harris kept his legs churning, snatching the ball just inches above the Three Rivers Stadium turf near the Oakland 45, then outracing several stunned Raider defenders to give the Steelers their first playoff victory in the franchise's four-decade history.
“That play really represents our teams of the ’70s,” Harris said after the "Immaculate Reception" was voted the greatest play in NFL history during the league's 100th anniversary season in 2020.
Though the Raiders cried foul in the moment, over time they somewhat embraced their role in NFL lore. Oakland linebacker Phil Villapiano, who was covering Harris on the play, even attended a 40th-anniversary celebration of the play in 2012, when a small monument commemorating the exact location of Harris’ history-altering catch was unveiled. Villapiano still plans to attend Saturday night's jersey retirement ceremony for his former rival-turned-friend, and is just fine with the mystery that still surrounds what actually happened at 3:29 p.m. on Dec. 23, 1972.
"There’s so many angles and so many things. Nobody will ever figure that out,” Villapiano said. “Let’s let it go on forever.”
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years, that’s a long time,” Harris said in September when the team announced it would retire his number. “And to have it so alive, you know, is still thrilling and exciting. It really says a lot. It means a lot.”
The tributes poured in.
“One of the kindest, gentlest men I have ever known,” Hall of Famer Tony Dungy, a teammate of Harris' in Pittsburgh in the late 1970s, posted on Twitter. “He was a great person & great teammate. Hall of Fame player but so much more than that. A tremendous role model for me!”
Former Steelers Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis: "Words can't begin to describe the pain I am feeling. Franco will always be a brother, mentor and my definition of greatness. He was a legend on the field and the personification of excellence off of the field."
Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux: "A Pittsburgh icon and a true champion on and off the field. Franco will be remembered for his grace, his humility, his kindness and his tremendous contributions to our community."
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick: "He wasn't fun to play against, I can tell you that. At Baltimore, we played them in the playoffs there the first year. A great player. A great person. A big loss."
Reflecting on Harris' legacy, before Harris' death, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called it “an honor to be in proximity to it, to know the man involved.”
Harris is survived by his wife, Dana Dokmanovich, and son Dok.
Max Brito, 8 April 1971 – 19 December 2022
Tributes are flowing after the death of Max Brito, the Ivory Coast winger who was paralysed in a ruck at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.
Brito's former club in France, Biscarosse Olympique, announced the 51-year-old had died on Wednesday.
It posted a family statement on behalf of his children, Mike and Anthony, saying: "Max went on his last voyage with dignity and without suffering".
World Rugby said it was saddened to learn of Brito's death and its "sincere thoughts and condolences, together with those of the global rugby fraternity, are with his family, friends, ex-teammates and colleagues".
Brito, a dreadlocked flyer, was 27 when he was seriously injured in a ruck against Tonga at Rustenburg following a tackle by Inoke Afeaki.
He broke two vertebrae in his neck and was taken to hospital in Pretoria for surgery.
Brito was a tetraplegic for the rest of his life and struggled with his new reality.
But in 2020 he revealed a mental breakthrough.
"I would say there were 13 or 14 years of fog where I didn't know where I was," Brito said.
"The accident was very violent. But after that I had a spiritual enlightenment and I understood that it was necessary to accept my handicap. And from that moment on, all the doors were open."
Siniša Mihajlović, 20 February, 1969 - 16 December 2022
Siniša Mihajlović, a winner of the European Cup and Serie A who became a popular coach in Italy, has died after a long battle with leukemia. He was 53.
Mihajlović’s family announced Friday that he died in a Rome hospital.
Mihajlović most recently coached Bologna for 3 ½ years, and was a sentimental favorite of fans and players alike for his desire to remain on the job even after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019.
Players sometimes gathered under Mihajlović’s hospital window when the coach was receiving treatment.
The Serbian was fired by Bologna in September.
A full back and free kick specialist who played with ferocious intensity, Mihajlović was on the Red Star Belgrade team that won the European Cup in 1991. He also won Serie A as a player with Lazio in 2000 and was on the Inter Milan team that was given the 2006 Serie A title after Juventus was stripped of the honor for the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
Mihajlović still holds the Serie A record for most goals from free kicks with 28 — two more than Andrea Pirlo.
Mihajlović also coached Catania, Fiorentina, Serbia’s national team, Sampdoria, AC Milan and Torino.
Tributes to Mihajlović started pouring in immediately after his death was announced.
Red Star said it was opening its museum on Saturday for mourners to pay their respects to “the great Miha.”
“I’ve lost a friend with whom I shared 30 years of my life,” said Italy coach Roberto Mancini, who played with Mihajlović at Sampdoria and Lazio then had Mihajlović as one of his assistant coaches at Inter.
“It’s not fair that such a devastating disease takes you away at 53," Mancini added. "He fought to the last instant like a lion, just like he was accustomed to doing on the field.”
Serie A president Lorenzo Casini said “Siniša will always remain a great example of a fighter," adding that “he was able to make himself loved by his fans and respected by his opponents.”
Bob Cooper - August 31, 1955 - December 9, 2022
- By The Mole
One of the toughest and most controversial rugby league players of the game's bad old days in the 1970s has died.
Western Suburbs hardman Bob Cooper, who holds the record for the longest suspension in the game's history, died from cancer at the age of 67.
"It's very sad - he was Wests through and through," said former Magpie Josh White
"He didn't want his team-mates to come and see him in hospital, he was in such a bad way.
"But we held our annual reunion last week and everyone sent him their best wishes - he was one of the good ones."
The tall second-rower played 76 games for the Magpies from 1977 to 1982 and also played in the inaugural State of Origin game in 1980.
But he will forever be remembered for one infamous afternoon at Wollongong Showground in 1982 when Wests met Illawarra.
In a fiery brawl, Cooper threw just three punches - but each had a telling effect.
The first broke a Steeler's jaw, the second smashed a nose and cheekbone, and the third left an opponent heavily concussed on the ground.
The old NSW Rugby League was determined to clean up what was a brutal game at the time and put a former judge, Jim Comans, in charge of the judiciary.
Comans decided to make an example out of Cooper, suspending him for a mammoth 15 months.
"Acts such as these must be obliterated from the game, and I'll begin by obliterating you," Comans told Cooper at the time.
Cooper played Australian Rules football during his lengthy suspension and then attempted a brief comeback with North Sydney when he was finally cleared to play again in 1984.
But he was never the same player and after just four games, he dislocated his shoulder and retired.
Mills Lane - November 12, 1937 - December 6, 2022
Mills Lane, the Hall of Fame boxing referee who was the third man in the ring when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear, has died. He was 85.
Lane had suffered a stroke in 2002 and his son, Tommy, said his father had taken a significant turn for the worse recently before entering hospice care on Friday. He died at his home in Reno, Nevada, with his wife, Kaye, and two sons in the home.
"There is some relief that he is not trapped in that condition, but we all will miss him," Lane said.
A boxer himself who won an NCAA championship in 1960, Lane went 10-1 as a pro before eventually making a much bigger mark in the sport as a referee. Respected for being tough but fair, his "Let's get it on!" command became the final words heard before many memorable fights.
Mills was the referee when Holyfield won the heavyweight title from Buster Douglas, and again when Tyson was disqualified during his second fight with Holyfield after intentionally biting his ear.
Lane officiated more than 100 title fights, sharing the ring with greats such as Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes and Lennox Lewis, and was respected for his fairness and toughness.
"In addition to his legendary status in the boxing world, Mills B. Lane was a pillar of justice in Washoe County. He was a no-nonsense dedicated District Attorney who put victims of crime and public safety first," Washoe County District Attorney, Christopher J. Hicks said in a statement.
