Sports deaths in 2015: The loss column grew with Banks, Gifford, Smith, Tarkanian, Berra

By Fred Lief

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The loss column is where to look in the standings. Those are the ones that can never be made up.

And losses, of a different kind, hit Philadelphia in 2015 with the deaths of two 76ers centres _ backboard-busting Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone, who gave basketball a math lesson with his playoff sweep prediction of “Fo’, Fo’, Fo”’ that fell just short.

Joining them was Dolph Schayes, the Syracuse Nationals centre who briefly played for and coached Philadelphia in its Wilt Chamberlain days.

There were losses in baseball of Joaquin Andujar, Dean Chance, Dave Henderson, Darryl Hamilton, Tommy Hanson, Frank Malzone, Bill Monbouquette, Al Rosen. In hockey, the bespectacled Islander coach Al Arbour and the great Canadiens winger Dickie Moore.

Losses of boxing champions Gene Fullmer and Bob Foster. And in football of Ken Stabler, the left-handed quarterback of the renegade Raiders, and Garo Yepremian, whose slapstick field-goal attempt lives on in Super Bowl lore.

Losses of Harlem Globetrotter legends Marques Haynes and Meadowlark Lemon, who spread the gospel of basketball and laughter across the world.

And losses of those who cut a path for black players to follow: Minnie Minoso (baseball), Earl Lloyd (basketball), Pete Brown, Calvin Peete, Charlie Sifford (golf); and Mal Whitfield (track).

And those while on the job: IndyCar driver Justin Wilson, struck by debris at Pocono and gone the next day at 37.

Below, other losses, lives that soared across the games: