I just read that on ESPN. Man, I am getting old. I remember going nuts when I finally got his card.

Posted by TMS:

RIP Harry Kalas too... never forget that voice while watching NFL films.

Yeah, just saw that too. Wow.

gonna miss that voice for sure

He is only a few months older than I am, so his death is a bit startling to read about for me.

If he had remained healthy as a pitcher, he would have been a true sports hero and a genuine legend. He was an amazing character on the mound with great stuff.

Almost as sad as his early death was the fact that the baseball world only had a chance to see him pitch to his potential for 1 season, when he was only 21 yrs old.


I am sure that someone will come to mind, but are there any basketball players who had a near superstar rookie season and then had their productive years cut off after a season or two. Fidrych never pitched over 80 innings after his ROY performance in 1976. Are their any basketball players who had a similar career?

Just wondering.

Posted by Paladin55:

He is only a few months older than I am, so his death is a bit startling to read about for me.

If he had remained healthy as a pitcher, he would have been a true sports hero and a genuine legend. He was an amazing character on the mound with great stuff.

Almost as sad as his early death was the fact that the baseball world only had a chance to see him pitch to his potential for 1 season, when he was only 21 yrs old.


I am sure that someone will come to mind, but are there any basketball players who had a near superstar rookie season and then had their productive years cut off after a season or two. Fidrych never pitched over 80 innings after his ROY performance in 1976. Are their any basketball players who had a similar career?

Just wondering.

interesting question. i'm just remembering college bball players who died right before making it to the league - like len bias, hank gathers. and this cat, who i remember well. you're ancient like me, so i bet you do too:


Wayne Estes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Wayne Vernon Estes (May 13, 1943 to Feb 8, 1965), nicknamed "Baby Huey", was a 6'6" forward All-American basketball player for Utah State University from 1963-1965. Wayne is the third-leading scorer in Utah State history with 2,001 points and the fourth-leading rebounder (893). He holds school records for career points per game (26.7), free throws made in a career (469), consecutive 10-point games (64), points in a season (821), points per game in a season (33.7), points in a game (52), and rebounds in a game (28). He was the second leading scorer in the nation in 1965, just behind Rick Barry.

Contents [hide]
1 Tragic End
2 Other Notable College Basketball Players in 1965
3 External links
4 Notes



[edit] Tragic End
On the night of February 8, 1965, Wayne Estes played the last game of his college career. During his last game against the University of Denver in the Nelson Field House, Wayne eclipsed the 2,000 point mark of his career scoring 48 points in the game.

"Bounce pass to Estes. Puts the ball behind his back. Turns and looks out front to Hal Hale…(Estes) looks at his defense, pushes, and it's…in! Oh, great! Wayne Estes has now scored two-thousand points in a three-year career." --Play-by-play announcer Reid Andreasen, KVNU Radio, Feb. 8, 1965

After the game Wayne and some friends stopped at the scene of a car accident near campus. While crossing the street, Wayne hit his head on a low power line and was electrocuted. Wayne Estes would have likely been a high draft pick in the NBA in 1965. The Los Angeles Lakers had intended to draft him in the first round[1]. Estes was posthumously given first team All-American honors by the Associated Press.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Estes

Posted by Marv:


interesting question. i'm just remembering college bball players who died right before making it to the league - like len bias, hank gathers. and this cat, who i remember well. you're ancient like me, so i bet you do too:


Wayne Estes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Wayne Vernon Estes (May 13, 1943 to Feb 8, 1965), nicknamed "Baby Huey", was a 6'6" forward All-American basketball player for Utah State University from 1963-1965. Wayne is the third-leading scorer in Utah State history with 2,001 points and the fourth-leading rebounder (893). He holds school records for career points per game (26.7), free throws made in a career (469), consecutive 10-point games (64), points in a season (821), points per game in a season (33.7), points in a game (52), and rebounds in a game (28). He was the second leading scorer in the nation in 1965, just behind Rick Barry.

Contents [hide]
1 Tragic End
2 Other Notable College Basketball Players in 1965
3 External links
4 Notes



[edit] Tragic End
On the night of February 8, 1965, Wayne Estes played the last game of his college career. During his last game against the University of Denver in the Nelson Field House, Wayne eclipsed the 2,000 point mark of his career scoring 48 points in the game.

"Bounce pass to Estes. Puts the ball behind his back. Turns and looks out front to Hal Hale…(Estes) looks at his defense, pushes, and it's…in! Oh, great! Wayne Estes has now scored two-thousand points in a three-year career." --Play-by-play announcer Reid Andreasen, KVNU Radio, Feb. 8, 1965

After the game Wayne and some friends stopped at the scene of a car accident near campus. While crossing the street, Wayne hit his head on a low power line and was electrocuted. Wayne Estes would have likely been a high draft pick in the NBA in 1965. The Los Angeles Lakers had intended to draft him in the first round[1]. Estes was posthumously given first team All-American honors by the Associated Press.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Estes

I did not know much about college BB at all when Estes died. I started following the NBA after my father put up a hoop on the new house we moved into in 1967. Connie Dierking was also a grad from my future high school, so I followed him for a bit in the box scores.

Originally a Jets (saw them in the Polo Grounds) and Mets fan. I feel pretty lucky to have been able to see the Knicks 2 titles and understand how special those teams were.

Estes' story is a tragic one. He was a year away from being teamed with Jerry West, and from the numbers he put up in college, he was quite a player. Wonder if he might have been a star in the NBA. Really a sad and freakish ending to his life- no NBA and no adult life- at least Fidrych had a wife and family and a time in the sport he loved.

Posted by Nalod:

Maurice Stokes.

Way before my time but this guy was on his way in the NBA.

thats the one i was thinkging of... read about him in the russell/chamberlain golden age of basketball book. he made it to his 3rd year and had a head injury on court. his injury went untreated since he seemed ok and it resulted in swelling of his brain and a stroke which paralyzed him. messed up since he seemed like he was on his way to being an all time great from all accounts.

Posted by Paladin55:

He is only a few months older than I am, so his death is a bit startling to read about for me.

If he had remained healthy as a pitcher, he would have been a true sports hero and a genuine legend. He was an amazing character on the mound with great stuff.

Almost as sad as his early death was the fact that the baseball world only had a chance to see him pitch to his potential for 1 season, when he was only 21 yrs old.


I am sure that someone will come to mind, but are there any basketball players who had a near superstar rookie season and then had their productive years cut off after a season or two. Fidrych never pitched over 80 innings after his ROY performance in 1976. Are their any basketball players who had a similar career?

Just wondering.

I recall Reggie Lewis only having a few short years with the Celtics. Wasn't it an enlarged heart that killed him? Hank Gathers never made it to the league due to a similar condition.

Posted by Paladin55:

He is only a few months older than I am, so his death is a bit startling to read about for me.

If he had remained healthy as a pitcher, he would have been a true sports hero and a genuine legend. He was an amazing character on the mound with great stuff.

Almost as sad as his early death was the fact that the baseball world only had a chance to see him pitch to his potential for 1 season, when he was only 21 yrs old.


I am sure that someone will come to mind, but are there any basketball players who had a near superstar rookie season and then had their productive years cut off after a season or two. Fidrych never pitched over 80 innings after his ROY performance in 1976. Are their any basketball players who had a similar career?

Just wondering.

Two NBA players come to mind --- One is Pervis Ellison, but his career was derailed by injuries.

The other is Joe Smith out of Maryland --- the number one pick by the Warriors. He initially had two really good years and then its like he just feel off the map and became a role player overnight. He's rarely included in #1 Busts discussions for some odd reason.

Its funny, but Kevin Garnett had the exact career that many envisioned Joe Smith having.