Looking back at some of the notable athletes and figures in sports who died over the past year, including those who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and the stories featured in those issues.
Upset of the Mighty: On a blustery day in Cleveland the underdog Browns stunned Baltimore with a second-half outburst to win the NFL title. Key men in the coup were a cerebral quarterback, a big flanker with sticky hands, the great Jimmy Brown and some remarkable—for Cleveland—defenders.
Dr. Ryan of the Browns: How Smart is Too Smart? Frank Ryan, Cleveland's champion quarterback, is a brain in math, but when he tried to mastermind football he tripped over his intellect. Then he stopped thinking and started winning.
Recovery From Kulturschock: Even with a $2.8 million contract in hand, Franz Beckenbauer, the world's best soccer player—late of Munich's F.C. Bayern, the best team—had some trouble adjusting to New York and the Cosmos.
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… And a Mighty Met is He! Bud Harrelson does not exactly have blacksmith's arms, and he wears down to a twig in the dog days of summer. But he is holding New York together—almost—as it battles for its very life.
The Comment That Ended Carl Weathers’s NFL Career Fueled His Success As an Actor: Before he was Apollo Creed or Greef Karga, he was a linebacker under John Madden. More than 50 years later, the former Raider revisits his end in football and start in Hollywood.
Chris Mortensen's Cancer Battle: The longtime ESPN NFL reporter describes his grueling fight with throat cancer, where his health stands now and what he has learned through the process: “Don’t let the moment pass you by.”
Miracle Mets – Soul Of The City: In a year of turmoil, good news came out of the Big Apple, where the 1969 Series champs surprised the world and became heroes forever.
O.J. Simpson Was Proof We Don't Really Know Celebrities: It’s hard to grasp the former football star and actor’s time in the limelight, especially his acquittal in a gruesome double-murder case in the 1990s and the precipitous fall from grace that followed.
A Private Eye on The New Rams: The golden Los Angeles teams of Crazylegs and Night Train are no more, damaged by competitive sports and executive fights—and don't spy on the new club, Buster.
A Real Wowser for the Rams: With 55 seconds to go, Los Angeles's hopes seemed dead. Then a blocked Green Bay punt and a quick pass produced the win that brought the NFL season to a blazing climax.
How The West Was, Uh, Tied: The San Francisco 49ers thought they had it won, but the Los Angeles Rams, finding an offense to go with their defense, beat them to share the lead.
X Marks the Man in the Middle: Before he finally hung up his aches and pains this month and announced his retirement from pro football, Otto was one of the biggest Mr. Xs in the business.
Climbing to the Top Again: Out for a year with injuries, a reflective, more temperate Bill Walton has changed the style—if not the substance—of his life as he starts anew in San Diego.
Big Bill Loves to Eat 'Em Up: A shy young man with a huge appetite, UCLA's superstar feeds the Bruins' fast break and feasts on their foes.
L.A. Couldn't Move the Mountain: And for that matter, the Lakers couldn't handle Bill Walton's Portland teammates either, the speedier, deeper, better-balanced Blazers swarming over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and stunning Los Angeles in four games.
Runaway! The Cowboys' punishing offense will tear through the Steelers' defense.
Smashing Hurrah for the Lakers: One big reason the Lakers are shattering attendance records is the performance of their wondrous back courtman, Jerry West—junior partner in the point-making firm of Baylor and West—who is having his greatest year.
Two Seconds Stretch For First: The Celtics' astonishing victory over Philadelphia put them in pro basketball's championship round with the Los Angeles Lakers, who also were the runners-up in their division.
Jerry West, Symbol of the NBA, Leaving Legacy of Magnetism Across Generations of Basketball: The Logo played 14 seasons for the Lakers before a brief coaching stint and a remarkable run as general manager—from the careers of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Say Hey, For 1959: Talented young players with great arms, blazing speed, sure instincts in the field and powerful bats in their hands are the trademark of the 1959 Giants. Sophisticated San Franciscans are in for excitement if the pitching holds up.
The Race is in the West: San Francisco's Giants broke fast in the National League, but two high hurdles loom: their own history of failure and the hipper-dipper Los Angeles Dodgers, personified below by long-striding Willie Davis stealing second against the Giants last week.
Yea, Mr. Mays: Willie Howard Mays Jr., 39, made his 3,000th safe hit last week, playing baseball with the same enthusiasm—and effectiveness—he first brought to the Giants in A.D. 1951.
The Heart of a Giant: Orlando Cepeda and San Francisco fell in love in 1958. The romance wavered but never died.
Two Tough: The Cover Two defense has a storied lineage that runs from the Steel Curtain in the 1970s to today's stifling Chicago Bears unit. Here's where it comes from, how it works—and how to beat it.
A Touch of Gray: Loosey-goosey till the end, the Ravens' D was built to withstand nail-biters like this.
Where Does Greatness Come From? You might assume that Kobe Bryant inherited his talent for basketball and his burning need to dominate from his father, former NBA and Italian league player Joe (Jellybean) Bryant. But Joe and Kobe are substantially different, and while the son got some gifts from his father, he got his fire from an unexpected source.
A Cowboy Stampede: Dallas had the horses to defeat Miami in Duane Thomas, Walt Garrison and Calvin Hill, and they all ran wild in the Super Bowl, leaving the Dolphins floundering in a cloud of dust—well, Poly-Dust.
Little Chi Chi's Other Side: Chi Chi Rodriguez is two persons—the brash song-and-dance man who delights galleries (and annoys fellow pros) with his japes off the tee and his jigs on the green, and the quiet son of poverty who broods over good and bad, is hypersensitive to criticism and, out of the spotlight, is something of a loner.
The Big Short: He may look like the paperboy, but Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau (all 5'9" and 157 pounds of him) delivers thrills—and convinces doubters (himself included) that the NHL has a place for the pint-sized player.
Sweet 16 on a Super Trip: The Dolphins remained unbeaten and untouched by Pittsburgh miracles, so now all that stands between them and a perfect 17 is Washington.
World Class: Dikembe Mutombo, the outgoing Nuggets center, makes a big impression in the paint and in faraway lands.
Charlie Hustle Gives Twelve Dimes on the Dollar: Pete Rose runs even when he walks. Cincinnati's colorful outfielder, in fact, is a throwback to the oldtime ballplayer in all respects save one: he expects to earn $100,000 a year soon.
Cover Man: Rose was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated 15 times, 12 times solo.
Rose's Grim Vigil: As gambling charges—and the media—engulfed him, Pete Rose awaited his fate.
Reaching Out for the Series: Soggy though the Hub was, Boston and Cincinnati set it asizzle as Luis Tiant mauled the Reds and then the visitors came snarling back to take a 3–2 thriller.
Will the Bubble Ever Burst? Fernando Valenzuela had to struggle for a while in running his record to 7–0 but, by gum, he got his fifth shutout.
Something Screwy Going On Here: Fernando Valenzuela's scroogie continues to mystify the hitters, but just as baffling is his story of rags to riches to hard luck.
Somebody Up There May Be Listening: After three straight defeats the beleaguered—but very determined—Gerry Faust of Notre Dame got a big win at LSU.
Lord Gym: It has been 11 years since Bela Karolyi defected to become the undisputed king of the U.S. women.
A New Mr. Bones Has a Winner: Jumpier than a minstrel end man, St. John's Coach Lou Carnesecca is the exact opposite of his team, which plays a cool and collected game.
He Finally Bagged It: The base path to glory led from first to second in Milwaukee, where Oakland's Rickey Henderson stole base No. 119 to break the single-season record—and there was, and will be, more.
Oh, What A Show! With a bold display of speed and power—not to mention singing and dancing—Rickey Henderson sparked the A's past the Blue Jays and into the World Series against the Giants.
Light Years Ahead Of The Field: The Yankees' Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines of Montreal are simply the best leadoff men ever.
The Mourning Anchor: Bryant Gumbel, NBC's Olympic host, is alone at the top—all alone with the memory of his father.
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