John C. Reiss, American Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Trenton died he was 89 (1980–1997)

John Charles Reiss ^[1] was an Americanprelate of the Roman Catholic Church died he was 89. He served as Bishop of Trenton from 1980 to 1997.

(May 13, 1922 – March 4, 2012)

John Charles Reiss was born in Red Bank, New Jersey and studied at the Catholic University of America, and at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, New Jersey.^[2] He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop William A. Griffin May 31, 1947.^[3] After serving as an associate pastor, he became master of ceremonies and secretary to Bishop George W. Ahr in 1953.^[2]

In 1954, Reiss earned a doctorate in canon law from Catholic University.^[4]for his thesis entitled The Time and Place of Sacred Ordination: A Historical Synopsis and a Commentary, which was subsequently published by the Catholic University of America Press. Following his return to the Diocese of Trenton, he served as Assistant Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, and official of the Diocesan Tribunal.^[2] He was named a Domestic Prelate of His Holinessin October 1963, and pastor of St. Francis Church in Trenton in 1965.^[2]

On October 21, 1967, Reiss was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Trenton and Titular Bishop of Simidicca by Pope Paul VI.^[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 12 from Bishop Ahr, with Bishops Walter W. Curtis and James J. Hogan serving as co-consecrators.^[3] Reiss was later named the eighth Bishop of Trenton by Pope John Paul II on March 11, 1980, and was installed on the following April 22.^[3] He was the first native son of the Trenton Diocese to become its ordinary.^[2]

Reiss presided at the centennial of the Diocese in August 1981.^[2] In November 1981, the Diocese was divided and the Diocese of Metuchen was established to serve the Catholics of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren counties. During his tenure as Bishop, Reiss also established the Emmaus program of priestly spirituality in 1982; implemented Renew, a process of lay spiritual renewal, between 1985 and 1987; held the Fourth Diocesan Synod (the first in 60 years) from January to December 1991; raised $38 million between 1992 and 1995 to provide financial stability for diocesan services through Faith-In-Service, a diocesan capital and endowment fund campaign; dedicated a new Morris Hall, with St. Joseph Hall Skilled Nursing Center and St. Mary Hall Residence, in 1994; dedicated Villa Vianney, a residence for retired priests, in 1995; and completed a new Diocesan Pastoral Center, tripling the size of the diocesan office building, in 1997.^[2]

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Reiss resigned as Bishop on June 30, 1997. He was succeeded by John Mortimer Smith. He died in 2012, aged 89 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

 

To see more of who died in 2012 click here

Don Mincher American baseball player (Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Oakland Athletics), President of the Southern League (2000–2011) died he was , 73,

Donald Ray Mincher  was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played from 1960–1972 for the original Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Seattle Pilots, Oakland Athletics, the new Washington Senators, Texas Rangers and again the Oakland Athletics, all of the American League.^[2]

(June 24, 1938 – March 4, 2012)

   

During a 13-year baseball career, Mincher batted .249, hit 200 home runs, and collected 643 runs batted in. He was elected to the American League All-Starteam twice (1967 and 1969). As one of two representatives for the Seattle Pilots in 1969 (their only season in existence before they became the Milwaukee Brewers), he also holds the distinction of being the only player to ever play in an All-Star Game as a Pilot; Mike Hegan also was selected to the team as a reserve, but did not appear in the game. The following season, Mincher slugged a career-high 27 homers as a member of the Oakland Athletics.

Mincher served as the first president and general manager of the Huntsville Stars, the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland A's (1985–1998) and, later, the Milwaukee Brewers (1999–2014).^[3] He served in this role from 1985 until 2001. In 1994, Mincher and a group of local investors purchased the team from Larry Schmittou to keep baseball in Huntsville.

In 2000, Mincher was named Interim President of the Southern League, where the Stars play, when league president Arnold Fielkow left for an executive position with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Mincher resigned from his position with the Stars when his group sold the team to Miles Prentice in early 2001. This cleared the way for the Southern League to remove the interim tag and they made him league president beginning with the 2001 season.^[2] He served as league president until retiring in October 2011, at which point the league named him President-Emeritus.^[1]

Mincher was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Though he never played for the team, the Huntsville Stars retired his number 5 in an on-field ceremony on June 6, 2008.^[3] In 2010, he was presented with the King of Baseball award given by Minor League Baseball.

Mincher died after a long illness on March 4, 2012.^[1]

To see more of who died in 2012 click here

Alex Webster, American football player (New York Giants, Montreal Alouettes) and coach (New York Giants) died he was , 80

Alexander "Red" Webster was an American football fullback and halfback in the National Football League for the New York Giants  died he was , 80. He was also the head coach of the Giants from 1969 to 1973.

(April 19, 1931 – March 3, 2012)  

As the son of recent Scottish immigrants James and Alexandrina Webster, Alex Webster grew up in Kearny, New Jersey,^[1] where he attended and played high school football at Kearny High School.^[2]Webster played a key role on Kearny High School's football team which won the 1948 New Jersey High School State Championship.^[3] In spite of losing a father to cancer at an early age in 1941, Webster and his younger brother James, rose up with the help of uncles and aunts and excelled in football earning college scholarships.

As a senior at Kearny High School in 1948, Alex Webster was offered a full-ride scholarship from NFL legend Beattie Feathers^[4] to play college football at North Carolina State University. While playing for the Wolfpack, Alex "Big Red" Webster led the Southern Conference in scoring in 1951 with 78 points and remained a standout in 1952 before being drafted into the NFL.^[5]

Webster was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, but chose to play professional Canadian football for the Montreal Alouettes from 1953 to 1954. While in Canada, he was named an All-Star in 1954 and played in that year's Grey Cup.

In 1955, Webster returned to the United States and played for the New York Giants from 1955 to 1964. In his first year with the Giants, Webster led the team in rushing with 634 yards. While with the Giants, he rushed for 4,638 yards, caught 240 passes for 2,679 yards, and scored 56 touchdowns (39 rushing and 17 receiving). He was named to the Pro Bowl twice, in 1958 and 1961. With 336 points, Webster is 10th on the Giants’ career scoring list.^[6]

In 1956, Webster played in the NFL championship game against the Chicago Bears featuring Hall of Fame players and coaches. Webster scored two touchdowns in the second half and contributed with 103 all-purpose yards. The game came to be known as the second "Sneakers Game" because the Giants chose to play in high-top Chuck Taylors due to icy field conditions. The Giants won the game 47-7.

As a player with the New York Giants, Webster played in six NFL Championship games: 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963.^[7]

Sportscaster Marty Glickman coined the phrase "a couple of three yards" when describing Webster's running style.^[8]

Webster was considered as one of the "all-time great Giants"^[9] and in 2011, was inducted into the New York Giants' "Ring of Honor". Alex Webster, LB Brad Van Pelt and Carl Banks, TE Mark Bavaro and P Dave Jennings headlined as the second class of the Giants’ Ring of Honor inductees.^[10] Webster stated that this honor was among the proudest moments of his life. Webster made his last public speech addressing 80,000 fans in attendance accompanied by his grandsons.^[11]

Webster is further honored in the New York Giants' Legacy Club where his vintage #29 game jersey, as well as many historic photographs are displayed.

^{Webster eventually became an assistant Giant coach under Allie Sherman, and he was later promoted to head coach (1969–1973). He was named UPI NFL Coach of the Year in 1970, as the Giants finished 2nd in the NFC East with a 9–5–0 record. But a 2–11–1 record in 1973 forced him to resign as the Giants head coach. His overall Giant coaching record was 29 wins, 40 losses, and one tie.}

Webster married Louise Eggers in 1952, and had two children—Debra and James—, four grandchildren—Kyle, Craig, Tammy and Alexis—, three nephews—Mark, David, Todd—, and a niece—Kristen. Webster also had four grand nieces: Elena, Alexandra, Alexandrina, and Maryn.

After retiring from the NFL, Webster worked in sales and public relations for Nabisco until the early 1990s. Webster also worked in public relations for the Dinah Shore Golf Classic, appearing with former athletes and celebrities such as Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Charley Conerley, Frank Gifford, Bob Hope, and President Gerald R. Ford.^[12] Webster served as a color commentator for the New York Giants radio broadcasts in the 1960s.

On January 27, 1977 at Toots Shor's funeral, Webster served as an honorary pallbearer along with Pete Rozelle, Art Rooney, Bowie Kuhn, Frank Gifford, Walter Cronkite and Howard Cosell.^[13]

Webster owned two restaurants after retiring from the NFL. His first restaurant was called The Stadium, located in Sea Girt, New Jersey, where he lived while he was a coach with the Giants.^[14] The interior was decorated with sports memorabilia from the New York Giants, New York Yankees and other professional teams. The other restaurant was called Alex Webster's and located in Tequesta, Florida.^[15]

On Nov. 18, 1962, Webster made a guest appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show (Episode #16.8).

Webster appeared on the gameshow Password which aired on March 16, 1964 with teammate Frank Gifford & actress Betsy Palmer (Season 4, Episode 48).^[16]

 ^{Webster died March 3, 2012, in Port St. Lucie, Florida, aged 80.[17][18][19]}

To see more of who died in 2012 click here