Famous sports stars who died in 2024: Beckenbauer, OJ, West, Mays, Kiptum | Sports news

Each year, the sports world remembers the passing of current superstar athletes and long-retired legends, each of whom has had a unique impact on their sport.

Al Jazeera celebrates the sporting lives of five of the highest-profile names leaving in 2024:

Franz Beckenbauer (September 11, 1945 – January 7, 2024)

The great German football player, who won world cups for his country as both a player and a head coach, died at the age of 78.

Born in Munich just four months after World War II, Beckenbauer is regarded as Germany’s greatest footballer of all time.

On the field, he changed the game in Europe. While still a teenager at Bayern Munich, he pioneered a highly innovative style of play now widely referred to as ‘total football’.

At international level, he captained West Germany to an unforgettable home World Cup win in 1974.

Beckenbauer is one of only nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Champions Cup and the Ballon d’Or.

As a manager, he achieved similar success, leading Germany to two consecutive World Cup finals in 1986 and 1990, winning the trophy for his country at the second attempt in Rome.

In his later years, Beckenbauer is fondly remembered as one of the game’s greatest global ambassadors.

Kelvin Kiptum (December 2, 1999 – February 11, 2024)

Kenya’s marathon world record holder has died at the age of 24.

Kiptum burst onto the marathon scene in Chicago in October 2023, clocking two hours and 35 seconds, 34 seconds off the previous world record held by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya.

In February, the world of athletics was shocked when a 24-year-old man was killed by a car in western Kenya. Kiptum was expected to be one of the track superstars of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Kiptum was born in the village of Chepkorio in the Rift Valley Kenya distance running; in a strange twist of fate, it was also the site of his tragic death.

Thousands of friends, relatives and admirers attended his funeral. Kenyan President William Ruto was among those paying tribute to one of the most gifted running talents of all time.

OJ Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024)

Former Hall of Fame NFL football star and actor turned celebrity murder suspect dies at 76.

Nicknamed “Juice,” Simpson was one of the best and most popular American athletes of the late 1960s and 70s.

In nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills and two with the San Francisco 49ers, Simpson became one of the greatest ball carriers in NFL history. In 1973, he became the first NFL player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. He retired in 1979.

Simpson parlayed his football stardom into a career as a sportscaster, commercial and Hollywood actor, appearing in films including The Naked Gun series.

That all changed when his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were found murdered outside their Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994, in a bloody double murder.

Simpson quickly emerged as a suspect. He was ordered to surrender to police, but five days after the murders he fled in a white Ford Bronco with his former teammate – his passport and mask. A low-speed chase through the Los Angeles area ended at Simpson’s mansion, where he was later charged with the murders.

After that, it became one of the most infamous trials in the United States and the media circus of the 20th century. Prosecutors made a memorable mistake when they ordered Simpson to try on a pair of blood-soaked gloves found at the murder scene, confident they would fit perfectly and prove he was the killer. In a highly theatrical display, Simpson struggled to put on the gloves and told the jury they did not fit.

Simpson was later acquitted of the crimes on October 3, 1995.

On October 3, 2008—exactly 13 years after being acquitted of murder—he was convicted by a Las Vegas jury of felony charges including kidnapping and armed robbery in connection with a 2007 incident at a casino hotel.

Simpson was paroled in 2017 and moved to a gated community in Las Vegas. At age 74, he was paroled in 2021 for good behavior. Three years later, he died after a battle with cancer.

Jerry West (May 28, 1930 – June 12, 2024)

The famous American basketball player and executive died at the age of 86.

It’s not hard to argue that Jerry West is the most important basketball player of all time:

• West, who played in the NBA from 1960 to 1974 and won an NBA title in 1972, was the first person inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player.
• The official NBA logo designed in 1969 bears his silhouette.
• West reinvented how the shooting guard position is played; his perfect jump shot, elegant moves, and impeccable footwork greatly influenced superstar basketball players who followed him in the NBA for decades, from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant.

Like Beckenbauer, he enjoyed a spectacular second wave of success after his playing career, winning eight NBA championships as an executive with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played his entire career.

West never let go of the game he loved, working as an NBA consultant until his passing and forming friendships with many of today’s great basketball players.

Willie Mays (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024)

The all-around American baseball legend has died at the age of 93.

Mays was a beloved African-American professional baseball player and is considered by many to be the greatest all-around player in the history of the game.

Mays, nicknamed “Say Hey Kid,” was a phenomenal center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1951 to 1973.

His long playing career spanned the good and bad times of US baseball history. He was born in the Great Depression and endured segregation and racism for much of his career; he was also part of the first player empowerment movement that led to free agency for MLB players in 1976, a legacy that continues to this day.

His most notable career accomplishments include four MLB home run titles, four stolen base titles and one hitting title. He became the seventh player to hit 50 home runs in an MLB season, accomplishing the feat in 1955 while playing for the New York Giants.