Mike Tiernan

popular name: Angelo Jacopucci

date_of_death: July 22, 1978

age: 29

cause_of_death: Right frontoparietal subdural hematoma and diffuse cerebral edema

claim_to_fame: Sports

best_know_for: Angelo Jacopucci was an middleweight Italian boxing champion who was affectionately called by his fellow citizens "brigetto" to underline his slender physical structure and agility. Upon winning the continental middleweight title, he lost it in the first defense. Subsequently he challenged the then title-holder Englishman Alan Minter in an attempt to recover the title. During the final two rounds of the 12 round match, Jacopucci suffered fatal blows to the head and died two days later from the damage.

popular name: Randy Smith

date_of_death: June 4, 2009

age: 60

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Sports

best_know_for: Randy Smith was an American professional basketball player who set the NBA record for consecutive games played. From 1972 to 1982, Smith played in every regular season game, en route to a then-record of 906 straight games (since broken by A.C. Green). After college graduation, Smith was chosen by the nearby Buffalo Braves with the 104th pick in the 1971 NBA Draft (in the seventh round). Playing for the Buffalo Braves / San Diego Clippers (1971–1979) Smith surprised everyone in training camp, and he made the final roster cuts. Despite standing only 6-foot-3, he was assigned to play forward. He averaged 13.4 points per game in his rookie season. Smith continued to improve beyond expectation, drawing on his tremendous speed, quickness and leaping ability. His style of play, along with contemporaries like Julius Erving, marked by fast breaks and "above the rim" ball movements influenced the offensive style of the NBA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Playing alongside league scoring champion Bob McAdoo, Smith averaged 21.8 points per game in the 1975–76 season, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Smith continued his successful career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks, then a return to the San Diego Clippers before retiring after 15 games with the Atlanta Hawks. After retiring as a player, Smith was an NBA league executive whose duties included assisting former players in need, and he was a coach in the Continental Basketball Association before working at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, where he worked in marketing. Upon his death, he was interred at Forest Lawn East Cemetery in North Carolina.

popular name: Buck Baker

date_of_death: April 14, 2002

age: 83

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Sports

best_know_for: Buck Baker was an American stock car racer who began his NASCAR career in 1949 and won his first race three years later at Columbia Speedway. During his NASCAR Cup Series career, Baker won two championships, 46 races and 45 pole positions, as well as recorded 372 top-tens. In 1957, he became the first driver to win two consecutive championships in the series. Between 1957 and 1959 Baker competed in the NASCAR Convertible Division. From 1972 to 1973, he competed in the Grand National East Series, where he recorded five top-tens in twelve races. Mr. Baker was a member of Six Racing Hall of Fames and voted one of the 50 greatest drivers in NASCAR history. After his retirement from active racing, Buck Baker opened and operated the "Buck Baker Racing School", where Jeff Gordon and Randy Newman among others, drove their first stock cars. He was inducted into the Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame in 1982 and in the International Motorsport's Hall of Fame in 1990. In February 2013 he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Upon his death he was interred at Magnolia Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Charlotte North Carolina.