The tributes never stop here at TRS and it always seems to have so many to say goodbye to.
Goodbye to Rich Caster at the age of 75.
A three-time Pro Bowler for the New York Jets, Caster would later play for the Oilers, Redskins, and the Saints in his thirteen-year career.
Caster caught 322 passes in his career, forty-five of those for touchdowns, usually as a pass-receiving tight end after the Jets selected him in the second round in 1970.
Caster was part of the Jets' bizarre 1977 decision to flip positions with Jerome Barkum moving Caster to WR and Barkum to TE and watching two productive players statistically plummet with Caster being traded to Houston after the season.
Caster's son Max is currently a professional wrestler for AEW.
Goodbye to Jimy Williams at the age of 80.
Williams managed the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Astros for eleven seasons and coached for several teams, most notably as the third base coach for Bobby Cox's powerhouse Atlanta Braves.
It was Williams who waved home Sid Bream to barely beat the throw from Barry Bonds in game seven of the 1992 NLCS which sent Atlanta to the World Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I met Williams once in Hagerstown, where he was visiting his son, Shawn, who was managing the Lakewood Blue Claws at the time.
Williams signed a few cards and was nice enough but when Brad Adams asked Williams for a picture with him, Williams wrinkled up his face and said "Nah, I'm not gonna do that" and walked away!
Goodbye to Earl Cuerton at the age of 66.
A long-time backup big man for parts of sixteen seasons in the NBA, Cureton was known for his willingness to bang on the boards and won a world championship with Philadelphia in 1983.
Cuerton played for seven NBA teams and spent several years playing actively in Europe before transitioning to life off the floor where he was an assistant in the WNBA , led the Long Beach Jame to the ABA title in 2004, served as a strength coach with the Raptors, and as a commentator for the Pistons and his alma mater-Detroit Mercy.
Goodbye to Brant Alyea at the age of 83.
Alyea homered off the first pitch that he saw in the big leagues as he drove a Rudy May offering in 1965 over the wall for the Washington Senators.
Alyea's best season was in 1970 with the Twins, when he hit .291 with sixteen homers and sixty-one RBI.
After retirement, Alyea was the supervisor of the crap tables at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City.
Goodbye to Alonzo Johnson at the age of 60.
A two-time All-American linebacker for the Florida Gators in 1984 and 85, Johnson was expected to be a first-round draft pick in the 1986 draft before rumors of drug issues caused him to fall into the second round where he was part of the first draft of Buddy Ryan with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Johnson started nine games as a rookie, grabbing three interceptions and adding one sack but entered rehab in the off-season and would play only three games in the 1987 season.
Johnson would never play professional football again.
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