Goodbye to Michael Collins at the age of 90.
Collins was the command module pilot on Apollo 11, the first flight to land on the moon, and while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, it was Collins floating in orbit alone as any human has ever been.
Collins also was the first person to have performed more than one spacewalk and had the opportunity to return to the moon as commander of what proved to be the last moon visit in Apollo 17.
Collins turned down the offer with his reasoning being that his goal was to help the dream of John F.Kennedy to reach the moon before the end of the 60s and since that goal was accomplished, Collins didn't feel the personal need to return to space.
Collins also was a key player in the building of the National Air and Space Museum as its director from 1972-78 and getting the museum opened on time as the museum was hoped to be opened by July 4. 1976 for the nation's bicentennial.
The museum made the goal by three days.
Goodbye to Johnny Crawford at the age of 75.
One of the original Mouseketeers, Crawford was one of the twelve that was released following the first year of the Mickey Mouse Club when Disney decided twenty-four was far too many to have on one program.
Crawford would reach his biggest fame in 1959 when he landed the role of "Mark McCain", the son of former Cubs and Dodgers first baseman Chuck Connors on "The Rifleman", which was one of the first shows to feature a single parent and perhaps the first with a single father.
Set in the 1880s, the Rifleman centered around Connors with his parenting of Crawford a key part of the show.
Crawford would continue to act after the Rifleman finished its run, including a guest appearance on "Branded", another vehicle that starred Connors and would sing as a teen idol of the age with four songs that reached the top forty, including "Cindy's Birthday" that reached eight on the charts in 1962.
Goodbye to Lloyd Price at the age of 88.
Price, known as "Mr.Personality" after his hit "Personality", which he is remembered most for, scattered several minor hits through 1963 before moving to a post-performing career that included owning record companies, construction companies, helping Don King with King's boxing promotions, and managing Global Icon Foods, a company that features southern-style foods.
Personality may be the song that most people connect with Price, but his only number one hit was 1959's "Stagger Lee", which is remembered by me for what other reason than professional wrestling?!
I'll try to remember to add that story to the next cleaning of the inbox that doesn't feature tributes.
Goodbye to Mike Davis at the age of 65.
Davis won two Super Bowls with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders in an eleven-year career after being drafted in the second round by Oakland in the 1977 draft but is remembered by many for one play.
And it's a play reviled in Cleveland to this day with the Browns trailing the visiting Oakland Raiders 14-12 with under a minute to play from the Raiders fourteen-yard line, the play call was "Red Right 88" with quarterback Brian Sipe instructed to throw the ball away if he didn't have a receiver open.
Sipe threw the ball to his checkdown receiver tight end Ozzie Newsome, who was briefly open before Davis cut in front of Newsome to intercept the pass and end the "Kardiac Kids" season.
Goodbye to Jim Bertelsen at the age of 71.
Bertelsen was the top ground gainer for the Texas Longhorns 1969 national champions and would have won the 1970 national title, had Texas not lost in the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame 24-11.
Bertelsen along with backfield mates Steve Worster and Ted Koy behind quarterback James Street revolutionized the ground game as part of the first "Wishbone" offense and would finish his Texas career with over 2,500 rushing yards.
Bertelsen would be selected in the second round by the Los Angeles Rams in 1972 and would make the Pro Bowl in 1973 when he rushed for a career-high 853 yards.
Bertelsen would retire after the 1976 season after his playing time had been reduced by the Rams drafting of Penn State running back, and 1973 Heisman winner John Cappelletti.
Goodbye to Del Crandall at the age of 91.
Crandall, an eight-time All-Star as a key part of the Milwaukee Braves of the 1950s that won the 1957 World Series and were the 1958 National League champions, won four Gold Gloves as arguably the National League's best defensive catcher of the 50s.
Crandall wasn't known as a hitter, but he did hit double-digit homers for the Braves in each season from 1953 through 1960, with a high of 26 long-balls in 1955 for Milwaukee.
Crandall would manage the Brewers from 1972 to 1975, managing a teenaged Robin Yount, and would manage the Mariners in 1983 and 1984, but would never finish a season with a winning record.
Crandall was the final surviving player to play for the Boston Braves, who moved to Milwaukee in 1953.
Crandall played two partial seasons for the Boston Braves in 1949 and 1950 at the ages of 19 and 20 and was the runner-up to Brooklyn pitcher Don Newcombe for the 1949 National League Rookie of the Year before missing the Braves final two seasons in Boston due to military service.
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