In Memoriam, 2021

Prominent Chicago sports figures who passed away in 2021 include Tony Esposito, the Blackhawks’ Hall of Fame goalie from 1969 through 1984; Jerry Harkness, captain of the Loyola Ramblers’ 1963 NCAA champion basketball team; LaMarr Hoyt, who won the American League Cy Young Award for the 1983 White Sox; and Roland Hemond, the beloved baseball executive who (along with Bill Veeck Jr.) saved the Sox for Chicago when it seemed inevitable that they would be gone.

     

TONY ESPOSITO

The people listed below each played a part in making Chicago the greatest sports town in the world. They will be missed.  

STAN ALBECK

Stan Albeck, 89, Bulls head coach 1985-1986; Bradley University men’s basketball head coach 1986-1991 (March 25).

Joe Altobelli, 88, Cubs manager 1991 (March 3).

LOU ANGOTTI

Lou Angotti, 83, Blackhawks center/right wing 1965-1967, 1969-1973; Chicago Cougars (WHA) center 1974-1975 (September 16).

LIONEL ANTOINE

Lionel Antoine, 71, Bears tackle 1972-1978, selected third overall in 1972 NFL draft (December 14).

Jon Arnett, 85, Bears halfback/end 1964-1966 (January 16).

Art Anderson, 84, Bears offensive tackle 1961-1962 (February 25).

RALPH BACKSTROM

Ralph Backstrom, 83, Blackhawks center 1972-1973; Chicago Cougars (WHA) center 1973-1975, co-owner 1974-1975 (February 7).

Hal Breeden, 76, Cubs first baseman 1971 (May 3).

Hy Cohen, 90, Cubs pitcher 1955 (February 4).

JOE CUNNINGHAM

Joe Cunningham, 89, White Sox first baseman/outfielder 1962-1964 (March 25).

Ralph Davis, 82, Chicago Packers (NBA) guard 1961-1962 (May 30).

Jeff Dickerson, 43, Bears reporter for ESPN Radio 2001-2021 and ESPN.com 2009-2021 (December 28).

Solly Drake, 90, Cubs outfielder 1956 (August 18).

TONY ESPOSITO

Tony Esposito, 78, Blackhawks goalie 1969-1984, five-time All-Star, three-time Vezina Trophy winner as outstanding goalie in NHL, Calder Trophy winner as NHL rookie of the year 1970, elected to Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, sweater number 35 retired by Blackhawks in 1988, named among 100 greatest hockey players of all time in 2017, ranked by hockey-reference.com as the greatest player in Blackhawks history (August 10).

Adrian Garrett, 78, Cubs catcher/first baseman/outfielder 1970, 1973-1975 (April 22).

Howie Glover, 86, Blackhawks right wing 1958-1959 (June 15).

Johnny Groth, 95, White Sox outfielder 1954-1955 (August 7).

Shaler Halimon, 76, Bulls guard 1969-1971 (April 19).

Joe Hardy, 75, Chicago Cougars (WHA) center 1973-1975 (February 19).

JERRY HARKNESS

Jerry Harkness, 81, Loyola University men’s basketball point guard, 1960-1963, captain of 1963 NCAA championship team, first-team All-American 1963, uniform number 15 retired in 1991, inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame with his Loyola teammates in 2013 (August 24).

Chuck Hartenstein, 79, Cubs pitcher 1966-1968 (October 2).

Geno Hayes, 33, Bears linebacker 2012 (April 26).

Jimmy Hayes, 31, Blackhawks right wing 2011-2013 (August 23).

ROLAND HEMOND

Roland Hemond, 92, White Sox general manager 1970-1985, senior vice president 2001-2007, The Sporting News Major League Executive of the Year 1972; founded Arizona Fall League 1992; recipient of Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from National Baseball Hall of Fame 2011 (December 12).

LaMARR HOYT

LaMarr Hoyt, 66, White Sox pitcher 1979-1984, American League Cy Young Award 1983, led American League in wins 1982 and 1983 (November 29).

Doug Jones, 64, Cubs pitcher 1996 (November 22).

Don Kojis, 82, Bulls forward 1966-67, started first game in franchise history on October 15, 1966 (November 19).

ROGER LeCLERC

Roger LeClerc, 84, Bears placekicker and linebacker 1960-1966, member of 1963 world championship team (January 21).

Cyril Pinder, 74, Bears running back 1971-1972 (January 23).

JUAN PIZARRO

Juan Pizarro, 84, White Sox pitcher 1961-1966, All-Star 1963-1964; Cubs pitcher 1970-1973 (February 18).

Ken Reitz, 69, Cubs third baseman 1981 (March 31).

John Roach, 87, Chicago Cardinals quarterback/defensive back 1956, 1959 (February 18).

EDDIE ROBINSON

Eddie Robinson, 100, White Sox first baseman 1950-1952, All-Star 1951-1952 (October 4).

Bobby Schmautz, Blackhawks right wing 1967-1969 (March 28).

Tom Simpson, 93, Cubs pitcher 1953 (February 7).

Fred Stanfield, 77, Blackhawks center/wing 1964-1967 (September 13).

Wayne Terwilliger, 95, Cubs second baseman 1949-1951 (February 3).

DICK TIDROW

Dick Tidrow, 74, Cubs pitcher 1979-1982; White Sox pitcher 1983 (July 10).

Vito Valentinetti, 92, White Sox pitcher 1954; Cubs pitcher 1956-1957 (August 5).

Granville Waiters, 60, Bulls center 1986-1988 (March 23).

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon. 

Cougar Town

     The Chicago Cougars were the first and presumably the last professional sports franchise to represent the northwest suburb Mt. Prospect. Likewise, the 1974 Avco Cup final series was the first and presumably the last championship of a professional sports league to be played in Mt. Prospect.
     The Cougars were members of the World Hockey Association, which was founded in 1972 as a rival to the National Hockey League, and the Avco Cup was the WHA's equivalent of the Stanley Cup. Like other upstart sports leagues which have come along over the years, the WHA was initially regarded as something of a joke. But the NHL wasn't laughing after Blackhawks superstar Bobby Hull signed with the new league before its inaugural season. Hull's defection to the Winnipeg Jets gave the WHA instant credibility, and 67 other NHL players soon followed.The loss of Hull also proved disastrous for the Blackhawks, marking the beginning of a steady decline in popularity from which they are just now recovering.

     The Cougars finished last in the Western Divison in the WHA's first season, but they made the playoffs the next year, led by three former Hawks: center Ralph Backstrom, defenseman Pat "Whitey" Stapleton, and goalie Dave Dryden. The Cougars won their first two playoff series and advanced to the Avco Cup finals against the Houston Aeros, who featured 46-year-old Gordie Howe—Mr. Hockey himself—and his sons Mark and Marty.
     This was where the sublime met the ridiculous. The Cougars' home arena, the International Amphitheatre at 43rd and Halsted, had been available for the first playoff series, but not for the second series because it had booked a touring production of Peter Pan, starring former Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby in the title role.
     By the time the Cougars and Aeros were set to start the finals, Peter Pan had moved on—but the Amphitheatre's ice surface had been melted and, for whatever reason, could not be refrozen. The Cougars attempted to shift their home games to Chicago Stadium, but that plan fell through because the Hawks were still alive in the NHL playoffs and weren't willing to share. So, with tails between their legs, the Cougars moved to Randhurst Twin Ice Arena in Mt. Prospect, which was named for the vast shopping mall in whose parking lot it sat.
     The Amphitheatre was no great shakes. In fact, it was decrepit, as anyone who attended one of the many concerts it hosted in those days could attest. But it could seat some 7,000 spectators, whereas the Randhurst rink held less than 2,000. The latter had been designed to suit the needs of participants, not spectators, and it could hardly accommodate newspaper reporters, much less radio and television broadcasts. It was probably just as well, then, that Houston swept the series, and the Cougars were spared the embarrassment of hosting more than two games.
     The shopping-mall ice rink made the Cougars a laughingstock, and they never recovered. During the 1974-75 season, the players themselves chipped in to buy the franchise from original owners Walter and Jordan Kaiser when the brothers failed to secure financing for a new arena in Rosemont. The Cougars folded at the end of that season. The arena in Rosemont was eventually built, of course. It opened in 1980 as the Rosemont Horizon, and it's now known as Allstate Arena. The Randhurst Twin Ice Arena, like the Amphitheatre and the Cougars, is no more.

Postscript: After the Cougars' demise, the World Hockey Association survived for several more years. When it disbanded in 1979, four of its teams joined the NHL: Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets. With them came a number of outstanding players, including Mike Gartner, Michel Goulet, Paul Holmgren, Rod Langway, Ken Linseman, Mike Liut, Mark Messier, Rick Vaive, and the Great One—Wayne Gretzky.

(c)2010 by Christopher Tabbert