Talk:Lists of sportspeople who died during their careers

Untitled
Drazen Petrovic is there, Ayrton Senna is in 'List of racing drivers who died in racing crashes', but where's pro wrestler Chris Benoit? His article says that he was scheduled to win another championship at same weekend. 85.217.23.90 (talk) 14:46, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Hansie Cronje
Surely he shouldn't be listed? His death didn't occur during his career because he'd already been banned from playing cricket.Chile Nose Jam (talk) 22:01, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Ayrton Senna
Where is he? andylaw31 00:13 26 July 2009 (BST) —Preceding undated comment added 23:12, 25 July 2009 (UTC).

Dražen Petrović
Is there a reason Dražen Petrović (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drazen_Petrovic) is not listed? Good one! No reason whatsoever, I'll add him now - thanks! --Downwards 03:58, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Dražen Petrović has been listed (three times?) and deleted each time. Why? Que-Can 19:52, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Cause of Death: car accident vs car crash
Here's a question: what is the difference between a "car accident" and a "car crash"? About "accidents" Wikipedia says: "Technically, 'accidents' do not include incidents where someone is at fault (e.g. negligent); for example, if someone fails to take reasonable precautions in the circumstances. If the results of such negligence were foreseeable, they were not accidental, and the negligent person can be held responsible for any consequences of such negligence." With reference to "car accidents" it also says: "The term accident is considered an inappropriate word by some, as reliable sources estimate that upwards of 90% are the result of driver negligence." With this topic, List of sportspeople who have died during their playing career, we know that many, many of these deaths listed as a "car accident" would be better described as a "car crash." Since many of the sportspeople died through someone's negligence, these were not all "accidents." (The police, news, and/or court reports of the deaths will mention if there was negligence involved.) I prefer saying "car crash" when (for instance) an athlete gets so drunk that he or she can't drive properly and the inevitable happens, or when the athlete's car is hit by a drunk driver and the athlete dies. So, for this article where the "car accident" is indeed a "car crash" ... do we call it as it is? Que-Can 17:44, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia doesn't define common usage, it's simply common. Accident is the world-wide accepted term for what happens when one vehicle strikes another.  Ergo, use accident.98.215.71.23 (talk) 06:54, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

car racing
is car racing a sport? or not a sport?
 * Please read car racing article... It is a sport Papushin 16:50, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Because of the sheer amount of deaths, Car Racing has its own separate list. See List of racing drivers who died in racing crashes StudierMalMarburg 14:40, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Sort
Sort by name or by date of dead? Spy1986 12:15, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Sorting is done by last/family name. Papushin 14:15, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Split proposal
As this list is getting too big, I am considering splitting the list off, to start it off those who have been killed in road and aviation accidents are to be moved into the pages that exists for them. What do you think. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Willirennen (talk • contribs).
 * It's not particularly big. Punkmorten 07:47, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

This huge, complex article takes a loooooong time to load, preview, and save. Twice when I was working on a simple edit, the article hung, and I needed to redo the edit.

Somebody should start to gradually split this article into separate articles, probably based on sport. For example "List of American football sportspeople who died during their careers". --LukasMatt (talk) 09:07, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

Patt Tilman
Should Patt Tilman be on this list? He didn't die during his playing career, he'd left to join the army. 05:01, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Removed. This is for sportspeople that have died during their career only. 62.249.237.223 17:53, 25 August 2007 (UTC) The issue seems to be whether he retired to join the army, or if he intended to resume a career later.--MartinUK (talk) 10:15, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Footballers who died while playing merge suggestion
Can I suggest, I would like to suggest oppose for the reason of keeping this list as compact as possible as my concern is this list is somehow is beginning to become rather oversized, otherwise it may do sometimes in future as sportspeople dying in their prime is rather a common occurence. Second reason is is many sportspeople have their own fatality list, so there is no reason why that list one can't. Willirennen 13:32, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

I completely agree, the list should be kept seperate as there is a substantial difference between a player dying in a car crash, and a player dying while a game is being played. 62.25.109.195 (talk) 11:37, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I have now broken the entries (or have on most of them) of those who died whilst playing off to a separare list, only it needs to do on that list is some cleanup work. Willirennen (talk) 14:20, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

You've missed some players. Why have you removed all those players from one list, and not added them to the other? If you expect each and every player to get their own description, then you're on your own typing all of that out. 62.249.237.223 (talk) 23:51, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
 * The reason why I removed them is, like the race car driver list, they have their own list therefore they don't need to be listed on 2 lists as what I'm trying to do is keep this list to as maintainable as possible. Another reason for not added them is, they have already been listed on that article. The reason for leaving some out is because the majority of these articles states that they died outside the pitch. Also, I may left some out because I'm not a big football expert and I don't specialise in football articles here, therefore some of them will be left out. Willirennen (talk) 01:47, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

I've moved all of the players that died due to injuries relating to the playing field or training ground to the proper page and removed them from the list below. Although I'm not sure about George Smith, the rest have all certaintly been done. 62.249.237.223 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 02:01, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Clean up
I added a clean up box to the article so some things can be shorted out. The Tramp 20:55, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Minor League & High School Players
I had added Doug Millon, a minor league pitcher for the Colorado Rockies before, but was deleted by the administrator shortly afterwards, the reason being Millon was only a minor league player. Now I can find Mark Milano, a high school football player on the list. Should that be deleted as well? Or should Doug Millon be "reinstated", in the morbid sense of the word? Maxcheung 02:30, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Hedley Verity
Had Hedley Verity officially retired? In the article it makes no reference, but I would've thought he would've been on here if he hadn't retired. —Preceding unsigned comment added by CanaryOJ (talk • contribs) 16:49, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

The Fabulous Moolah
Should The Fabulous Moolah be on this list? She retired a long time ago and only made the odd appearance on TV from time-to-time, I don't know whether this is enough to qualify her as "still active" Weightchamp (talk) 17:41, 11 December 2007 (UTC) No.The Tramp 19:56, 11 December 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by The Tramp (talk

Maurice Stokes
I'm removing Maurice Stokes. While it can be argued that his on-court injury contributed to his early death, he died 12 years after the accident. --Badmotorfinger (talk) 01:58, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Didier Pironi
Should he be on the motorsport list? His fatal powerboating accident was five years after he last raced in Formula One, and I believe he took powerboating up after accepting that he could not race again. Perhaps he belongs in the watersports section instead?--MartinUK (talk) 10:10, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Motorsports definition
Should this only include active drivers/riders, or also team managers, designers and mechanics?--MartinUK (talk) 10:10, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Mike Awesome removed
I've removed Mike Awesome because he was retired when he killed himself. AndarielHalo (talk) 16:55, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

Fred Washington
Chicago Bear DT Fred Washington was killed in an auto accident during his rookie season (1989 or 1990), and is not on the list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.239.128.15 (talk) 13:43, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Lou Gehrig?
Shouldn't he be on this list? I mean, I know he retired before he died, but he retired as a result of the disease that killed him. So shouldn't he be on there? 24.47.17.126 (talk) 03:10, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Gehrig was forced to retire due to illness and died 2 years later, just short of 38. Likewise, I wonder, should someone in his situation be included? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:30, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I'd say no. It's a sad fact that his career was curtailed due to his illness; but we can't pretend that his career continued right up till his death, because it didn't.  By the time he died, his career was well over.  If it had been only a week or so between retirement and death, that might be fuzzy enough to qualify.  But 2 years?  No.  --   Jack of Oz    ... speak! ...   20:36, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm saying yes, and have added him, for this reason: There are players listed there who were killed in wars. Technically, it was the war that interrupted their baseball careers, not the fact of dying in combat, as there is no guarantee they would have resumed their careers. It's pretty similar to the Gehrig situation except Gehrig's career was curtailed by illness rather than military service. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 07:31, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I think that's a different case. Going off to war means, hopefully, merely a temporary interruption to one's career, and the shorter the better.  It may turn out they they get KIA, and they know that is always on the cards, but that's not their intention when they join up.  Gehrig retired from sport; the reason, in a sense, is immaterial.  He was no longer an active sportsman.  It wasn't just that his career was interrupted; it was ended, permanently, 2 years before he died.  People fighting in the armed services do consider themselves to be active sportsmen, who have been temporarily sidelined because of more pressing matters.  --   Jack of Oz    ... speak! ...   07:45, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Gehrig would have been active in 1941 if he hadn't developed ALS. It was the direct cause of his retirement. He should be on the list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.33.158.121 (talk) 11:19, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Athletes in college sports
Since not everybody who participated in competitions on collegiate level is notable, and their notability is determined in a case-by-case procedure, I'm of the opinion that we should remove all entries that don't link to an existing article about the person. That's not the way I would usually deal with red links, because I know that some subject areas are still covered very poorly. Yet the premature death of a promising athlete always creates some buzz in the media, which is why I presume that at least most of those notable athletes do have an article, even if they died several decades ago. --Axolotl Nr.733 (talk) 13:29, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

Sports people
What kind of terminology is this? Wouldn't "athletes" be better? Seasunsky (talk) 01:23, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree. "Sports people" sounds like trying too hard to not say "sportsmen". --Jonxq 02:26, 13 February 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jonxq (talk • contribs)
 * Couldn't agree more. Sounds really childish as well. --Evildevil (talk) 12:23, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

the trouble with that is that "athelete" only defines some of the sporting world. Motor sports and aviation would be excluded from your list for definite, as well as a few other sports too. AcidPenguin (talk) 04:17, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Bullfighting
I am astonished at "Bullfighting" being included as a sport in this list. Wikipedia itself describes it as a "traditional spectacle". Though being a Spaniard I am part of the 70% majority (wikipedia again) not interested at all in that, but I think even the strongest pro-BF supporters agree it is most certainly not a sport. I suggest it should be removed from here. Fsoto1969 (talk) 12:56, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. Spaniards do not consider bullfighting to be a sport, but rather a cultural manifestation. Bullfighters are not considered to be athletes. It's not covered in the sports section of the newspaper, it's covered (and reviewed) in the show business section. I would move the bullfighters to a separate list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.33.158.121 (talk) 11:24, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Chess?
Since when is chess a sport? A sport requires physical exertion. Chess requires only mental exertion. It can be played online. It is no more a sport than editing Wikipedia is a sport. --  Jack of Oz    ... speak! ...   20:31, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Olympic sports __meco (talk) 14:54, 14 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I guess that settles it, then. But I can't leave without seriously questioning the IOC on this.  What's to stop them recognising Scrabble or Chinese Checkers or poker or backgammon as sports?  Or the NYT Cryptic Crossword?  --   Jack of Oz    ... speak! ...   08:04, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Ernie Schaaf
Doesn't this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Schaaf belong on this list? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.175.97.21 (talk) 04:28, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Table
I suggest this list had better been presented as a table. That way it would also be possible to choose whether to list by sport, by country or chronologically. __meco (talk) 14:51, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Add Antonio Puerta to the list
He was a Spanish football player for Sevilla who died around 2006 after collapsing on the pitch. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.33.158.121 (talk) 11:17, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Professional Wrestling
Needs to be cleaned up somehow. Part is listed under an nonfunctional table showing none of them from A-F, and the rest are in a list that are shown in the correct way. 69.61.211.18 (talk) 15:36, 28 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I think it needs to be removed althogher, as professional wrestling is not an sport but a performance (and a very brutal one, not very different from MTV's Jack Ass.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 148.87.19.214 (talk) 23:33, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Article name?
"List of sportspeople [plural] who died during their [plural] career [singular]"??? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:16, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

This article has serious problems
First of all the standard for sportspeople who died during their careers vary

Take for instance horse racing. No horsepeople who died in a racing accident are supposed to be listed. The same goes for auto racing On the other hand, boxers who died in the ring or from injuries suffered from a fight are listed. Pro Baseball players, football players etc who died while participating are also listed.

Chess is included on the list. It's an Olympic sport but not by IOCC. The main issue is, many chess professionals keep competing right up till they die.(Within less than a year of the date of their death) Should we be listing players who did that respective of age?

Its supposed to be sportspeople who died during their careers. But their are persons on the list, Ricky Bell and Heather Farr to name just two, who died 2 or more years after the last time they competed.

There are mistakes in causes of death also. I corrected a few of these. These are minor compared to the lack of standards.

There are other problems I'm sure this is just a start made from some quick observations- William 02:52, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

The motorsports sections have different rules since the odds of dying as a direct result of particpation in a motorsports event are non-trivial. That's why there is a separate list for racers who have died in crashes. With sports such as baseball, the risk is trivial (I think it's only happened twice in the history of Organized Baseball) so there would be no point in moving them to a separate list. Yes, it's an inconsistency, but it's done for practical reasons.

I agree that there are some inconsistencies within the sections. Dave Cornutt (talk) 18:02, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Dale Earnhardt
Why does he keep showing up in the auto racing section? He obviously died as a result of a racing accident. The rules are that we only list drivers here who died of non-racing-related causes during their careers. Dave Cornutt (talk) 18:05, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Early Days of College Football
There were many many in-game deaths in the early days of college football. For example, 18 players were killed in 1905 and 33 players were killed in 1906. 71.230.169.158 (talk) 02:51, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

Whom exactly is this list about?
We should at least agree what this list is about. I see why it makes sense to list those who were actually active on a high level of sports when they died. However, I fail to see why there also are coaches/managers and umpires/referees in this list. So: What are "sportspeople", for that matter? And isn't this supposed to be defined in the leading section? --Axolotl Nr.733 (talk) 19:50, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

NFL Players died during career
Kirk Collins  Los Angeles Rams 1984    Cancer

75.22.52.129 (talk) 16:08, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Olympians who died in World War II
Would anyone be opposed to a new section "Olympians who died in World War II" and a subsection "Olympians who died in the Holocaust?" There's quite a bit of info on them, and a lot of them aren't mentioned in this article. -- Activism  1234  17:07, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Suggested deletes from the auto racing section
We have two entries in the auto racing section who were not drivers -- Harry Melling and Harvey Postehlwaite. We also have an entry for Benny Parsons, who was long retired as a driver when he died. It does not appear that any of these meets the criteria for listing in the motor sports area, and I will delete them if there are no objections. Dave Cornutt (talk) 06:21, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

"Athletics" heading appearing in wrong place
Why does the "Athletics" heading appear above the "Association football" table in the article, even though it's in the right place in the source text? Gildir (talk) 15:53, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Terrible title
The title of this article is daft! No sportsperson has ever literally died "during" their career, as their career could not continue after their death. Perhaps (if the article is really necessary) it should be called "Unexpected deaths during or as a direct result of competing in a competetive sport" WillE (talk) 22:15, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Deletion, recreation and now a set index
Check out this thread at WP:AN if you're interested in why all this happened. Jenks24 (talk) 15:21, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

This is terrible
How could this he changed? It's ridiculous. There is so much missing now. There are hardly any baseball players on the baseball page, and football and basketball don't even have pages. The entire page has been ruined. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jbuc14 (talk • contribs) 18:33, 21 September 2014 (UTC)

Dubious Title
No sportsman, not a single one, ever carried on his or her career after they died. Ergo, no sportsman has ever ceased this mortal coil "during" a career. "Sportspeople [ugly - sportsmen is better] whose careers were ended by premature deaths" would be a better title. WillE (talk) 12:08, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

It doesn't matter...
....how many times you change it back, the title "Sportspeople who died during their careers" is the MOST stupid title on all Wikipedia. If changing the name meant a thousand links needed sorting, then that is what should have been done.

Otherwise, tell me of ONE sportsperson who did anything on the sports field after they died, and I'll stop pointing out how stupid it all is. WillE (talk) 22:01, 15 December 2018 (UTC)