Goodbye to Gus Williams at the age of 71.
The flashy guard was one of the first point guards who were more than a pass-fast backcourt member and let the Seattle SuperSonics to their only NBA title in 1979.
Williams was selected in the first round by Golden State in 1975 and played his first seasons with the Warriors. However, he came into his own after joining Seattle, averaging between eighteen and twenty-three points per game in his six seasons in the Emerald City.
Williams led Seattle to two straight NBA finals against the Washington Bullets, splitting the two series. He sat out the entire 1980-81 season over a contract dispute but won the Comeback Player of the Year award after returning the following season and was named to the All-NBA first team for the only time in his career.
Williams was traded to Washington in 1984 and averaged twenty points per game in his first season. However, his average dropped to thirteen in the following season, and after thirty-three games with the Hawks in 1986-87, Williams's career was completed.
Goodbye to Wayne Simpson at the age of 76.
Simpson flashed on the Major League baseball scene as a rookie in 1970 for the eventual National League champion Cincinnati Reds when he won thirteen of his first fourteen decisions and made the All-Star team.
Simpson blew out his rotator cuff in July, ending his seasonal 14-3 with an ERA of 3.02, and never regained his former prowess in the final five years of his career with the Reds, Royals, Phillies, and Angels.
Goodbye to Felix Mantilla at the age of 90.
One of the first Puerto Rican players to make a mark in the majors, Mantilla won a World Series with the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and was part of the New York Mets expansion before being traded to Boston, where Mantilla would have the greatest career success.
Mantilla hit fifty-four homers in Boaton from 1963-54 with thirty of them in 1964 as his swing was perfect for lofting short fly balls over the Green Monster.
Boston traded Manitlla to Houston for the 1966 season where he would hit six home runs in seventy-seven games before an Achilles injury ended his career.
Goodbye to Black Bart at the age of 76.
Bart, a mid-card wrestler for several federations, had his best run as part of a tag team with Outlaw Ron Bass, which saw him hold the United States tag team titles with Bass in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic tag team belts.
Bart would hold the Mid-Atlantic title after splitting with Bass and would briefly hold the World Class version of the world title, winning from Chris Adams in a fictitious match since Adams left the company without dropping the title.
Goodbye to Morris Bradshaw at the age of 72.
Known for his deep speed, Braoshaw played for two Rose Bowl teams at Ohio State, winning in 1974 before being selected in round four by the Oakland Raiders in 1974.
Bradshaw would win two Super Bowls with the Raiders (1976 and 1980), catching forty of his ninety career receptions in 1978 for Oakland.
Bradshaw averaged almost sixteen yards per reception in his nine-year career (eight with Oakland and his final season with New England) and worked in the Raiders front office for almost thirty years after his playing career ended.
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