Sporting legends lost in 2020

Sporting legends live on forever in the hearts of their fans for the impact they have on the sport and on people's lives. Here are just some of the sporting legends that have passed away in 2020.

Australia

Former AFL Player, Shane Tuck

Born 1981. Played 173 games for Richmond, son of AFL Legend, Hawthorn's Michael Tuck. Passed away at age 38.

Former World Champion Snowboarder Alex Pullin

 

Born 1987. Two-time world champion snowboarder and Olympian. Passed away at age 32 in a drowning incident.

Australian Football Legend Mark Naley

Born 1961. Played for Carlton and South Adelaide in the SAFL. Passed away at age 59 after battling cancer.

Australian Football Legend John Kennedy Sr.

Born 1928. AFL Hall of Fame Legend who played for Hawthorn and coached for Hawthorn and North Melbourne in the VFL. Passed away at age 91.

Legendary Rugby Player Noel Kelly

Born 1936. NRL Hall of Fame Inductee who played for the Western Suburbs Magpies and the NRL Team of the Century. Passed away at age 84.

Radio Broadcaster Grant Goldman

Born 1950. Known as "the voice of Brookvale Oval", having been the ground announcer for the Manly Sea Eagles since 1983. Passed away at age 69 after battling cancer.

Rugby Player Mark Harris

Born 1947. NRL Hall of Fame Inductee who played for the Kangaroos and nearly 200 games for the Roosters. Passed away at age 72 after battling cancer.

Cricketing Legend Dean Jones

Born 1961. Played for Australia in One Day and Test Cricket and is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world. Passed away at age 59 of a heart attack.

Rugby Player Barry McDonald

Born 1942. Played for the Wallabies and was a member of the "Magnificent Seven" after boycotting the 1971 tour in protest against apartheid in South Africa. Passed away at age 79.

Olympic Figure Skater Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya

Born 2000. Australian-Russian pairs figure skater who was a two-time Australian national champion, international medallist and Olympian. Passed away at age 20.

International

NBA Legend Kobe Bryant

Born 1978. Played for the LA Lakers for 20 years as one of the most popular sportsmen in the world. Passed away at age 41 in a helicopter crash.

Professional Wrestler Rocky Johnson 

Born 1944. The first black Georgia Heavyweight Champion, the first black WWE Champion with tag-team partner Tony Atlas and father to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Passed away at age 75.

Boxer Roger Mayweather

Born 1961. Won multiple world titles as a junior lightweight and junior welterweight as well as being trainer to his nephew, Floyd Mayweather. Passed away at age 58.

Football Legend Diego Maradona

Born 1960. Played and managed football for Argentina and is often regarded as one of the best players of all time. Passed away of a heart attack at age 60.

Legendary Goalkeeper Ray Clemence

Born 1948. Played for England, Liverpool and Tottenham as one of the most  highly regarded goalkeepers in history. Passed away at age 72 after battling cancer.   

 

Sources:

• https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/Sports-stars-who-died-in-2020--149695769/#149695769_44
• https://www.newsday.com/sports/notable-sports-deaths-2020-1. 4018...
• https://www.popsugar.com.au/celebrity/celebrities-who-died-in-2020- 4708...
• https://www.9news.com.au/world/deaths-in-2020-list-of-notable-and-famous-people-who-died-in-the-year-2020/2e8f01ee-c1d1-4a44-9eba-f65d95ca0973
• http://www.legacy.com/news/australia/australian-celebrity-deaths/3544/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia- 5333...
• https://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/738625/vale-mark-naley
• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-25/john-kennedy-sr-hawthorn-legend-dies-aged-91/12391846
• https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/06/14/vale-noel-kelly-magpies-australia-great-dies-aged-84/
• https://www.radiotoday.com.au/vale-grant-goldman/
• https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/shane-tuck-funeral-richmond-afl-player-dead-afl-2020-shane-tuck-wife-katherine-delivers-eulogy/news-story/21a3242a22a9cf75a12c7000d731d5af
• https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/01/16/vale-mark-harris/ https://australia.rugby/news/2020/01/02/barry-mcdonald-vale
• https://www.mytributes.com.au/articles/dean-jones/4107025/
• https://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/29180785/kobe-bryant-helicopter-pilot-had-no-drugs-alcohol-system-autopsy-showsRocky%20Johnson
• https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/ekaterina-alexandrovskaya-dead-olympians-heartbreaking-suicide-note/news-story/97d44d86102cfd61f25da231dd4b8a8c
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/sports/rocky-johnson-dead.html
• https://www.news.com.au/sport/boxing/roger-mayweather-dead-floyd-mayweather-mourns-uncle/news-story/1d8e105ddc7c4d3c35d3a6dc4803542f
• https://www.mytributes.com.au/articles/ray-clemence/4141961/
• https://www.mytributes.com.au/articles/diego-maradona/4147683/