Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

     We continue to whittle down the number of tributes in the inbox as the passing never stop in our world.

Goodbye to Rod Gilbert at the age of 80.

Ryan sent word of the passing of the man known as "Mr.Ranger", who remains the Rangers' all-time leader in goals and points over forty years after his retirement.

Gilbert's 400 goals and over 1,000 points are going to be very difficult records to break with the modern era of free agency and players not spending their careers with one team.

Gilbert was elected to the hockey hall of fame in 1982 and was the first player in Rangers history to have his number retired.

Goodbye to Ed Asner at the age of 91.

The long-time actor is best known for his role as "Lou Grant", a role that he played in two series with different styles.

Asner played Grant for laughs on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and then after that series decided to end its run, Asner took Grant in a dramatic direction in a show named after his character.

Asner holds the male record for most Emmy Awards ever won with five of them for Lou Grant, winning awards with the character in both shows.

Asner has also done extensive voice work over the years in several animated programs with my favorite being as the grizzled newspaper editor "J.Jonah Jameson" in the SpiderMan series in the nineties.   

In recent years, Asner had been cast in guest supporting roles in Netflix's "Dead to Me" (I have read great things about this show although I have never seen it) and of course in "Cobra Kai" as Johnny Lawrence's stepfather.

The passing of Ed Asner shortly after the passing of Gavin McLeod leaves only Betty White and John Amos as living members of the MTM show that were regular cast members at one time during the series run.

Goodbye to Keith McCants at the age of 53.

McCants was thought to be the top overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft but between rumors of being paid by an agent while playing for Alabama, a drop in production in 1989 after an excellent 1988, and signs of knee problems, McCants fell to fourth to Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers selecting the linebacker over future Hall of Famer Junior Seau.

McCants was moved to defensive end after his rookie season and never became more than a rotational player in stops at New England, Houston, and Arizona after Tampa Bay released him after the 1993 season.

Goodbye to Sam Cunningham at the age of 71.

Cunningham, the older brother of Randall Cunningham, spent ten seasons with the New England Patriots and rushed for over 1,000 yards in 1977.

Cunningham was a standout at USC and is the player that is often given credit for Alabama ending their recruiting of white players only when in his first game as a Trojan against Bama, Cunningham ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns and convinced Alabama fans that integrating their football program was needed quickly.

Cunningham, known as "Bam", scored four touchdowns in his final game as a Trojan in the 1973 Rose Bowl in USC's win over Ohio State before being selected by New England in the first round of the 1973 draft.

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