20 Sports Athletes Who Were Murdered

2011 World Figure Skating Championships, free skating. Author; Deerstop. Wikimedia

20 Sports Athletes Who Were Murdered

Murders have been rampant not only in recent days but also for several years before technological advancement. Several people have lost their lives at a tender age through murders by people known to them or their family members. Sports athletes have also fallen victim to brutal murders over the years.

Some of these sports athletes have died in shootings while others have died through stabbing and other different means. Famous NFL players, boxers, footballers, and baseball stars have fallen victim to brutal murders that target them in one way or the other. Other stars were murdered in robberies while some were victims of murder-suicide incidents.

A good example is of skater Denis Ten who was murdered at the tender age of 25-year-old. He got into an incident in Kazakhstan where a group of people was trying to steal from his car. Unfortunately, he was stabbed to death in the confrontation with these people.

Let’s learn more about the 20 Sports Athletes Who Were Murdered:

1. Lloyd Seay

Carl D. Lloyd Seay was a professional and early stock car racing driver who was from Georgia. He was described as the “best pure race driver” during his time. However, his life was cut short after he was shot dead by his cousin.

On 1^st September 1941, Lloyd competed and won the Lakewood race and went over to his brother’s house to spend overnight. On the 2^nd, his cousin Woodrow Anderson came over to settle a dispute he had with Lloyd over the sugar he had been charged. Lloyd, his brother Jim and Woodrow went to their uncle’s home, Woodrow’s home, where he lost his life. Woodrow shot and killed Lloyd dying at the age of 21.

Read 15 Soccer players who died on the field.

2. Mitsuhiro Momota

Japan Championship, after the pair Kimura game victory by Rikidozan. Photo by Unknown author on Wikimedia

Famously known as Rikidōzan, Mitsuhiro was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler. He used to compete in sumo and professional wrestling. Rikidōzan was famously known as The Father of Puroresu as well as one of the most influential figures in the history of professional wrestling.

On 8^th December 1963, Momota was involved in an altercation in a club with a member of a sub-branch of the Yakuza. Katsushi Murata allegedly stepped on Momota and never apologized which made him mad and the scuffle began. Rikidōzan started punching Murata who in return stabbed him in the abdomen.

After the incident, Rikidōzan was rushed to the hospital where he had his first surgery and was discharged home. However, Rikidōzan never followed instructions from the doctor as he ate and drank and required a second surgery. Rikidōzan developed peritonitis that killed him a week before his second surgery.

3. Spider Sabich

Born on 10^th January 1945, Vladimir Peter Sabich Jr. Famously known as Spider Sabich was an American alpine ski racer. He was also a member of the US Ski Team that competed on the World Cup circuit in the 1960s. Sabich was a famous athlete who competed in several ski racing and was crowned champion on several occasions.

However, he was shot dead in a very controversial way. After a training session in the late afternoon of Sunday 21^st March 1976, Sabich headed to his home. He entered the bathroom where he was shot by his live-in girlfriend, Claudine Longet who was a singer and actress.

Spider Sabich was hit by a single bullet in his abdomen and lost a lot of blood before the emergency response team arrived. He died on his way to the hospital shortly at 5:00 PM at the age of 31. His girlfriend claimed that the gun went off accidentally when she was being shown by Spider how it worked.

4. Oscar Bonavena

Ringo. Photo by Unknown author on Wikimedia

Oscar Natalio Bonavena who was also known as Ringo was an Argentine heavyweight professional boxer. In his boxing career, Rango had a record of 58 wins, 9 losses, and 1 draw. He enjoyed a successful professional career in Argentina and US and was famously known for his hairstyle and wild-swinging blows.

Ringo is famously remembered for his hard-fought bouts against Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. On 22^nd May 1976 at the age of 33, Ringo was shot and killed by a security guard at the Mustang Ranch in Nevada. He had had a conflict with the owner of the ranch.

5. Lyman Bostock

Born on 22^nd November 1950, Lyman Wesley Bostock Jr was an American professional baseball player. He was an outfielder for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels where he played in Major league baseball for four seasons. On 23^rd September 1978 after a game, Bostock visited his uncle Thomas Turner as he usually did.

This time around, Bostock decided to visit a friend, Joan Hawkins alongside his uncle. Joan Hawkins was estranged from her husband Leonard Smith who used to follow her. After their chat, the group jumped into Turner’s car with Bostock sitting with Hawkins at the back of the car.

As they left, Leonard followed them closely and targeted to kill Bostock as he thought that he had an affair with Hawkins. After stopping at an intersection, Leonard pulled out a .410 caliber shotgun and struck Bostock in the right temple. Bostock died two hours later at the age of 27.

6. Ben Wilson

Benjamin Wilson Jr was one of the upcoming top basketball players in the United States. He was a high school basketball player from Chicago, Illinois. Top scouts and coaches regarded him as a very talented young lad during the 1984 Athletes For Better Education basketball camp.

However, his life was cut short before he became more successful in his career. On 20^th November 1984, Wilson didn’t go to have lunch with his teammates as he wanted to have a chat with his girlfriend, Jetun Rush whom they had had a child together. At the same time, Billy Moore was at Simeon’s campus carrying a revolver waiting to avenge his cousin who had been robbed of his $10 by a Simeon student.

Things went quickly as Wilson stepped over Billy at the luncheon as he was trying to get his girlfriend to talk to her. A bitter argument between Wilson and Billy ensued which made Billy reach out for his revolver and shot Wilson twice, in the abdomen and groin.

Wilson lost a lot of blood by the time he was rushed to the hospital. He died the following day after his mother told the medical practitioner to remove him from his life support machine.

7. Dino Bravo

Dino Bravo at Deep Throat Hi-Def Premiere. Photo from www.lukeisback.com. Wikimedia

Adolfo Bresciano who was famously known as Dino Bravo was a professional Italian-Canadian wrestler and promoter. Dino was a serial winner in wrestling before he retired in 1992. Other than his profession, Dino was known for his alleged role in illegal cigarette smuggling in Canada.

Dino had told his close friends that he knew his days were numbered. On 10^th March 1993, Dino was found dead with 11 bullets in his head and torso at his Vimont, Laval, Quebec home.

8. Andrés Escobar

Born on 13^th March 1967, Andrés was a Colombian soccer player who played for Atlético Nacional, BSC Young Boys, and the Colombia national team. He was nicknamed The Gentleman for his clean style of play and his calmness on the pitch. His death is believed to be linked to an own goal he scored during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Escobar deflected a well-struck ball to his net as Colombia was facing the United States in a game they lost 2-1. After the World Cup competition, Escobar went to Colombia rather than visit his relatives in Las Vegas, Nevada. That evening, he went on a drinking spree with his friends.

The merry was going well until Escobar and his friends split. This was on the evening of 1^st July 1994 after Colombia was ditched out of the World Cup. By 3:00 in the morning, Escobar was alone in his car in the parking lot.

Three men appeared and began arguing with Escobar. Suddenly, two of them pulled out their handguns. Escobar was shot six times as the goons celebrated and left him to die. Andrés Escobar died 45 minutes after the incident.

Also, read 15 Cases of Famous Missing People.

9. Fred Lane

Freddie Brown Lane Jr was an American football player. He was a running back and used to play in the National Football league for the Carolina Panthers. Lane was shot and killed by his wife at the age of 24.

On 6^th July 2000, his wife, Deidra Lane shot him as he was entering their home. She had used a 12-gauge shotgun as he was trying to unlock their home. Fred Lane was shot in the chest and in the head at point-blank range.

His wife pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and served several years behind bars. During her prosecution, Deidra was described as an abusive woman who had to kill her husband to get life insurance.

10. Iván Calderón

image cropped from a baseball card of Ivan Calderon from the 1985 Mother’s Cookies Seattle Mariners set. Author; Mother’s Cookies. Wikimedia

Born on 19^th March 1962, Iván Calderón Perez was a Puerto Rican professional baseball outfielder who played in the Major League baseball for 4 teams. He was nicknamed “Ivan the Terrible” before he was shot dead in December 2003.

On 27^th December 2003, Iván was at a bar in Loiza, Puerto Rico where he was shot and killed. He was shot multiple times in the head and back. His murder remains to be unsolved.

11. Darrent Williams

Darrent Demarcus Williams was a professional American football player since his University time at Oklahoma State University. He professionally played for the Denver Broncos of the National Football league.

On Monday 1^st January 2007 after playing the final game of the season, Williams was shot dead in a drive-by shooting incident. Alongside his teammates, Williams had come from a birthday party and were in his rented Hummer H2 limousine in downtown Denver, Colorado when the shooting occurred. He was struck once in the neck and killed instantly.

12. Sean Taylor

Sean Taylor Family. Author; All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA. Wikimedia

Sean Michael Maurice Taylor was a professional American football player. He was a free safety for the Washington Redskins of the NFL. Sean was a highly-rated player in the NFL before he was murdered.

On 18^th November 2007, there was a break-in at his empty home where the burglars rummaged through a desk and safe. 8 days later, Sean heard noises in his home and went to investigate. This is when he was shot in the upper leg by an intruder leading to extensive blood loss through the femoral artery. Sean Taylor passed away the following morning.

13. Steve McNair

Stephen LaTreal McNair who was nicknamed “Air McNair” was a professional American football player. He used to play as a quarterback in the National Football league for 13 seasons for top teams. Steve won multiple awards before he retired from his profession.

Steve had a romantic affair with a 20-year-old woman, Sahel Kazemi whom he could see regularly. On 4^th July 2009, Kazemi and Steve contacted each other as she aired her problems to Steve before he visited her. That night Steve went to a condominium he had rented in downtown Nashville where he met with Kazemi.

However, his body was found with multiple gunshot wounds along with the body of Kazemi. It is believed that Kazemi had shot Steve while he was asleep on the couch and then turned the gun to herself. Steve McNair died at the age of 36 in a murder-suicide incident.

14. Vernon Forrest

Vernon was a professional American boxer who was active from 1992 to 2008 and held multiple world championships in two weight classes. He held the WBC, IBF, Ring magazine, and Lineal welterweight, as well as the WBC super welterweight title twice. Vernon was a philanthropist too before he was murdered.

On 25^th July 2009 at around 11:00 PM, Vernon stopped by a gas station alongside his godson in the Atlanta neighborhood of Mechanicsville. As his godson went inside the gas station, Vernon was adding air to his low tire when someone drew his gun and robbed him.

After the incident, Vernon who had a firearm chased after the robber and started shooting at him before he disappeared. Vernon began talking to a second man after giving up the chase. This man withdrew a gun and shot Vernon in the back seven to eight times killing him on the spot. His murderers were arrested and charged.

Also, read 100 Most Famous People Who Committed Suicide.

15. Lorenzen Wright

Born on 4^th November 1975, Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright was a professional basketball player for 13 seasons. During his 13 seasons as a professional basketball player, Wright played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wright played for the Los Angeles Clippers,9 Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

On the night of 18^th July 2010, Wright’s ex-wife claimed that he had left his home in Collierville, Tennessee with drugs and money. However, he was not seen nor heard from after he left home. On 28^th July, the body of Wright was found in the wooded area on Callis-Cutoff Road after a 911 call was made and 11 gunshots were heard.

During the investigation period, cash rewards were offered for information on the murder of Wright. In 2017, Billy R. Turner, a landscaper and church deacon was arrested and indicted on first-degree murder charges. His ex-wife was also arrested and charged with facilitating the murder on claims she was afterlife insurance money.

16. Greg Halman

Baseball player Gregory Halman during Major League youth clinic in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Author; MoiraMoira. Wikimedia

Gregory Anthony Halman was a professional Dutch baseball outfielder who played for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball. Greg also played for the Dutch international team before he was stabbed to death.

On 21^st November 2011, Greg was stabbed and died after losing blood from a laceration to his carotid artery in Rotterdam. His brother Jason was arrested for the murder but released because he was suffering from psychosis.

17. Corrie Sanders

Cornelius Johannes “Corrie” Sanders was a professional South African boxer who was active from 1989 to 2008. During his career, he won multiple awards including the 2003 WBO heavyweight title against Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds. On 22^nd September 2012, Corrie was with his family in Brits, South Africa celebrating his nephew’s 21^st birthday.

Armed robbers stormed into the restaurant called Thatch Haven and started firing at the people. He was at the door with his 15-year-old daughter who he shielded and got shot in the arm and abdomen. He died on 23^rd September in a hospital bed.

18. Héctor Camacho

Fan photo of Héctor Camacho taken November 1, 2009. Author; Azalia Negron. Wikimedia

Héctor Luís Camacho Matías was a professional Puerto Rican boxer and entertainer who was nicknamed “Macho” Camacho. He was a quick and flamboyant boxer who was active from 1980 to 2010. He held multiple awards and accolades including the WBC super featherweight title.

On 20^th November 2012, Camacho was with his friend in a Ford Mustang on Puerto Rico highway 167 when they were shot at. He was struck by a bullet in the mandible while his friend was killed on the spot. Camacho was rushed to the hospital where there were hopes for his survival but he suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

19. Will Smith

Will Smith was a professional American football player who was a defender for the New Orleans Saint team. On 9^th April 2016, Will Smith was driving with his wife when they got involved in a crash.

The driver of the other vehicle brandished a shotgun and shot at Will Smith multiple times killing him on the spot. His wife was left injured.

20. Denis Ten

2011 World Figure Skating Championships, free skating. Author; Deerstop. Wikimedia

Denis Yurievich Ten was a professional Kazakhstani figure skater. He was a serial winner as he won the 2014 Olympic bronze medal, as well as several other major awards.

On 19^th July 2018 in Almaty, Denis Ten was caught in a situation whereby two carjackers were trying to steal his car mirrors. He was stabbed in the thigh and lost several liters of blood. He was pronounced dead after massive blood loss.

Several sports athletes have been receiving death threats when they don’t please the fans which has left them worried about their safety. The incidents of sports athletes’ murders should be dealt with as some are preventable.

Read 30 Famous People Who Were Murdered.