Monday was an awful day for the Long Beach City College athletics as the Vikings lost two members of their family. First came the news of women’s soccer assistant coach Sal Marroquin’s heart attack that morning, and then they found out baseball player Jackson Roeder had also passed away suddenly. Roeder was 21. According to […]
Obituary
COLUMN: Hank Aaron’s Inspiration to Long Beach Teacher
From the time I was old enough to hold a bat, my heroes were always baseball players, and Hank Aaron was the first. I was only four years old in April of 1974 when he hit his historic home run to pass Babe Ruth, so if that moment was spoken of in my home, I […]
OBITUARY FEATURE: James Hardy, Long Beach Legend
Story by Earl Williams NOTE: Earl Williams is a longtime sportswriter who worked at the Press-Telegram during its glory years under editor Jim McCormack. He’s provided an expanded obituary on Long Beach hoops legend James Hardy–thank you to Earl and to Jim for making the connection. Click here to read our obituary from last week. […]
Obituary: Jordan Hoops Legend James Hardy Passes Away
IMAGE COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Former NBA player James Hardy, one of the best athletes to ever come out of Jordan High, passed away in late December of a heart attack. Hardy, who was 64, was from Knoxville, Alabama but came to Long Beach with his parents as a child as part of the […]
Obituaries: Those We Lost In 2020
The last 12 months have been filled with loss and grief of all kinds. The Long Beach sports world said goodbye to a number of people, much more than a usual year, with an obituary running almost every other week on the562.org. We take a look back at those we’ve lost. The year began with […]
Obituary: Wilson Golf Coach Kurt Holmes Passes Suddenly
The Wilson High community is mourning the loss of another lifelong Bruin this week after Kurt Holmes passed away suddenly at his home on Saturday. He was 62. Holmes served as music teacher, marching band director, orchestra director, and golf coach while working at Wilson. “All he ever wanted to do was be at Wilson,” […]
Obituary: Century Club Past President and LB Sports Booster Keith Cordes Passes
Keith Cordes (left) with Long Beach State volleyball coach Brian Gimmillaro and longtime friend Dan Gooch at a Century Club banquet Longtime Long Beach sports booster and former Century Club president Keith Cordes passed away recently at the age of 81 of pancreatic cancer. Cordes, who was born in August of 1939, was fondly remembered as […]
Obituary: Carl Lewis’ Death Rocks Compton, Long Beach Hoops Community
The Compton community was rocked last week by another shooting death of a young basketball player, Carl Lewis, who was killed near Compton High. Lewis, 19 years old, was a talented player well-known in the city. He is the third teenaged basketball player to be shot and killed in Compton in the last four months, […]
Obituary: Long Beach State Mourns Loss of Longtime Scoreboard Operator, Jim Farrell
For the last 15 years, the scoreboard inside Walter Pyramid has been at the trusted fingertips of Jim Farrell. The Long Beach State alumnus was a loyal supporter of Beach athletics and a mainstay on the scorer’s table. On the morning of November 8, Farrell died at the age of 69 due to complications from […]
Obituary: Community Mourning Loss of Keith “Slice” Thompson
The Long Beach community is mourning the loss of a beloved mentor and longtime Long Beach Poly football assistant Keith “Slice” Thompson, who passed away last week after a battle with cancer. “He was a real community guy who did everything he could to give back and uplift the kids here,” said Poly boys’ athletic […]