Sporting deaths in 2016

STEPHEN KESHI (FOOTBALL)

Former Nigeria defender Stephen Keshi won the African Nations Cup title both as a player and coach and was an iconic figure for the side both on the pitch and in the dugout. His death from heart failure at the age of 54 came just three days before compatriot Amodu on 7 June, and a year after his beloved wife Kate passed away after a long battle with cancer. Keshi coached Nigeria to the Nations Cup title in South Africa in 2013, 19 years after lifting the trophy as a player, only the second man after Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary to achieve the feat. During a 20-year playing career, Keshi had spells in France and Belgium, most notably for Anderlecht, and also in the US during the Sacramento Scorpions’ brief existence in the mid-1990s. He found almost instant success as a coach, leading Togo to surprise qualification for the 2006 World Cup, one of three spells in charge of the side. He also had a two-year stint with Mali. Despite a strong showing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in which the side lost in the second round to France, Keshi did not have his contract renewed, though he did later return to lead the team on a match-by-match basis.
HANIF MOHAMMAD (CRICKET)
Mohammad played for Pakistan for 17 years and at one stage was considered the best batsman in the world. His diminutive stature gave rise to the moniker ‘Little Master’ which would later be bestowed on Indian stars Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. He was the first Pakistani to make a triple hundred (337 versus West Indies) but as the country played little international cricket in the 1950s and 60s, he appeared in only 55 tests. His era was even tougher to bat in than Crowe’s and yet he made 3,915 runs at an average of 43.98 with 12 hundreds and 15 fifties. He averaged over 52 in first-class cricket with a top score of 499 for Karachi in the 1958/59 season. He was run out attempting to reach his 500. He died on 11 August aged 81.

ARNOLD PALMER (GOLF)

Regarded as one of the greatest golfers to play the game, Palmer was nicknamed ‘The King’ and part of the so-called ‘Big Three’ that played in the 1960s and included Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. Hailing from a humble background, he beat the stereotypes of the time that suggested golf was a game for the elite and he was heralded as a plain-talking man of the people who was immensely popular with fans. He played professionally for 52 years and during that time won 76 tour titles around the world. He also won seven majors, the Masters (four times), US Open (once) and British Open (twice). He never claimed the PGA Championship, finishing second three times. Palmer died on 25 September while awaiting heart surgery at the age of 87.