Sports obituaries

[sox83cubs84]

Hy Cohen, a RHP who appeared in 7 games (1 of them as a starter) died on 2/4, 6 days after his 90th birthday.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Doug Wikerson, a guard in the AFC for 15 seasons, all but the first with the Chargers, died on 2/22 at age 73.

Wilkerson, whose rookie season was spent with the Oilers, was named to 3 AFC Pro Bowl teams and selected once for the All-Pro Team. He wore uniform #63 for his entire NFL career.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Norm Sherry, a C who played for 5 years in the NL, died on 3/8 at age 89.

Sherry began his career in the Bigs with the 1959 World Series Champion Dodgers alongside his brother Larry, a main cog in the Dodgers relief corps. He remained with Los Angeles through 1962, before playing his last season in 1963 as a Met.

After that he spent numerous years in the Majors as a coach. He also spent portions of the 1976 and 1977 seasons as the manager of the California Angels.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Howard Schnellenberger, a coach for over a half century in both college football and the NFL, died over the weekend at age 87.

He was the head coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1973 and part of 1974, this after he was hired away from Miami, for whom he was offensive coordinator for the undefeated, untied 1972 team. He also guided a once-awful Miami Hurricanes NCAA team, which became a successful program after his arrival, to an NCAA Championship during his tenure there.

He left to coach a Miami entry in the then-new USFL, but the team never got off the ground, and he returned to coaching in the college ranks. His final stop was at Florida Atlantic, spending a decade there before his retirement in 2011. The team's home field was later renamed in his honor.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Wayne Terwilliger, a 2B whose career spanned the 1949-60 seasons in The Show, died on 2/3 at age 95.

Terwilliger first appeared in MLB with the Cubs in 1949. He stayed with them through mid-1951, and then was dealt to Brooklyn.

After military service, he returned to the majors for 4 years, splitting the 1953-56 seasons between the Senators (2 seasons) and the Giants (also 2 seasons). His final two active playing seasons in the Majors were with the Kansas City A's (1959-60).

After retiring, he was a major league coach for both the Senators/Rangers and the Twins, and later was the manager for the Independent minor league St. Paul Saints.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Juan Pizarro, a LHP with 18 seasons in the Majors, died 2/18 at age 84.

Pizarro first appeared in the Bigs in 1957 with the Milwaukee Braves, and was a member of what is still the only World Series winning team in Milwaukee history. He remained with the Braves through 1960, after which he was traded to the White Sox, where he pitched through 1966, and had has best season in 1964 (19-9, 2.56).

From 1967-74, he worked for several different ballclubs, starting with the Pirates, and followed by the Red Sox, Indians, A's, Cubs and Astros before ending this time span like he began it...with the Pirates for 7 games to end his pitching career.

He was selected to 2 All-Star Games, both as a member of the AL team (1963-64).

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Grant Jackson, a LHP whose 18-year MLB career saw him take the mound for 6 different teams, died on 2/2 at age 78.

Jackson first pitched in MLB with the Phillies when the team expanded their rosters in September 1965, continuing with the Phillies through 1970, after which he was traded to the Orioles. From 1971-76, he was part of Baltimore's mound corps, although after 13 games in '76, he was sent to the Yankees for the remainder of the season.

Come 1977 he was part of the Pirates pitching staff remaining there until late 1981, when the Expos acquired him for the stretch run during the second half of the 1981 season, which was split in halves by the midseason players' strike.. He began the 1982 season with the Royals, before returning to Pittsburgh for his last MLB game on 9/8/82.

His biggest moments in The Show were his being named to the NL team for the 1969 All-Star Game, and being a key cog in the Pirates bullpen in their 1979 World Series championship team.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Louis Nix, a DL who starred at Notre Dame but had a limited NFL career, was found dead by police on 2/27. He was 29.

Nix was a 3rd round pick of the Texans in 2014, but didn't mae the cut. He did play in 4 games in 2015 for the Giants.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Jeff Goldbach, whose career in pro ball began as a promising prospect in the Cubs minor league system, died on 3/7 at age 41.

A catcher who also played at 1B and in LF, Goldbach was in the Cubs organization from 1998-2002. He began the 2003 season at AA Frisco (Rangers) but never got past Double-A ball, so he turned to the independent minor leagues in mid-2003, playing there until his retirement after the 2006 season performing his trade in both the Northern League and the Frontier League.

Dave Miedema

[KDolch]

Hey Dave,
Its been quite along time since we have had contact. I bought a few things from you back in the day. Just found this site and found you. I am always looking for Bernie Carbo game used items as well as Charlie O'Brien and Bill Wegman. Let me know if you have any or have any leads. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks. Ken