In sports, several athletes make history, mostly on the field. When they are alive, these athletes are remembered as living legends. But when they pass away, these athletes are remembered for more than being mere legends. They might have left, but the legacy of each and every superstar athlete that left us, lives along.
We now take a look at famous sportspersons who passed away in 2023, as another year comes to a close in two weeks time:
Bishan Singh Bedi
Remembered as one of the most prominent spinners of his time, Bishan Singh Bedi was someone who was impeccable at what he did in cricket. Bishan Singh Bedi passed away aged 77 on 23 October after a battle with prolonged illness.
Bedi represented India in 67 Tests between 1967 and 1979, taking 266 wickets during this time. He was India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests at the time of his retirement. Bishan would also go onto play 10 ODIs for India, having taken seven wickets, one of which was in India’s World Cup game against East Africa in 1975, when he finished with excellent figures of 1/6.
Bedi also led Delhi to successive Ranji Trophy titles in 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons.
Sir Bobby Charlton
On 21 October, the footballing world mourned the loss of an iconic figure, Sir Bobby Charlton. Bobby Charlton passed away aged 86 after what was later reported to be due to an accidental fall at a care home.
Bobby Charlton played a pivotal part in England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning squad. And apart from that, Charlton has had a celebrated career with Manchester United, having scored 249 goals from 758 matches. Sir Bobby Charlton would go onto win the European Cup, three league titles and FA Cup with the Reds.
Heath Streak
Battling colon cancer, Zimbabwe lost one of its finest cricketers the country had ever produced. Heath Streak, a former captain, passed away aged 48 in September. On 23 August, there were reports of Streak’s passing away due to cancer, although his former teammate Henry Olonga seemed to confirm that Streak was well and truly alive.
However, 10 days later, on 3 September, it was confirmed that Streak had in fact passed away after fighting against colon cancer.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Streak had formed a pivotal part of Zimbabwe’s bowling attack, having gone onto take 216 and 239 wickets in Tests and ODIs respectively. Streak would become only one of the four Zimbabweans to have taken 100 or more wickets in ODIs.
Streak, however, was tangled in controversies, one of them being a match-fixing controversy. In 2021, Streak was banned from all cricketing activities for helping out a corruptor known as “Mr X” to contact players. Streak was alleged to have disclosed confidential information regarding T20 leagues including the IPL and Afghanistan Premier League. Although Streak accepted ICC’s ban, he denied the claims of match fixing.
Gianluca Vialli
Italian football legend Gianluca Vialli had passed away early in 2023 aged 58. Vialli had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017, but went onto play a crucial part in Italy’s Euros-winning campaign in 2021, assisting head coach Roberto Mancini.
In 1992, Vialli joined Juventus for 16.5 million euros, which was at that time a world record fee. Vialli would go onto win the Champions League with Juve, before switching to Chelsea in 1996, and taking up the role of a player-manager in 1998.
Chris Ford
Chris Ford was one of the most iconic figures of the NBA. Ford would go onto play a combined 10 seasons with Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics from 1972 to 1982. In 1979, he would go onto score the first three-pointer in NBA history with the Celtics. He would also go onto win the 1981 NBA season with the Boston Celtics.
He was known as “Doc” by teammates, and Ford, would go onto score an average of 9.2 points, 3.4 assists, three rebounds and 1.6 steals in 794 games.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/m8x7kVP
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