Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, the unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s, has died. He was 87.
Bill Russell, Hall of Famer, winner of eight consecutive N.B.A. titles as a player and two as the first Black head coach in a major sports league, died July 31. In a statement released by his family, Russell was called “the most prolific winner in American sports history.” The esteemed Boston Celtic and civil rights activist was 88. Born William Felton Russell on February 12, 1934, to Charles and Katie Russell, he and his older brother Charles Jr. grew up witnessing the worst of humanity in Monroe, Louisiana. In his memoir, “Go Up for Glory,” written
John Thompson, the imposing Hall of Famer who turned Georgetown into a “Hoya Paranoia” powerhouse and became the first Black coach to lead a team to the NCAA men’s basketball championship, has died. He was 78