In Memoriam: Notable sports deaths in 2022

Dec. 31—KAREN FEY — A coach and longtime senior women's administrator at New Mexico State — "The mother of Title IX" at NMSU, said Aggies athletic director Mario Moccia — Fey died on Dec. 20, 2021 in Wisconsin. She was 80.

JERALD SNIDER: Most recently the boys basketball coach at Valley, Snider also coached at West Mesa, Eldorado and Jemez Valley. He died on Dec. 20, 2021 at age 76. "He was a special man, he really was," said Rio Rancho girls coach Scott Peterson, a former assistant of Snider's at Valley.

FRANK GERE: A track-and-field standout at Highland High School and at UNM in the 1950s, Gere died on Jan. 10 at age 82 in Castro Valley, Calif.

LEONARDO AND LEONARD TORRES: Father and son, both coaches at Mesa Vista High School in Ojo Caliente, Leonardo, 58, and Leonard, 37, died one day apart in January from COVID-19. The Lady Trojans fought through their grief to make the Class 2A state basketball tournament.

TOM DRANGMEISTER: A fine athlete at Western New Mexico, Drangmeister was a coach, broadcaster and a friend to many on the New Mexico prep scene. "The dude loved everything about high school athletics," said his son Ed. Drangmeister died on Jan. 26 at age 82.

MISSY MARTINEZ: She pitched the Cibola Cougars to three straight state softball titles in 2007-09. More than that, her father Gary told the Journal, "... She brightened up the room whenever she was there." Martinez, 30, died from COVID-19 on Feb. 4.

TYLER JAMES, MAURICIO SANCHEZ, TRAVIS GARCIA, JACKSON ZINN, KARISA RAINES, LACI STONE, TIAGO SOUSA: A College of the Southwest golf coach (James) and six of his athletes died in a March 15 car crash in west Texas while returning from a tournament.

ELIJAH DAVIDSON: A former Bosque basketball star, Davidson died on March 23 at age 20. He was studying and playing basketball at Western Colorado University.

ERIC MADDY: A proud 1980 Sandia graduate, Maddy worked in sports administration at UNM, at the New Mexico Activities Association and as a reporter for the Rio Rancho Observer. He died on March 31 at age 59.

RAFAEL HIDALGO: He came to UNM from New York as a football walk-on wide receiver in 2016 and earned a scholarship while serving as the team barber. Hidalgo died in Mexico at age 26 on April 17.

DEAN STONE: Two years after brother Terry quarterbacked Highland High to a big-school state football title, Dean Stone did the same in 1965. He went on to play defensive back at the University of Miami. He died on April 11 at age 73.

LISA PANNONI: Her husband, Gerry Pannoni, gave up his job as Rio Rancho football coach because his wife was to be buried in their home state of Virginia and he could not be separated from her. Lisa Pannoni died on April 12 at age 58.

ANTHONY "TONY" GRAY: A superb running back and track athlete at Jefferson Junior High and Highland High, Gray excelled as Don Perkins' backfield running mate at UNM in 1957-58. An outstanding recreational golfer, Gray died on May 13 at age 86.

BART BRYANT: An Alamogordo High School and New Mexico State grad, Bryant was a three-time winner on the PGA Tour. He died in a car crash in Florida on May 31 at age 59.

DON PERKINS: He came to UNM from Waterloo, Iowa in 1956 and became one of the school's all-time football greats as a halfback before going on to a sterling eight-year career with the Dallas Cowboys. He died on June 9 at age 84 after serving the Albuquerque community in myriad ways. His obituary notice in the Journal, likely as per his own wishes as a determinedly modest man, did not so much as mention football.

JOHNNY CAPELS: After cutting his auto-racing teeth at Albuquerque's Speedway Park in the 1950s, Capels went on to become a USAC national champion and an auto mechanic to the stars. He died on June 9 in Indiana at age 86.

LEONARD FRESQUEZ: The son of longtime Albuquerque businessman and boxing promoter Lenny Fresquez, Leonard was a frequent, helpful presence at his father's events. He died on June 25 at age 41.

RICHARD "DICK" MITCHELL: He served the state for decades as a baseball and softball umpire. Mitchell died on July 29 at age 89.

PHIL SCHROER: A former coach and athletic director at Cibola, Schroer died on Aug. 9 at age 75. "Phil was an incredible human being," said Rio Rancho girls basketball coach Lori Mabrey, whom Schroer had hired at Cibola. "He's been like a mentor to me, and he really helped me through some tough spots. He was always that guy that was easy to talk to," said former Cibola boys coach Ray Rodriguez.

ABRAHAM "ABE" ROMERO: An Organ Mountain football player, Romero, 17, died on Sept. 17 after suffering a football-related injury in August.

GETHRO MUSCADIN: A former UNM basketball player, Muscadin died on Oct. 31, almost exactly 10 months after being involved in a car crash in Kansas. He was 22.

JOEY MONTAÑO: The 1973 West Mesa graduate was a coach and athletic director at his alma mater before moving into APS sports administration. For years, he aided UNM and NBA basketball legend Michael Cooper with his "Coop Camp" for Albuquerque youths. Montaño died on Nov. 8 at 67.

CHRIS EATON: The Sandia High School baseball coach died on Nov. 23 at age 35.. "... He did a masterful job of teaching kids about competition, about failure, about how to become a man," said his brother, Michael.

JOE CANTOU: A Santa Fe native and a Taos High School graduate, Cantou coached boys basketball at Valley, Taos, Roswell and Rio Rancho high schools. He died in Indianapolis on Nov. 23 at age 63.

JIM BELSHAW: The longtime Albuquerque Journal news-side columnist was a devoted Chicago White Sox fan and a friend to many in the Albuquerque sports community. He died on Oct. 15 at age 78.

JIMMY JUAREZ: An all-state lineman at Artesia in the 1950s, Juarez played football at UNM and coached West Mesa to the big-state title game in 1971 before moving to administration posts. He died on Dec. 14 at age 88.

RON BOHLS: The colorful Bohls coached the Grants Pirates to boys Class AAA state basketball titles in 1970 and 1986. He died in Sun City West, Ariz., on Dec. 20 at age 86.

Compiled by Rick Wright of the Journal