Some people I don't know, but mourn anyway
For various reasons, I failed to note the recent passing of some people whom I will miss.
Bob Probert was both hated in Chicago for his role as the "enforcer" for the evil Detroit Red Wings and loved there when he took over the role for my Blackhawks. I remember seeing a jersey at a Hawks game once bearing Probie's number and the word "INSTIGATOR" on the back where the player's name was supposed to go. He played hard and watched out for his teammates, and was as appreciated by his team's fans as loathed by those of the opposition. He died while boating on July 5 of an apparent heart attack at the age of 45.
Bobby Thompson, best known for his "Shot Heard "Round the World," a homer off Brooklyn's Ralph Branca that won the one-game playoff for the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants, died on August 16at the age of 86. Thompson, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, was significant to me because he was the center fielder for the very first Cubs team I followed.
And Jack Horkheimer, a self-taught astronomer who became director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and a well-known PBS personality, died on August 20 at the age of 72. A flamboyant personality whose show previewing the astronomical highlights for the coming week was called Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler for his salesman-like enthusiasm before being more sedately renamed Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer late in its long run, he was not only a familiar lead-in to episodes of Doctor Who on Iowa Public Television, but a handy "heads up" on what to look for overhead for amateur astronomers like yours truly. I'm going to miss those brief, entertaining, and informative weekly visits with Jack.
Resquiat in pacem.
Bob Probert was both hated in Chicago for his role as the "enforcer" for the evil Detroit Red Wings and loved there when he took over the role for my Blackhawks. I remember seeing a jersey at a Hawks game once bearing Probie's number and the word "INSTIGATOR" on the back where the player's name was supposed to go. He played hard and watched out for his teammates, and was as appreciated by his team's fans as loathed by those of the opposition. He died while boating on July 5 of an apparent heart attack at the age of 45.
Bobby Thompson, best known for his "Shot Heard "Round the World," a homer off Brooklyn's Ralph Branca that won the one-game playoff for the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants, died on August 16at the age of 86. Thompson, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, was significant to me because he was the center fielder for the very first Cubs team I followed.
And Jack Horkheimer, a self-taught astronomer who became director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and a well-known PBS personality, died on August 20 at the age of 72. A flamboyant personality whose show previewing the astronomical highlights for the coming week was called Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler for his salesman-like enthusiasm before being more sedately renamed Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer late in its long run, he was not only a familiar lead-in to episodes of Doctor Who on Iowa Public Television, but a handy "heads up" on what to look for overhead for amateur astronomers like yours truly. I'm going to miss those brief, entertaining, and informative weekly visits with Jack.
Resquiat in pacem.
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