Post Any Deaths of Players & Stars Here

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Mel Farr, a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who rushed for more than 3,000 yards in seven pro seasons with the Detroit Lions, has died. He was 70.

Farr, a running back, played college football at UCLA and finished seventh in the voting for the 1966 Heisman Trophy. He was drafted in 1967 in the first round by the Lions and ran for 860 yards in 13 games as a rookie. Farr spent his whole NFL career with Detroit, from 1967-73.

"The entire Lions family is saddened by the passing of Mel Farr," Lions President Tom Lewand said in a statement Tuesday. "As both a player and a businessman, Mel was blessed with many talents and a personality to match. His energetic presence in Detroit, both on the field during his playing career and off the field for decades after, was unique and unmistakable.

"Mel truly lived a life of distinction and will be missed."

One of Farr's sons told the team that Farr died Monday, a Lions spokesman said.

Farr led Detroit in rushing as a rookie and tallied 197 yards in a game against Minnesota. He also caught 39 passes for 317 yards. He scored six touchdowns that season.

In 1970, Farr rushed for 717 yards, helping the Lions go 10-4 in the regular season and reach the playoffs for the first time since 1957.

He was named to play in the 1968 and 1971 NFL Pro Bowls.

Farr finished his pro career with 3,072 yards on 739 carries and would go on to a second career selling cars in the Detroit area.

At one point, Farr owned about a dozen dealerships in several states and appeared in TV commercials as the cape-wearing Mel Farr Superstar.

But the spiraling cost of thousands of loans to bad-credit customers, lawsuits and overexpansion helped lead to the end of his business empire.

In early 2000, most of his dealerships were losing money and Farr had defaulted on $50 million in loans from Ford Motor Co.'s credit arm.

Farr's brother, Miller, and two sons, Mel Jr. and Mike, also played in the NFL. Mike Farr spent time with the Lions.

Mel Farr remained close to football and the Lions over the years, and was a founding member of the Detroit Lions Alumni Association and active participant in Detroit Lions community and philanthropic initiatives, the team said.

Farr, along with then-teammate Lem Barney, sang backup in 1971 on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." The song went gold. Farr and Barney were playing golf with the Motown legend when Gaye came up with the tune.

[walker066]

Frank Gifford passed away today at the age of 84. Great TTMer. RIP Frank. You made MNF a classic!

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Buddy Baker, a former Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee, has died after a brief battle with lung cancer. Baker was 74.

SiriusXM NASCAR Radio announced Baker passed away early Monday morning. Baker stepped down from his role as co-host of "The Late Shift" for the station last month when he announced he had a "huge tumor" in his lung that was inoperable.

"Do not shed a tear. Give a smile when you say my name. I'm not saying goodbye. Just talk to you later," Baker said in his final radio appearance.

Baker, who stood 6-foot-6 to earn the nickname the "Gentle Giant," was the son of two-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker. He made his Cup Series debut in 1959 and ran his final race in 1992.

Baker won 19 races, including the 1980 Daytona 500. Among his victories were the 1970 Southern 500, and the Coca-Cola 600 in 1968, 1972 and 1973.

He was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998.

Baker was the first driver to exceed 200 mph on a closed course when he did it in 1970 at Talladega Superspeedway, where he won four times. He ranks 14th in NASCAR history with 38 poles in his 700 career starts from 1959-1992. He had 202 top-fives and 311 top-10s.

Following his retirement from racing, Baker remained involved in NASCAR first as a broadcaster for The Nashville Network, then CBS and finally SiriusXM NASCAR Radio when the station started a NASCAR channel in 2007.

''I just want to say goodbye to everyone," Baker said before signing off from his final broadcast, which lasted about 40 minutes. "Thanks for being a friend."

[ajcorleone]

Batgirl actress Yvonne Craig passes away at age 78

A decade before Lynda Carter strapped on her bulletproof bracelets, half a century before Scarlett Johansson slipped on the Black Widow suit, there was Yvonne Craig. The trained dancer, formerly a member of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, was a pioneer of the female superhero. From 1967 to 1968, in the final season of Batman, Craig wore the purple and gold as Batgirl, a.k.a. Barbara Gordon.

The character was fairly new to the DC Comics universe, having first appeared in an issue of Detective Comics in 1966. With ratings slipping, Batman producers injected the character into the colorful television show for a boost of interest. She appeared in 26 episodes of the series. Craig had previous appeared alongside Elvis in two movies, It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins. Also interesting to note: Prior to Batman, Craig also costarred with Cesar Romero (the Joker) in Seven Women in Hell and Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon) in an episode of Perry Mason.


After Batman, Craig popped up on Star Trek, playing the green-skinned slave girl Marta in "Whom Gods Destroy." In these roles, she utilized her dance training to bring athleticism to the characters. Craig continued to work in television until this decade, making guest appearances on shows like Kojak and Fantasy Island until finally lending voice work to Nickelodeon's Olivia cartoon.


For the past two years, Craig had been fighting against breast cancer, according to a statement released by her family. She died at home at the age of 78 on August 17. Her family said the following:


"Wish Number One, is that her family, friends and fans would know how much she loved them and always treasured her time with them. Wish Number Two, was that no one waste a moment of their time in mourning for her loss in sadness but instead celebrate the awesome life she had been fortunate enough to live."

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Former NBA star Darryl Dawkins passes away at 58

[lizard-jd]

Former NBA star Darryl Dawkins passes away at 58

Wow, RIP Chocolate Thunder.

[bigga]

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Former major-league right-hander Joaquin Andujar died early Tuesday in the Dominican Republic after battling diabetes, ESPN Deportes first reported.

Andujar, 62, spent 13 seasons in the majors -- seven with the Houston Astros, five with the St. Louis Cardinals and two with the Oakland Athletics. He went 127-118 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.032 strikeouts.

Known for his fiery persona on the mound, Andujar was a 20-game winner for the Cardinals in 1984 and helped lead that franchise to the 1982 World Series championship. In two starts during that series, he was 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA.

A four-time All-Star, Andujar finished in the top 10 in the NL Cy Young award voting three times.

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Former Iowa football player Tyler Sash has passed way.

Tyler Sash starred for Oskaloosa High School as a multi sport athlete before committing to Iowa to play football. He was an All Big Ten player and a sixth round selection with the New York Giants. Sash made the team and played in a Super Bowl and was a member of an NFL Champion.
Sash was 27. May he rest in peace.

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Moses Malone died today at the age of 60