In Memoriam 2021: A staggering, heartbreaking list of New Mexicans in sports (with photo gallery)

Dec. 28—MARV SANDERS — He won four state titles and 787 games while coaching boys basketball at Farmington, Silver City, Hatch, Portales and Lovington. "You were always there for me," former Farmington and UNM star Rob Robbins posted on Facebook. "You were the epitome of a leader." Sanders died on Dec. 30, 2020, at age 81.

DAVE SYME: A Lobo basketball player from the 50s, Syme worked as a timekeeper at the Pit for 36 years. He died on Dec. 25, 2020, at age 92.

RICH ALDAY: He won a program-best 515 games as UNM's baseball coach. He died in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, on Jan. 6 at age 71.

"He was truly one of the greatest human beings I've ever been around," said former Lobo Dusty Young.

DALE KENNEDY: A Lobo "Alpha Fan" who one year attended each and every UNM men's basketball road game, Kennedy died on Jan. 6 at age 70.

TOMMY LASORDA: He became famous as the Los Angeles Dodgers' colorful manager, but he auditioned for the job as the Albuquerque Dukes' skipper from 1972-76. Lasorda died Jan. 7 at age 93.

CHARLEY VILLA: An Albuquerque businessman who for years held the concessions rights at UNM sports venues, he was a loyal and steadfast Lobo fan who — unbeknownst to all but family and close friends — had a sterling high school and college athletic career of his own. He died on Feb. 17 at age 90.

KAREN TRUJILLO: The wife of Hatch Valley boys basketball coach Ben Trujillo, Karen Trujillo was struck and killed by a vehicle on Feb. 25 in Las Cruces while walking her dogs. A former teacher, she was superintendent of Las Cruces Public Schools and played an active role in high school athletics around Las Cruces. She was 50.

SCOTTY OLIVER: A Texas native, Oliver was a three-year starter for the UNM football team from 1966-68 and made his home in Albuquerque. Oliver died on March 7 at age 74.

ALEX JACKSON: A BMX state champion and a Cibola football player, Jackson was shot and killed March 10 in Rio Rancho. He'd just turned 15.

ERIC TALLEY: A Boulder, Colorado policeman, Highland High School grad and a former Albuquerque youth soccer player, Talley was shot and killed while attempting to stop a mass shooting at a Boulder grocery store. He died on March 22 at age 51.

TYLER EAST: A talented but troubled wrestler and MMA fighter, East was shot and killed during an altercation in his hometown of Los Lunas on April 4. He was 30.

ADAN CARRIAGA: He later gained stature as a community activist and a master santero, but before that was a basketball mainstay for coach Jim Hulsman at Albuquerque High in the 1970s. He came back from severe injuries suffered in a car crash to play at New Mexico Military Institute and McPherson (Kansas) College. Carriaga died May 1 at age 63. Wrote Albuquerque Journal columnist Jolene Gutierrez Krueger, an AHS classmate, he "never tired, never quit spreading love."

BOBBY UNSER: The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and auto-racing legend died on May 2. He was 87.

"Sure, there are some things that frustrated me about him," said friend and rival Mario Andretti of the often outspoken and never bashful Unser. "But those were also some of the things I'm gonna miss the most."

DEL CRANDALL: A 16-year Major League veteran, Crandall managed the Albuquerque Dukes from 1978-83. He guided the 1981 Dukes to a 94-38 record. He died on May 5 at age 91.

MARV SPALLINA: A UNM baseball and basketball player in the mid-1950s, Spallina remained a devoted Lobo fan and a long time basketball season ticket holder. He died on May 6 at age 89.

LAURA RASMUSSEN: Her work ethic during her years in sports information at UNM and elsewhere was surpassed only by her warmth, giving nature and inexhaustible capacity for friendship. Rasmussen died from heart problems on May 21 at age 32.

BOBBY UNSER JR.: Son of Bobby, nephew of Al Jr., cousin of Al Jr., brother of Robby, Bobby Jr. was a successful driver in his own right. "He was a life enthusiast," said his second cousin, Cody Unser. Bobby Jr. died on June 13 at age 65.

MIKE BROWN: Among New Mexico's most successful and most influential prep basketball coaches, Brown guided the Albuquerque Academy Chargers to six consecutive state titles from 1989-94.

"He taught me how to be a father, how to be a man," said former Charger and current Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego. Brown died on June 30 at age 75.

BILL DOTSON: UNM's wrestling coach for 20 years (1980-99) before the program was cut for Title IX and budgetary reasons, Dotson died July 3 at age 81.

"Wrestling at UNM was a big, big part of my life, and Bill Dotson was bigger than life," said former Lobo and Rio Grande wrestling coach Mark Garcia.

HERB HUGHES: An Albuquerque High and UNM football and baseball star and a member of UNM's Athletic Alumni Association Hall of Honor, Hughes — "The Boy from Roy" — died on July 3 at age 90.

DICK "BOO" ELLIS: A versatile UNM basketball star for Bob King during the early years of Lobomania (1963-65), Ellis died in his hometown of Indianapolis on July 14 at age 77.

TERRY STONE: He quarterbacked Bill Gentry's Highland Hornets to a big-school state title and an undefeated season in 1963. Four years later, he led the nation in two passing categories for the New Mexico Lobos. "He was a born leader," said Hornets teammate and longtime friend Jim Gates. "... Your all-American kid." Stone died on July 16 at age 75.

MATTHEW ASHER: An award-winning sports writer and photographer at the Carlsbad Current-Argus, Asher died on July 18 at age 37.

BRIAN O'NEILL: A basketball player at Cibola, O'Neill went on to coach at La Cueva, UNM and Baylor before heading the New Mexico Sports Authority, then providing color commentary on 101.7 FM's prep basketball sportscasts. He died on July 20 at age 56.

PHIL GRIEGO: He took the St. Pius X girls to three state titles and 13 district titles. "... As good a coach as he was, he was an even better person," said Kevin Hillsey, an assistant coach under Griego at St. Pius. "You don't get many friends like that in your life." Griego died on Sept. 15 at age 60.

MIKE DANOFF: A former Highland track-and-field star, Danoff was a faithful UNM booster and coached youth basketball for 25 years. He died on Sept. 15 at age 73.

RICHARD STEVENS: A sports writer and columnist for the Albuquerque Tribune for more than three decades, Stevens died on Oct. 13 at age 70. Often provocative, often hilarious, sometimes both at the same time, Stevens was revered by his former Tribune colleagues and adored by his son, Trevor, and his daughter, Kelsey.

JOE LEE DUNN: A seminal and nationally known figure in the development of college football defenses, Dunn came to UNM as a defensive coordinator in 1980 and was the Lobos' head coach from 1983-86. He died on Oct. 26 at age 75.

SAMMY DEFILLIPPO: A Rio Rancho Little League coach, a dedicated recreational softball player and a member of the United Slow-Pitch Softball Association Hall of Fame, DeFillippo died on Oct. 29 at age 82.

TODD BAILEY: Bailey spent most of his life as a newspaper journalist around New Mexico, including stints covering sports in Hobbs, where he grew up and graduated high school in 1990, and in Santa Fe. He was the editor of the Hobbs News-Sun when he died Oct. 31. The Oklahoma Sooners fanatic was 49.

LOREN DILS: Stricken with ALS in 2008, Dils continued to work faithfully in his chosen sport of tennis until the disease finally claimed him. "We lost a great Lobo today," UNM athletic director Eddie Nuñez said of the former UNM assistant coach. Dils died on Nov. 3 at age 55.

MICKY REEVES: Unquestionably one of New Mexico's finest prep athletes of all time, Reeves starred in football, basketball, baseball and, in his spare time, set a state high-jump record for Roswell High from 1985-88. He died on Nov. 6 at age 51.

HUBERT "HUGH" DICKSON: An Oklahoma native, Dickson taught P.E. and coached football and baseball at Monroe Jr. High before moving on to Del Norte, where he coached baseball and basketball. His APS career spanned a quarter-century. Dickson died on Nov. 30 at age 86.

JAMES BUTLER: UNM track/cross country head coach Joe Franklin gave Butler, a top assistant, major credit for making the Lobo women's cross-country program among the best in the nation. Butler, a former Eldorado track athlete and coach, died on Dec. 3 at age 41.

MARLEEN GREENWOOD: The Magdalena High School girls basketball coach and her 8-year-old niece were en route to a Steers game when they were killed in a car crash. "She's a salt of the earth," said Socorro football coach Damien Ocampo, who'd worked with Greenwood earlier. She died on Dec. 4 at age 49.

AL UNSER SR.: Nearing the end of a tragic year for the legendary Albuquerque family, "Big Al," a four-time Indy 500 winner, died on Dec. 9 at age 82. "He was a Great Man and an even Greater Father," son Al Jr., a two-time Indy winner, posted on social media.