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Beckenbauer, Franz Anton

(Encyclopedia)Beckenbauer, Franz Anton, 1945–, German soccer player nicknamed der Kaiser. The only person to win the World Cup as both player-captain (1974) and coach (1990), he began his career at 14 on the Baye...

Béliveau, Jean Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Béliveau, Jean Arthur, 1931–2014, Canadian ice hockey player, b. Trois-Rivières, Québec. He joined the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League in 1953, playing for 18 seasons and becomin...

Lasorda, Tommy

(Encyclopedia)Lasorda, Tommy, 1927-2021, American baseball pitcher and manager, b. Norristown, Pa., as Thomas Charles Lasorda. Lasorda first pitched for the farm tea...

Foster, Rube

(Encyclopedia)Foster, Rube (Andrew Bishop Foster), 1879–1930, African-American baseball player and executive, b. Calvert, Tex. Known as “the father of black baseball,” he turned professional with the Chicago ...

Huff, Sam

(Encyclopedia) Huff, Sam, 1934-2021, American football Hall of Famer, b. Morgantown, W.V., as Robert Lee Huff, West Virginia Univ. (B.A., 1956). Huff played football...

Auriemma, Geno

(Encyclopedia)Auriemma, Geno (Luigi Auriemma), 1954–, American basketball coach, b. Montella, Italy, grad. West Chester State College (now West Chester Univ. of Pennsylvania), 1977. After coaching as an assistant...

Russell, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Russell, Bill (William Felton Russell), 1934–, American basketball player, b. Monroe, La. Named an All-American while on the Univ. of San Francisco team, he played on the gold-medal-winning U.S. tea...

van Basten, Marco

(Encyclopedia)van Basten, Marco, 1964–, Dutch soccer player. A powerful striker/forward, he began his professional playing career at Ajax Amsterdam (1982–87), where he was a key factor in the team's capturing t...

Noll, Chuck

(Encyclopedia)Noll, Chuck (Charles Henry Noll), 1932–2014, American professional football coach, b. Cleveland, B.S. Univ. of Dayton, 1953. A guard and linebacker in college and with the Cleveland Browns (1953–5...

Puskás, Ferenc

(Encyclopedia)Puskás, Ferenc, 1927–2006, Hungarian soccer player. A relatively slow but extremely powerful forward, Puskás became famous for his extraordinarily effective left-footed kick. He began playing prof...