Goodbye to Lionel James at the age of 59.
The "Little Train" only played five seasons in the NFL, all with the San Diego Chargers, but he was one of the most exciting backs of the 1980s and his 1985 season was one that the NFL had never seen before from a running back.
The 5'7 James lasted until the fifth round of the 1984 draft out of Auburn due to his size (5'6 and 170 pounds) but in 1985, James set an NFL record for all-purpose yardage with 2,535 yards, and James was the first running back in league history to finish with over 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
James never approached those numbers again as injuries wore his slight frame down and his last season was 1988 after the Chargers tried to use him more as a wide receiver but at his peak, the Little Train was one exciting player to watch.
Goodbye to Ken Burrough at the age of 73.
Burrough was the top receiver on the "Luv Ya Blue" Bum Phillips-led Houston Oilers teams of the late 1970s after being traded to Houston in 1971 from New Orleans, who selected him in the first round in 1970 and led the league in receiving yards in 1975.
Burrough is also the final player to wear the number 00 on his jersey, as he was grandfathered in after the league outlawed the number in 1973.
Goodbye to Dick Versace at the age of 81.
The flamboyant coach and announcer with the helmet-like crop of white hair was a successful college coach at Bradley, winning the NIT in 1982 and taking the Braves to two NCAA tournaments in eight years before moving to the NBA as an assistant coach for various teams and the head coach for the Indiana Pacers for two years from 1988-90.
Versace would serve as an analyst on national broadcasts for several seasons for Turner Sports and as well as local television in Chicago.
Versace's family also was accomplished as his mother ( Marie Teresa Rios) was an author that wrote several books, with one of them the 60s television sitcom "The Flying Nun" was based on and his brother won the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions while in captivity during the Vietnam War.
Goodbye to Danny Ongais at the age of 79.
Known as the "Flyin Hawaiian". Ongais participated in racing circuits that used motorcycles, drag racing, funny cars, Formula One, CART, Indy Cars, and sports cars.
Ongais won five races in 1978 in the Indy Car series but finished only eighth in the point standings which is attributed to the powerful yet fragile Cosworth engine having problems finishing races.
Ongais is best remembered for his years in Indy Car/CART and his attempts to win the Indy 500, which included his near-fatal wreck in the 1982 500 in which Ongais had to be cut out of the car to remove him.
Ongais also is the oldest driver at Indy, when in 1996 at 54, Ongais returned from a nine-year retirement to replace Scott Brayton, who was killed in Friday Practice for the 500.
Ongais started 33rd in the field and worked his to a seventh-place finish in his final race in the 500, although he attempted to qualify for the 1998 500 but did not qualify.
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