May They Rest in Peace (Sports) - February 2023 Quiz

Answer: Jack Sheedy

Jack Sheedy was born in East Fremantle, WA in 1926 and his Australian rules football playing career began in 1944 with South Melbourne. However, Sheedy became a legend in Western Australia as he became the first player in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) to play in more than 300 games.

Sheedy had nicknames including "Mr. Football" and "The Reverend" and he was elected to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Jack Sheedy died on February 23, 2023 at the age of 96.

Answer: Pole vault

Bob Richards was born in Champaign, IL, USA in 1926 and he was an expert pole vaulter. He won a bronze medal at the 1948 London Olympics and then gold in both the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Interestingly, despite his domination of the pole vault, Richards never set a world record in the event. In addition to his success in the pole vault, Richards was also an ordained minister and in 1984 he ran for President of the United States as a Populist Party member. Bob Richards died on February 26, 2023 at the age of 97.

As referenced in the question, the pit in pole vaulting are the mats that participants land on.

Answer: Canadian Football League (CFL)

Kaye Vaughan was born in 1931 in Concordia, KS, USA and he played college football at Tulsa. Although he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts of the NFL, Vaughan never played in that league and instead opted to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

In the CFL he won the Outstanding Lineman Award in 1956 and 1957 and in 1978 he was inducted into the league's Hall of Fame. Vaughan's team for his whole career, the Ottawa Rough Riders, won the Grey Cup as league champions in 1960. Kaye Vaughan died on February 5, 2023 at the age of 91.

Answer: Earthquake

Christian Atsu was born in Ada Foah, Ghana in 1992 and his professional debut was with Porto as a midfielder in 2011. Atsu bounced around several teams on loan until he joined Newcastle United in 2016 and he would play for the Magpies until 2021. Atsu was in Antakya, Turkey when the catastrophic Turkey-Syria earthquake hit.

The earthquake was classified at a Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme) and more than 59,000 people including Atsu died as a result of it. Christian Atsu was just 31 years old at the time of his death.

Answer: Denmark

Greta Andersen was born in Copenhagen in 1927 and she represented Denmark at the 1948 London Olympics. Although she won gold in the 100-meter freestyle and silver in the 4×100-meter freestyle, her 1948 Olympics nearly ended tragically. A doctor gave Andersen an injection to delay her menstrual cycle before she competed.

The injection caused Andersen's legs to lock and she fainted during her 400-meter freestyle competition. Luckily two other swimmers saw Andersen not moving normally and rescued her before she drowned.

In the 1950s Andersen moved to the USA and she became a long distance (marathon) swimmer. Greta Andersen died in California on February 6, 2023 at the age of 95.

Answer: Harness racing

Peter Wolfenden was born in New Zealand in 1935 and he was one of the country's best harness racing drivers and trainers during the 1960s and 1970s. Wolfenden won 1,762 races as a driver and 798 as a trainer. One of his most famous horses was Cardigan Bay who was the first Standardbred horse to accumulate $1 million in prize money and the horse with which Wolfenden won the 1963 New Zealand Trotting Cup. Peter Wolfenden died on February 18, 2023 at the age of 88.

Answer: Buffalo Bills

Charley Ferguson was born in Dallas, TX in 1939 and he played in college at Tennessee State. Ferguson joined the Buffalo Bills in 1963 and played for the team until 1969. Ferguson played with the Bills prior to the American Football League (AFL) merging with the National Football League (NFL) in 1970. Ferguson's best season was in 1965 in which he was an All-Star and the Bills won the AFL Championship beating the San Diego Chargers 23-0. Charley Ferguson died on February 14, 2023 at the age of 83.

Answer: Greg Foster

Greg Foster was born in Chicago, IL, USA in 1958 and in college he won the NCAA outdoor championship in the 110-meter hurdles in 1978 and 1980. At the 110-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Greg Foster posted a time of 13.23 seconds in the finals, just .03 seconds off of the gold medalist, Roger Kingdom. Largely due to his success at the World Athletics Championships, Foster was ranked as the world's #1 hurdler in 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987 and 1991. Greg Foster died on February 19, 2023 at the age of 64.

Answer: Tim McCarver

Tim McCarver was born in Memphis, TN in 1941 and his MLB debut was in 1959 for the St. Louis Cardinals. McCarver was a catcher during his career and likely his best season was in 1967 when he finished 2nd in the National League MVP voting after posting a .295 batting average and he lead all catchers in fielding percentage. McCarver gained even more fame after his playing career as a broadcaster for Fox Sports.

He won three Emmy Awards and in 2016 he was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Tim McCarver died on February 16, 2023 at the age of 81.

Answer: Blowering Dam Reservoir

Ken Warby was born in Newcastle, NSW in 1939. He actually designed the hull of his boat (Spirit of Australia) that he set the blisteringly fast water speed record. The Blowering Dam is an embankment dam located in the southeastern New South Wales. The reservoir within Blowering Dam has a surface area of 44.6 sq km (17.2 sq mi), a sufficient space for Warby to set his speed record.

At the time of Ken Warby's death on February 20, 2023 at the age of 83, he still held the motorboat water speed record.