Hank Aaron dies 86

Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed “Hammer” or “Hammerin’ Hank”, was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. He spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL).

Aaron is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. His 755 career home runs broke the long-standing MLB record set by Babe Ruth and stood as the most for 33 years; Aaron still holds many other MLB batting records. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on its list of the “100 Greatest Baseball Players”. In 1982, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Hank Aaron cause of death

Aaron died in Atlanta in his sleep on January 22, 2021, at the age of 86, 14 days before his 87th birthday. The manner of death was listed as natural causes. His funeral was held on January 27, followed by his burial at South-View Cemetery.

Aaron suffered from arthritis and had a partial hip replacement after a fall in 2014.

Aaron publicly received a COVID-19 vaccination on January 5, 2021, at the Morehouse School of Medicine at Atlanta, Georgia. He and several other African American public figures, including activist Joe Beasley, Andrew Young, and Louis Sullivan did so to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine and encourage other Black Americans to do the same.

Tommy Lasorda, American Hall of Fame baseball manager, dies 93

Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997.

Lasorda played in MLB for the Dodgers in 1954 and 1955 and for the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. He coached for the Dodgers from 1973 through 1976 before taking over as manager. Lasorda won two World Series championships as manager of the Dodgers and was named the Manager of the Year of the National League (NL) twice. His uniform number 2 was retired by the Dodgers.

Tommy Lasorda Cause of Death

On June 3, 2012, at age 84, Lasorda was hospitalized in New York City after suffering a heart attack. The heart attack was not considered to be overly serious. On November 8, 2020, Lasorda was hospitalized for heart problems and was reported to be “in serious condition” in intensive care. The Dodgers didn’t make the announcement public about his hospitalization until a week later. On December 1, 2020, Lasorda was taken out of the intensive care unit as his condition continued to improve. After being released from the hospital on January 5, 2021, he entered sudden cardiac arrest at his home two days later and was rushed back to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead that night. He was 93. Numerous buildings in Los Angeles were illuminated in blue in tribute to Lasorda, including City Hall, Staples Center, and the Banc of California Stadium; at Dodger Stadium, flags were flown at half-staff.

Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz head coach, dies 78

Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent as head coach of the Utah Jazz (1988–2011). NBA commissioner David Stern referred to Sloan as “one of the greatest and most respected coaches in NBA history”. Sloan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

In April 2016, Sloan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He died on May 22, 2020, at age 78, from complications of the diseases.

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Kobe Bryant, basketball legend, dies 41

Supporting Actor Streetcar Named Desire 1951

Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers. He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships. Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive team and was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2008. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league’s all-time regular season scoring and fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list. Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons.

Kobe Bryant cause of death.

At 9:06 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on January 26, 2020, Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others took off from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, in a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter owned by Bryant.

The helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California, at about 9:47 a.m. and caught fire. Personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department attended the scene, and the fire had been extinguished by 10:30 a.m. All nine passengers of the helicopter died. Initial reports indicated that the helicopter crashed in the mountains above Calabasas in heavy fog.

Witnesses reported hearing a helicopter struggling due to fog and visibility before crashing.

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