Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

     We return with more sad goodbyes from the sports world and pay tribute to those who have passed away.

Goodbye to Ricky Hatton at the age of 46. 

Britain's version of "The Hitman" won the junior welterweight titles (twice) and the WBA welterweight belt in a career that stamped him as the most popular British boxer of his generation.

Hatton's biggest win was his surprising win over Kostya Tsyzu to win the junior welterweight title for the first time, but he also notched a stunning body shot that broke four ribs of Jose Luis Castillo and stopped Castillo in round four.

Hatton also fought Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, bringing so many fans from Great Britain that they famously drank some hotels out of beer!

Mayweather stopped Hatton in the tenth round, suffering his first loss.

Hatton was elected to the boxing hall of fame in 2024.

Goodbye to Bernie Parent at the age of 80.

Parent won two Stanley Cups with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974 and 1975, the only two in franchise history, and won the Vezina (Top Goaltender) and Conn Smythe (Postseason MVP) in both seasons.

Parent played for the Bruins, Maple Leafs, and the WHA Philadelphia Blazers before coming into his prime with the Flyers, but was forced from the game at only thirty-four after suffering an eye injury in 1979 when a high stick caught him in his right eye.

Parent regained his vision but never played again.

Goodbye to Rudi Johnson at the age of 45.

Johnson, a collegiate standout at Auburn, where he won the 2000 SEC Player of the Year award, was the Cincinnati Bengals' fourth-round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. He would rush for over 1,300 yards three times for the Bengals.

Johnson holds the top two slots in team history for yards in a season and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2004.

Goodbye to Gary Gray at the age of 72.

Gary was a minor league power hitter who never received a full chance in the majors with the Rangers, Indians, and Mariners.

Gary never played in more than eighty games in a season, but hit thirteen homers in sixty-nine games for Seattle in 1981.

Goodbye to Sandy Alomar Sr at the age of 81.

The father of Sandy Alomar Jr and Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Sandy Sr, played for fifteen years in the majors for six teams.

Alomar made the All-Star team in 1970 for the Angels, where he spent six seasons.

Alomar finished his career with 227 stolen bases and would be a long-time coach for several major league teams.