WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan dead at 73

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Dutch soccer great Johan Cruyff, who revolutionized the game as the personification of "Total Football" and was a three-time Ballon d'Or winner died in March at age 68 from lung cancer.

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Ex-Jets running back Joe McKnight was murdered in a road rage shooting in New Orleans on Dec. 1, 2016. He was 28. The former NFL player reportedly got into an argument at an intersection in Terrytown, Louisiana. A witness told The Times-Picayune that she saw McKnight trying to apologize to another man after a traffic incident before he was shot more than once. Family members identified McKnight at the scene.

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Ralph Branca, who gave up one of the most famous home runs in baseball history, died Wednesday morning (Nov. 23). Ex-Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who is married to Branca's daughter Mary, shared the news on Twitter.

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New Orleans Pelicans guard Bryce Dejean-Jones died from a gunshot wound to his abdomen late Friday after he Òkicked open the front doorÓ to a Dallas apartment and the man sleeping inside woke up and shot him, May 28, 2016. He was 23.

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BMX and X-Games legend Dave Mirra died at age 41. Mirra was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Greenville, North Carolina on February 4, 2016.

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Joe Garagiola's nine-year baseball career was a modest one. His 57 years in broadcasting that followed made him one of the most popular figures in the sports world and beyond. Garagiola, who grew up across the street from Yogi Berra, died March 23 at 90.

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David 'Boo' Ferriss, a Boston Red Sox pitcher who helped lead the team to the 1946 World Series, died Nov. 24 at 94 years old. Ferriss was later the baseball coach at Delta State University, where he won 639 games over 26 seasons.

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Eddie Guerrero not only battled in the ring, but also fought alcohol and drug addiction. Just one year after he was crowned WWE Champion in 2004, the wrestler was found unconscious in his hotel room. He later died of acute heart failure at just 38-years-old.

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Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe, considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time, died at 88. The Hall of Fame icon, who played two decades of hockey in the NHL, died in Ohio, according to reports on June 10, 2016.

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A two-time All-Star, Arroyo helped pitch the Yankees to the 1961 World Series championship. The 5-foot-8 lefty was 15-5 with a major league-leading 29 saves that season, then earned another victory in the Series against Cincinnati. Diagnosed with cancer in December, Arroyo died on Jan. 13. He was 88.

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Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, who went from New York City playground wonder to Big East star for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, died April 20 of cancer. He was 52.

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Ed Snider, the Flyers founder whose "Broad Street Bullies" became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, died Monday, April 11, 2016 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 83.

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Craig Sager, TNT's veteran NBA courtside reporter known as much for the clothes he wore as the questions he asked, died after a battle with cancer, Turner Sports announced on Dec. 15.

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Monte Irvin, the graceful Hall of Fame New York Giants outfielder who won titles in both the Negro Leagues and in the majors, and was one of baseball?s early pioneers in helping integrate America's Pastime, while also helping mentor a young Willie Mays, died Jan. 11 in Houston. He was 96.

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Gold legend Arnold Palmer who won numerous tournaments on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour dating back to the 1950's died on September 25, 2016. Nicknamed "The King", Palmer along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player are often credited with popularizing the sport. Palmer was 87.

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Wrestling icon "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was found dead in his California home July 31, 2015 from cardiac arrest. He was 61. The wrestler was diagnosed with Hodgkin?s Lymphoma in 2006 but was cancer-free at the time of his death. Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2005 and was one of the top 50 villains in the history of the WWE.

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Tony Phillips, an infielder and outfielder who made the final defensive play in the Oakland Athletics' sweep of the Giants during the earthquake-interrupted 1989 World Series, has died. He was 56. The A's didn't provide a cause of death Friday in announcing Phillips' passing, which the club said occurred Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in Arizona and was unexpected.

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On October 3, 1951, Branca gave up Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World," a 3-run homer as the Giants beat Branca's Dodgers at the Polo Grounds in the ninth inning of a National League playoff game. In this Oct. 10, 1951, file photo the two engage in a little horse play before a World Series game at Yankee Stadium.

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Milt Pappas, who came within a disputed pitch of throwing a perfect game for the Chicago Cubs in 1972 and was part of the lopsided trade that brought Frank Robinson to Baltimore, died Tuesday, April 19. He was 76.

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Nate Thurmond, the original NBA king from Akron and a Warriors legend, died Saturday, July 16 in San Francisco after a short battle with leukemia, his former team the Golden State Warriors announced. Thurmond was just nine days shy of his 75th birthday.

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Former Colts coach and broadcaster Ted Marchibroda died January 16. He was 84. Marchibroda coached the Colts twice, in Baltimore from 1975-79 and in Indianapolis from 1992-95.

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Randy Savage aka "Macho Man," held an incredible 20 championships before his life was cut tragically short after suffering a sudden heart attack while driving his wife in Florida on May 20, 2011. The wrestler became unresponsive after crashing into a tree. Initially, reports said the cause of death was due to a collision, but it was later revealed that Savage had advanced coronary artery disease. The cause of death was eventually ruled as "atherosclerotic heart disease." He was 58.

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Perhaps the darkest day in the wrestling world history was when Chris Benoit's family was found dead at his own hands. In June 2007, Benoit was found dead at his home, along with his wife and their 7-year-old son. The wrestler had killed them while intoxicated with a number of different drugs found in his system -- however none of which directly caused his actions. It later emerged that Benoit suffered from severe brain damage and that he had an advanced form of dementia.

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Former New York Jets defensive lineman Dennis Byrd, here speaking at a 2012 ceremony retiring his number 90 at MetLife Stadium in N.J., was killed in a car crash Saturday, October 15, 2016, on a state highway north of Claremore, Oklahoma. He was 50 years old. Byrd, born in Oklahoma City, spent four seasons with the Jets after playing college ball for the University of Tulsa.

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Lawrence Phillips, the troubled former NFL running back, was found dead in his prison cell at Kern Valley (Calif.) State Prison on Jan. 14, according to a Kern Valley Prison press release. Phillips was serving a 31-year prison sentence and was suspected of killing his cellmate earlier in the year. His death was ruled a suicide.

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Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., was the fastest and most graceful heavyweight boxer the world had ever seen. The only three-time heavyweight champion of the world was a deeply polarizing figure in his prime, known as well for his boastful mouth as his willingness to stand up for a cause. Ali died of complications from Parkinson's disease at a Phoenix-area hospital on June 4, 2016, at the age of 74.

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Mexican wrestling star "Hijo del Perro Aguayo," whose real name is Pedro Aguayo Ramirez, fell unconcious after being kicked during a bout in the ring. The fighter was left slumped against the ropes after a flying kick from one of his opponents Rey Mysterio. He was taken to hospital but doctors were unable to revive him. Ramirez died in the early morning of March 21, 2015. He was 35 years old.

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Will Smith, a 34-year-old Queens native whose New Orleans Saints legacy includes a Super Bowl win, was killed April 9, 2016, in a case of road rage that turned deadly. Smith was shot and killed by another driver, alleged to be Cardell Hayes.

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He was known as the "Junk Yard Dog." Professional wrestler Sylvester Ritter was considered as one of the most charismatic and electrifying wrestlers in the country before his life was tragically cut short on June 2, 1998. Ritter was involved in a single car accident on his way back from his daughter's high school graduation in South Carolina when he fell asleep at the wheel.

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WWE star Ashley Massaro died on May 17, 2019 at the age of 39. The wrestler, who won the wrestling organization's Raw Diva Search in 2005, joined the organization on a one-year contract following her win and competed in Wrestlemania 2007 and 2008.

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Pat Summitt, the legendary Tennessee basketball coach, died Tues., June 28 at 64. Summitt had been suffering from early onset dementia, which forced her to retire from the program she led to eight NCAA titles in 2011. Her teams won 1,098 games, the highest number of wins by a coach - across both the men's and women's game - in Division I basketball history.

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Dennis Green, who coached the Vikings for a decade and also coached the Arizona Cardinals over a 13-year career, died July 22. He was 67. Green had a 113-94 record and had the Vikings within a game of the Super Bowl but lost to the Falcons in the NFC title game.

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Five-time world champion and self-proclaimed "Sexiest Man Alive," Richard Erwin Rood, otherwise known as "Ravishing Rick Rude," left behind his wife and three children when he suddenly passed away after suffering heart failure on April 20, 1999. An autopsy report found a concoction of different medications in his system at the time of his death. He was 40.

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Beloved sports host John Saunders, who has been a familiar on-air face of ESPN for nearly 30 years, passed away unexpectedly, the network announced on Aug. 10, 2016. He was 61. The Canadian-American sports journalist from Toronto, Ontario, hosted and handled play-by-play for a variety of sports, joining ESPN in 1986 before becoming one of the company's most prominent anchor's. Saunders is survived by his wife, Wanda, and two daughters, Aleah and Jenna.

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Kimbo Slice, the Miami streetfighting legend who became a heavyweight sensation in MMA, died Monday, June 6. He was 42.

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WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, aka "The American Dream", died at age 69 on June 11, 2015. While the cirsumstances of his death are unclear, the WWE released the following statement regarding Dusty's passing: "WWE is deeply saddened that Virgil Runnels, aka "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes -- WWE Hall of Famer, three-time NWA Champion and one of the most captivating and charismatic figures in sports entertainment history -- passed away today at the age of 69.,"

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Edward Fatu, known in the ring as "Umaga," "Jamal," and "Eddie," suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead after suffering a second heart attack on Dec. 4, 2009. It was revealed that the cause of death was acute toxicity due to combined effects of hydrocodone, carisoprodol and diazepam. He was only 36 years old.

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Thousands of horrified fans witnessed the death of professional wrestler Owen Hart, a Canadian also known as "Blue Blazer," when he fell 50 feet and hit his head after a wire broke that was holding him in the air as he was being lowered into the ring. The tragic accident occurred during the World Wrestling Federation match at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri on May 23, 1999. He was only 34.

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Craig Sager, TNT's veteran NBA courtside reporter known as much for the clothes he wore as the questions he asked, died after a battle with cancer, Turner Sports announced on Dec. 15.