Larry Finch, American basketball player and coach (Memphis Tigers) died he was , 60.

Larry Finch was a player and coach for the University of Memphis men's basketball team died he was , 60.. He is perhaps most famous for leading the Memphis State Tigers to the NCAA men's basketball championship game in 1973 in a heroic loss to the UCLA Bruins, led by Bill Walton.

(February 16, 1951 - April 2, 2011)

Playing career

Finch was born in Memphis, and played basketball for Melrose High School in the Orange Mound section of Memphis. He then entered Memphis State and played basketball under famed basketball coach Gene Bartow. This decision was somewhat controversial for both Memphis' black and white communities, given the recent assassination of Martin Luther King and the resultant heightened strain on race relations in Memphis, not to mention so few local African-American prep stars had been able to wear a Tiger uniform to that point. Some had advised Finch not to go, but whether or not he saw it as an opportunity to do something even more meaningful than playing for his local university, Finch loved his hometown team. As he led the Tigers to new heights of success, at least during basketball games, Memphians had a chance to see things less in black and white and more in Tiger blue and gray.
In his senior year at Memphis State, 1972–1973, he and Larry Kenon led the basketball team to the Final Four. In the championship game, Finch scored 29 points, but lost to John Wooden's UCLA Bruins, a game where Bill Walton went 21 of 22 from the floor. Finch graduated the all-time leading scorer in Memphis history, and is currently the second all-time leading scorer for the University of Memphis.
Finch was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1973, but opted to join the local American Basketball Association team, the Memphis Tams. Finch played professionally for two years with the Tams, the Memphis Sounds and the Baltimore Hustlers and Baltimore Claws.

Coaching career

In the 1980s, Finch was an assistant coach for Dana Kirk at Memphis State. Kirk was forced to leave Memphis State after violating NCAA regulations and becoming the subject of a criminal investigation, and Finch was made head coach in 1986 in order to restore order to the program. He would remain at the school, which was renamed the University of Memphis in 1994, until 1997.
Finch posted 10 out of 11 winning seasons, seven 20+ win seasons, and six NCAA tournaments. He recruited and developed such players as Elliot Perry, Penny Hardaway, and Lorenzen Wright. His 1991-92 team led by Hardaway and David Vaughn went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. During his tenure, the basketball players began to graduate in high numbers.
As a player, Finch was known for his shooting prowess, and his skills remained intact throughout his coaching days; he would routinely win games of H-O-R-S-E against his players and against assistant coaches in long distance shooting contests after road game practices. Even while head coach, he maintained connections to his roots; he often visited Orange Mound barbershops, often delivering Memphis State posters and other team paraphernalia.
Despite Finch's overall success, during the mid-90's more and more local blue chip recruits began leaving for other schools, specifically Todd Day to the University of Arkansas and others to the University of Tennessee. This ultimately led to fan dissatisfaction for a program that was renowned for achieving national prominence on primarily Memphis-area talent. And while there was the Elite Eight team of 91-92, there were also teams considered under-achievers, such as the highly touted 1995-96 squad which lost to 12th seeded Drexel University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. At the same time, Finch's speech seemed to deteriorate and it was said the players ignored him.
He was fired at the end of the 1996-97 season. The firing was a public relations fiasco for the university, as he was told of the decision immediately following his final game, in one of the concession areas of the Pyramid Arena. Although much of the fan base had become disenchanted with Finch, even some of his detractors were critical of the way school officials handled it. He left as the school's all-time winningest coach, a standing he recovered in 2009 after the John Calipari-led 2007-08 unit had its entire season vacated due to an academic fraud scandal.
In 1998 he ran for the office of Shelby County Registrar and lost to the incumbent by only 127 votes despite having no government experience. He was briefly in the running for coaching positions at Tennessee State, Georgia State, and South Alabama.
In 2002, Finch suffered a debilitating stroke. People close to Finch created the Friends of Larry Finch Foundation to help offset his medical expenses. In December 2006, the Foundation released a Larry Finch tribute CD called "Eye of the Tiger", featuring performers from Memphis' diverse musical community such as Al Green, The Bar-Kays, Gary Johns, John Kilzer, and Al Kapone.

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Memphis State (Metro Conference) (1986–1991)
1986-1987	Memphis State	26-8	8-4	2nd	Ineligible due to NCAA violations
1987-1988	Memphis State	20-12	6-6	T-3rd	NCAA 2nd Round
1988-1989	Memphis State	21-11	8-4	T-2nd	NCAA
1989-1990	Memphis State	18-12	8-6	4th	NIT
1990-1991	Memphis State	17-15	7-7	T-4th	NIT 2nd Round
Memphis State:		102-58	37-27
Memphis State/Memphis (Great Midwest Conference) (1991–1995)
1991-1992	Memphis State	23-11	5-5	T-3rd	NCAA Elite Eight
1992-1993	Memphis State	20-12	7-3	2nd	NCAA
1993-1994	Memphis State	13-16	4-8	T-5th
1994-1995	Memphis	24-10	9-3	1st	NCAA Sweet 16
Memphis State/Memphis:		80-49	25-19
Memphis (Conference USA) (1995–1997)
1995-1996	Memphis	22-8	11-3	1st (White)	NCAA
1996-1997	Memphis	16-15	10-4	T-1st (White)	NIT
Memphis:		38-23	21-7
Total:		220-130
National Champion         Conference Regular Season Champion         Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Division Champion

 

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Efrain Loyola, Cuban flautist died he was , 94

Efrain Loyola  was a Cuban flautist from Cienfuegos, who had the distinction of being one of the oldest active flautists in the world, had a career that spanned over 7 decades and for a period, was a captain in the Cuban militia and fought in the War against the Bandits died he was , 94.

(December 18, 1916 – April 2, 2011)

Early life

Loyola worked as a shoeshine boy and a baker to make a living while learning and playing flute. Some of his earliest work was with the hundred-year-old Banda Municipal de Conciertos of Cienfuegos (Municipal Concert Band of Cienfuigos), which he started playing with in 1937.^[2]

Career

Among the groups with which Loyola worked were the Conjunto Tradicional de Sones Los Naranjos, the Ritmica 39 and his own band, The Efrain Loyola Orchestra.

Awards and merits

Loyola was given almost 150 acknowledgments and awards in his lifetime, including: "Worthy Member of the Writers and Artists Association of Cuba (UNEAC)",  "Distinguished Son of Cienfuegos City", "The Jagua Award" and the order of Jesús Menéndez, granted by the Cuban Workers' Organization.
Loyola was often seen in elegant suits and with a walking stick, on the main streets of Cienfuegos, with his hair straightened in the 50s style. He was also a Danzón fan and admirer of Miguelito Cuní and was considered an authority on Cuban musical history.
Loyola was leading his band regularly up until his death. He was buried in the local cemetery of his home town of Cienfuegos by friends, family and admirers.

Legacy

Loyola's son, José Loyola is the current director of the band Charanga de Oro.

Instrument

Loyola played a “Celeste” flute, named after the Cuban flautist and luthier “Celestino Dias Flores”, who maintained and standardized the wooden 5 key type needed to play charangas with the proper color after the Böehm system appeared and most manufacturers stopped making the 5 and 6 key wooden flutes.^[3]

Discography

Loyola has appeared on dozens of Orquesta Aragón records and other releases that have yet to be properly catalogued on the world wide web from their Spanish-Cuban sources.

 

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James McNulty, Canadian politician, MP for Lincoln (1962–1968) and St. Catharines (1968–1972) died he was , 92.

James Carroll Patrick McNulty  was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was an administrator and teacher by career died he was , 92.

(16 August 1918 - 2 April 2011)

The son of Joseph and Monica (née MacDonald) McNulty, he attended the University of Toronto, McMaster University, the Hamilton College of Education and the Ottawa College of Education. He was a schoolteacher in St. Catharines. In 1944, he married Helen Margaret Kelly.^[1]
McNulty served on the council for Grantham Township from 1957 to 1958, on the council for Lincoln County in 1959, as deputy reeve for Grantham township in 1959 and on the city council for St. Catharines from 1960 to 1962.
He was first elected at the Lincoln riding in the 1962 general election and was re-elected there in 1963 and 1965. In the 1968 federal election, he was re-elected at the newly-configured St. Catharines riding. After completing his final House of Commons term, the 28th Canadian Parliament, McNulty was defeated at St. Catharines in the 1972 election by J. Trevor Morgan of the Progressive Conservative party.
From 1968 to 1970, he was Parliamentary Secretary to Bryce Mackasey, then the Minister of Labour.

Death

McNulty died from cancer at the age of 92.^[2]

 

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Bill Varney, American sound editor (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Dune) died he was , 77.

Harold William Varney , better known as Bill Varney, was an American motion picture sound mixer. A two time Academy Award winner, Varney shared the Academy Award for Best Sound for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981.^[1] Varney also received Academy Award for Best Sound nominations his collaborative sound mixing on Dune in 1984 and Back to the Future in 1985.

(January 22, 1934 – April 2, 2011)


Varney was born on January 22, 1934, in Beverly, Massachusetts.^[1]
One of Varney's earliest projects was a film focusing on singer Joan Baez during the 1950s.^[1] Baez's father was a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[1] Varney relocated to southern California in 1961, where he produced educational films for Encyclopedia Britannica.^[1]
Varney transitioned to film and television sound mixing in 1972.^[1] He worked on approximately 85 productions over the next twenty-five years.^[1] He worked at The Samuel Goldwyn Company for fourteen years, until he joined Universal Pictures in 1985.^[1]
Varney won collaborative back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Sound for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981.^[1] He also received nominations for Dune in 1984 and Back to the Future in 1985.^[1] Additionally, Varney won an Emmy Award for his sound work on the 1977 television miniseries, Roots.^[1]
Varney's numerous film credits included The Last Waltz in 1978, Grease in 1978, Ordinary People in 1980, Poltergeist and My Favorite Year, both released in 1982, and Dragonheart in 1996.^[1]
By 1998, he had risen to become the Vice President of Sound Operations for Universal Pictures.^[1] That same year, Varney collaborated on the sound re-editing for the 1958 Orson Welles film, Touch of Evil.^[1] Welles had been replaced from the film during its post-production, and was never allowed to cut Touch of Evil the way he had originally intended.^[1] Film historians led Universal Pictures to a 58-page lost memo written by Welles a year before the film was released.^[1] Varney spearheaded the sound restoration for the 1998 directors cut re-release of Touch of Evil.^[1] Varney used "digital processing to bring the 40-year-old soundtracks to a new level of clarity," according to Walter Murch, who worked as the sound editor and sound mixer for the 1998 re-release.^[1]
Varney retired from Universal Studios in 2001 and moved to Fairhope, Alabama in 2003.^[1]
Varney died on April 2, 2011 of congestive heart failure in Fairhope at the age of 77.^[2] He was survived by his wife, Suzanne, and daughter,

 

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Paul Violi, American poet, died from cancer he was , 66.

Paul Randolph Violi was an American poet born in Brooklyn, New York died from cancer he was , 66.. He is the author of eleven books of poetry, including Splurge, Fracas, The Curious Builder, Likewise, and most recently Overnight. Violi was managing editor of The Architectural Forum from 1972—1974, worked on free-lance projects at Universal Limited Art Editions and as chairman of the Associate Council Poetry Committee, he organized a series of readings at the Museum of Modern Art from 1974 to 1983.

(July 20, 1944 – April 2, 2011)

He also co-founded Swollen Magpie Press, which produced poetry chapbooks, anthologies, and a magazine called New York Times.^[3] His art book collaborations with Dale Devereux Barker, most recently Envoy; Life is Completely Interesting, have been acquired by major collections.^[4] The expanded text of their first collaboration, Selected Accidents, Pointless Anecdotes, a collection of non-fiction prose, was published by Hanging Loose Press in 2002.
Awarded two poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Violi also received The John Ciardi Lifetime Achievement Award in Poetry, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Morton Dauwen Zabel Award, and grants from The Foundation for Contemporary Arts Poetry, The Fund for Poetry, The New York Foundation for the Arts, The Ingram Merrill poetry Foundation, and New York Creative Artists Public Service Fund. Violi died in Cortlandt Manor, New York in 2011 from cancer.
At the time of his death, he was teaching in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and in the graduate writing program at the New School University.^[5]

Selected bibliography

• Overnight, Hanging Loose Press, N.Y., N.Y. 2007.
• Breakers: Selected Longer Poems, Coffee House Press, Minneapolis, MN . 2000.
• Fracas, Hanging Loose Press, N.Y., N.Y. 1998.
• The Curious Builder, Hanging Loose Press, N.Y. , N.Y. 1993.
• Likewise, Hanging Loose Press, N.Y., N.Y. 1988.
• Splurge, Sun Press, N.Y., N.Y. 1982.
• In Baltic Circles, Kulchur Foundation Press, N.Y., N.Y. 1973.

 

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Lou Gorman, American baseball executive and general manager (Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners) died he was , 82

 James Gerald "Lou" Gorman was an American baseball executive, and the former general manager of the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball died he was , 82. He spent more than three decades in baseball operations, as a general manager, assistant GM, farm system director or scouting director, and at the time of his death he was the Red Sox' executive consultant for public affairs with an emphasis on community projects. He also was the coordinator of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2002. He was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

(February 18, 1929 – April 1, 2011)

Career with the Orioles, Royals, Mariners and Mets

A native of South Providence, Rhode Island, Gorman grew up a Red Sox fan. At the high school level, at La Salle Academy, Providence, he was an excellent athlete, but was cut from the minors. His Baseball Reference player page records that Gorman played in 16 games for the 1948 Providence Grays of the Class B New England League, compiling a batting average of .036.^[3] After his professional playing career stalled, Gorman enrolled in Stonehill College for his bachelor's degree and Bridgewater State College for his master's. Then he joined the United States Navy, where he served more than eight years of active duty, including two tours in Korea, and 34 years in all including his tenure with the United States Navy Reserve. He retired with the rank of captain.^[4]
Gorman resumed his baseball career in 1961 with the San Francisco Giants as general manager of one of their farm teams, before joining the Baltimore Orioles organization in 1964 as assistant farm director. He was promoted to director of player development in 1966, when the Orioles won their first World Series championship. In 1968, Gorman became the first farm system director in the history of the Kansas City Royals, where he eventually also assumed control of the team's scouting department. For his efforts, he was promoted to vice president in 1973 and assistant general manager in 1976.
But he soon departed for a new expansion team when he was appointed the first-ever general manager of the Seattle Mariners when they entered the American League in 1977. Although the under-capitalized Mariners struggled during Gorman's four seasons in Seattle, he obtained early Mariner standout Ruppert Jones in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft (from his old Royals' organization) and drafted centerfielder Dave Henderson with his first-ever No. 1 choice in the June 1977 Major League Baseball draft.^[5]
After building the Seattle organization from scratch, he returned to the East Coast as vice president, player personnel, of the New York Mets in 1980. Working under Mets' GM Frank Cashen, with whom Gorman served with the Orioles, he helped lay the foundation for the Mets' 1986 World Series championship — achieved at the expense of his next team, the Red Sox.

GM of the Red Sox

In the months preceding the 1984 season, the Red Sox were embroiled in a legal dispute involving two ownership factions seeking control of the team. Gorman was named a vice president of baseball operations in the Boston front office in January 1984; then, five months later, when the legal case was settled, he was officially appointed vice president and general manager, succeeding co-owner Haywood Sullivan, who moved up to chief executive officer.^[6] When Gorman took on the GM job, the Red Sox already had players like Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Dwight Evans and Bob Stanley, stars that would form the nucleus of the talented Red Sox teams of the late 1980s. However, it was Gorman's acquisitions (from the Mariners) of Dave Henderson and Spike Owen that helped lead the Red Sox to the 1986 World Series.
Though the team made it back to the playoffs in 1988 and 1990, it never got any closer to a championship than it had in 1986. Gorman made several key trades, such as picking up Nick Esasky and Rob Murphy from Cincinnati and getting all-time saves leader Lee Smith for World Series goat Calvin Schiraldi and pitcher Al Nipper, but he made mistakes as well. It was Gorman who traded away future All-Stars Jeff Bagwell and Curt Schilling in pennant-stretch deals. The Boston farm system, which had produced players such as Mike Greenwell, Ellis Burks, Jody Reed and Todd Benzinger early in Gorman's tenure, developed everyday players such as Mo Vaughn, John Valentin, Aaron Sele, Tim Naehring, Carlos Quintana and Scott Hatteberg in the early 1990s, but the flow of talent was not enough to keep the club at the forefront of its division. The Red Sox were unable to retain free agents Bruce Hurst, Esasky and Mike Boddicker (a front-line starting pitcher acquired in the Schilling trade), and when the team returned to the free agent marketplace after the 1989 season, catcher Tony Peña and pitchers Jeff Reardon and Danny Darwin approached expectations, while high profile signings Jack Clark, Frank Viola and Matt Young were major disappointments.
After the 1990 AL East title, the Red Sox faded from contention, and in 1992, finished last in their division — the team's first cellar-dweller in 60 years. After another losing campaign in 1993, wholesale changes were made in the Red Sox front office. Gorman was relieved of his GM responsibilities after the season, becoming senior vice president of baseball operations. A few weeks later, John Harrington, executive director of the JRY Trust, which held managing general partner control of the team, bought out minority general partner Sullivan to assume full control. Harrington then hired Montréal Expos GM Dan Duquette (another native New Englander) as Gorman's permanent successor.
Gorman was a senior vice president, then executive vice president, in the team's baseball operations department through 1996.^[7] He also served as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro League players through financial and medical difficulties.
In his later years, Gorman was the Chairman of the Board of the Newport Gulls of the NECBL, and was instrumental to the team.
After a period of declining health, Gorman died at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, at age 82 on the Opening Day of the Red Sox' 2011 season.^[4] Mayor Thomas Menino declared April 8, 2011, the 2011 opening day at Fenway Park, as Lou Gorman Day in Boston. The Red Sox also paid tribute to Gorman during the game that afternoon.

Trivia

• Gorman refused to let ambidextrous relief pitcher Greg Harris pitch with both his natural right hand and his left hand during his tenure with the Red Sox. Harris eventually became the first pitcher to do so since Elton Chamberlain did so in the 19th century.

References

1.       ^ Weber, Bruce (April 2, 2011). "Lou Gorman, Whose Red Sox Lost to Mets, Dies at 82". New York Times: p. B8.

2.       ^ Goode, Jon (June 21, 2005). "Before Theo and the Duke, there was Lou". Boston.com.

3.       ^ "Lou Gorman". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.

4.       ^ ^{a b} Hurley, Michael (April 1, 2011). "Lou Gorman, Former Red Sox General Manager, Dies at Age 82". New England Sports Network. New England Sports Network.

5.       ^ Stone, Larry (April 2, 2011). "Gorman was positive force in the early days for Mariners". The Seattle Times.

6.       ^ Associated Press (June 6, 1984). "Red Sox Reorganize Their Front Office". Gainesville Sun: p. 4C.

7.       ^ "Lou Gorman". Baseball America Executive Database.

Book

• One Pitch from Glory: A Decade of Running the Red Sox,foreword by Doris Kearns Goodwin. 2005, ISBN 1-5967-0067-X

Sporting positions
Preceded by First General Manager	Seattle Mariners General Manager 1977 - 1980	Succeeded by Dan O'Brien Sr.
Preceded by Haywood Sullivan	Red Sox General Manager 1984 - 1993	Succeeded by Dan Duquette

 

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Jane Gregory, British Olympic equestrian, died from a heart attack she was , 51.

Jane Gregory (Jane Bredin )was an international equestrian  died from a heart attack she was , 51.. She first rode for her country in 1994, competing in the World Equestrian Games of that year, and competed for Great Britain in Dressage at the Atlanta and Beijing Olympic Games.

(30 June 1959 – 1 April 2011)

Early life

Born in Bromley, Kent,^[1] Gregory came from a non-equestrian family. At the age of seven she started to learn to ride, going weekly to a riding centre near her home in Cornwall. Her first horse was called Timolin, a Connemara, and was bought for her by her godmother for £175. She joined the North Cornwall Pony Club, winning the junior section of club's championships in 1976.^[2]

International career

Her international career started in 1994. In that year she competed in the World Equestrian Games. She rode at the Atlanta Olympics 1996 with her horse Cupido. For several years after this she did not compete internationally due to horse injuries, but by 2001 she was first in the small tour rankings. She made a full comeback in 2006 ^[3] when she won grand prix and grand prix special with he horse Lucky Star at Munich CDI in May, then she won the grand prix freestyle at the Mariakalnok CDI.
Her last coach was Ulla Salzgeber.^[2] She competed in Dressage for Team GB at the Beijing Olympics, stating "I am in a state of shock" upon finding out that she was selected.^[3][4] She was a member of the GB dressage team along with Laura Bechtolsheimer and Emma Hindle.^[5]

Personal life

Based from Great Cheverell, Wiltshire,^[6] in 2006 Jane married her partner of twenty years, Hong Kong dressage rider Aram Gregory. Gregory died on 1 April 2011 after suffering a heart attack at the age of 51.^[1][2]

Results

Games	Age	Sport	Event	Team	Position
Atlanta Olympics Summer 1996	37	Equestrianism	Mixed Dressage, Individual	Great Britain	42
Atlanta Olympics Summer 1996	37	Equestrianism	Mixed Dressage, Team	Great Britain	8

 

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