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Nino Escalera, a member of the 1954 Reds, died on 7/3 at age 91.
The first native Puerto Rican to ever play for the Reds, .Escalera played several infield and outfield positions, and also served as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner.
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Matiss Kivlenieks, a young goalie who had brief tours of duty with the Columbus Blue Jackets over the past 2 seasons, died on 7/4 at age 24. Cause of death was originally thought to be a head injury caused by fireworks. However, an autopsy has since revealed that the true cause of death was chest trauma from a fireworks mortar blast, and not a head injury. He wore #80 during his brief NHL career.
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Eldon Danenhauer, a right tackle whose pro football career began in the inaugural year of the American Football League, died on 6/23 at age 85.
A physical behemoth at 6-5 and 245, his AFL career ran from 1960-65, all with the Denver Broncos. He appeared in 2 Pro Bowls, and played in every game in 5 of his 6 seasons, starting in the vast majority of them.
Despite his lineman build, he even ran back a kickoff for 11 yards during a game in 1962.
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Ted Wieand, a RHP with brief MLB stints with Cincinnati, died on 7/7 at age 88.
Wieand made 6 mound appearances for the Redlegs, all in relief: 1 in 1958 and 5 in 1960.
While not to Cal McLish levels, his full name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt Wieand.
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Dicky Moegle, a safety for 7 seasons in the NFL, died on 7/4 at age 86.
Drafted by the 49ers out of Rice in the first round of the 1955 NFL draft, Moegle spent the first 5 of his 7 seasons with the Niners, after which he played for the Steelers in 1960, and then closed out his playing career with the Cowboys in 1961.
He was selected for the Pro Bowl in his rookie season.
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Bill Byrne, a guard for the 1963 Philadelphia Eagles, died on 6/23 at age 80
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(#66 in team photo)
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Dick "Dirt" Tidrow, a king-sized RHP for 13 years in the Bigs, died on 7/10 at age 74.
Tidrow came up to the Majors in 1972 with the Indians, pitching there from 1972-74. Traded away by the Tribe early in '74, he then spent the rest of his MLB career performing the unusual feat of pitching for both teams in the two largest MLB cities at the time...New York and Chicago. First he was a Yankee from his early '74 arrival until an early 1979 trade sent him to the Cubs, where he came out of the pen through 1982. After that, he took the mound for the White Sox in 1983 before finishing his playing career with the Mets in 1984.
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Ralph E. Davis, a shooting guard for 2 seasons in the NBA in the early 1960s, died on 5/30 at age 82.
Davis played for the Cincinnati Royals in 1960-61 and took the court for the Chicago Packers in 1961-62.
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LaDarrell McNeil, a safety who started in 41 games for the Tennessee Vols from 2012-15, died on 7/8 at age 27. Cause of death was not determined at that time.
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Bryan Watson, a defenseman whose 16-season career began in the NHL era of the Original Six and ended in the defunct WHA, died on 7/8 at age 78.
Beginning in 1963-64, he opened his career with 2 seasons with the Canadiens. After playing the next seasons with the Red Wings, he then returned to Montreal for the 1967-68 campaign.
Beginning in 1968-69, he began a string of several years playing for teams from the Second Six, the expansion team that doubled the size of the NHL overnight. He began that run with 50 games for the Oakland Seals before being dealt to the Penguins for his final 18 games for the season. He continued with Pittsburgh until another deal sent him to the Blues for 11 games.
Watson then made a third stop during 1973-74, heading back to Detroit for his last 21 games of the season. He continued his encore with the Original 6 team into 1976-77 when, after 14 games, he was on the move again, this time to Washington. He finished the season with the Capitals, played the entire season in DC the following season, and then split his final go-round (1978-79) between the Caps and the WHA Cincinnati Stingers.
Over that long career, he only led the NHL in a single category once...212 penalty minutes in 1971-72 with the Penguins.
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Tim Talton, a C-1B who played for the Kansas City Athletics in 1967-68, died on 7/22 at age 82.
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Stan McKenzie, a small forward who played for 7 seasons in the NBA, died on 7/21 age 76.
Drafted in 1966 by the Baltimore Bullets, he played in Italy for one season before joining the Bullets in 1967-68. After that season, he continued with stops in Phoenix, Portland and Houston, wrapping up his career after the 1973-74 campaign.
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