R.I.P., Tragic deaths of sports idols

[Rufus T. Firefly]

RIP to AIK Stockholm's goalkeeper Ivan Turina, the Croatian goalie was 32 and was known to have had a congential heart problem. Yet he died not playing or practicing but at home. Sadly his wife is expecting their 3rd child.

[Martin]

RIP to Mario Machado, Los Angeles TV newsman, ocassional actor (portraying TV reporters in movies) and a host of soccer broadcasts in the 1970s and 80s. The first soccer game I ever saw on US TV was edited 1 hour highlights of Liverpool-Manchester City on PBS' Star Soccer in the late 70s with Mario Machado as the host. I ran into Mario Machado about a decade ago in a San Fernando valley pub watching a Champions League game, he was a real gentleman and smiled from ear to ear when I told him my anecdote about my first Star Soccer broadcast.

From Mario Machado's Wikipedia entry,

As a star collegiate athlete and former soccer player, Machado was able to indulge his love for soccer by serving as the English language commentator at four FIFA World Cup soccer championships: in Mexico (1970), Germany (1974), Argentina (1978) and Spain (1982) for audiences throughout North America, and also at the 1984 Olympic Games.[5]

He was the Voice of Soccer for the CBS Television Network in 1968 and in 1976, covering the North American Soccer League (NASL). He hosted the weekly soccer program, “The Best of the World Cup” for the Spanish International Network. Machado hosted “Star Soccer” from England on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television stations for six years.

He served as Commissioner of the American Soccer League in 1986.

Between 1976 and 1984 he published Soccer Corner Magazine, for fellow enthusiasts of the sport.

He was one of the founding members of AYSO with his friend Hans Stierle, and in 1971 he helped change AYSO policy to allow girls to play. In recognition for his contributions to the sport, Machado was inducted into the AYSO Hall of Fame in 1999.


I did not know about his contributions to AYSO or his publishing of Soccer Corner magazine. I guess you could say Machado was one of the early media pioneers for the sport in the US.

[ursus arctos]

Very sad news.

I was amazed to discover Star Soccer when I first moved to the Bay Area in 1980, and would periodically ascend to the the roof of my apartment building to adjust the jury-rigged aerial I had set up to improve the dodgy signal from the public television station in San Jose that was its only local outlet.

I hope that he was proud of his contribution to the growth of the game in this country.

[shelsoccer]

I have fond memories of watching Mario in the days of sparse soccer coverage in the US. I did not know about some of his other contributions. How old was he?

[Winslow]

For a brief time, Mario's program ran back-to-back with Toby Charles on the PBS station in Hartford. I remember bits of his on-air style, saying a shot went "screaaaaming over the top"; his signature scoring call was "Ohhhhhh, a great goalllll!" I think it was his attempt to modify the Spanish "Gooooolllll" for English listeners.

I also remember Mario and his partner Stephen Clyne (sp?) having a spirited discussion over the meaning of "argybargy." Those sure were fun days.

[Martin]

Nice to read others have as pleasant memories of Mario Machado as I do. I was not as fortunate as Winslow, as the Chicago PBS station WTTW where I grew up ran Star Soccer but then took that off the air in order to broadcast Soccer Made in Germany. Winslow had the good fortune to see both brodcasts back to back. Toby Charles on Soccer Made in Germany and then Mario Machado on Star Soccer, two of my favorite broadcasters ever.

I remember being shocked when I watched the movie Oh God! and saw Machado on there playing a TV reporter. It felt like somebody I knew made it big!

But as I previously wrote when I met him Machado was a very courteous and down to earth man. RIP.

shelsoccer, Machado was 78.

[libero]

I have good memories of Mario Machado work on Star Soccer too. I knew of him as a broadcaster but did not know of his work in establishing AYSO, publishing Soccer Corner (I was briefly a subscriber to that magazine) and his work as ASL commisioner.

Soccer America's Obituary for Machado.

[Winslow]

This story is just awful:

http://deadspin.com/man-dribbling-soccer-b...ets-h-506147312

From the AP:

A Seattle man trying to dribble a soccer ball 10,000 miles to Brazil in time for the 2014 World Cup died Tuesday after being hit by a pickup truck on the Oregon Coast.
Police in Lincoln City, Ore., said 42-year-old Richard Swanson was hit at about 10 a.m. while walking south along U.S. Highway 101 near the city limits. He was declared dead at a hospital. The driver has not been charged....
Swanson set out on the trek to promote the One World Futbol Project, based in Berkeley, Calif., which donates durable blue soccer balls to people in developing countries.

Apparently this guy caught the Sounders bug just a few years ago. Anyone up in the Northwest recognize him?

[Dr. Z]

Sad story about Swanson.

Note the driver of the vehicle which hit Swanson was not charged. So just a terrible accident.