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]}

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Norris Stevenson, American football player (Dallas Cowboys, Edmonton Eskimos, BC Lions), died from cancer. he was , 72 [51]

Norris R. Stevenson  was an American fullback in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions  died from cancer. he was , 72[. He played college football at the University of Missouri. He was selected in eleventh round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

(October 27, 1939 – March 3, 2012)

Stevenson attended Vashon High School. He was the first African-American to receive a football scholarship at the University of Missouri.^[1] As a sophomore, he registered 307 rushing yards. The next year he had 267 rushing yards and one touchdown.

He became a starter as a senior, posting 610 rushing yards (second on the team) and 6 touchdowns, contributing to an undefeated team (11-0 after a later forfeit by the University of Kansas) that won the Big Eight Conference title and the 1961 Orange Bowl, 21-14 over the United States Naval Academy. He also helped defeat the University of Oklahoma 41-19, rushing for 169 yards with touchdowns of 77 and 60 yards, which moved the Tigers to the top of the national polls for the first time in school history.

He finished his college career with 1,184 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. During his time the school had  Orange Bowl.

a 22-9-1 record, including two trips to the

In 2001, he was inducted into the University of Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame and the University dedicated in his honor the "Norris Stevenson Plaza of Champions", on the west side of Memorial Stadium.^[2]

 Norris was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round (142nd overall) of the 1961 NFL Draft and by the New York Titans in the 12th round of the 1961 AFL Draft. He was waived on September 5.^[3]

On February 6, 1962, he was signed by the BC Lions.^[4] During the season he played in 3 games, registering only 9 rushing yards.^[5]

 After his football career, he became a track and field coach at Forest Park Community College and Florissant Valley Community College for almost 30 years. In 1999, he was inducted into the Missouri Track and Field Association Hall of Fame.

He was also an ordained CME Minister. He died of colon cancer on March 3, 2012.^[6]

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Ronnie Montrose, American guitarist (Montrose), died when he committed suicide.he was , 64

Ronald Douglas Montrose^[1]  was an American rock guitarist, who led the bands Montrose (1973-77 & 1987) and Gamma (1979-83 & 2000) and also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison (1971–72), Herbie Hancock (1971), Beaver & Krause (1971), Boz Scaggs (1971), Edgar Winter (1972 & 1996), Gary Wright (1975), The Beau Brummels (1975), Dan Hartman (1976), Tony Williams(1978), The Neville Brothers (1987), Marc Bonilla (1991 & 1993), Sammy Hagar(1997), and Johnny Winterdied when he committed  suicide.he was , 64. The first Montrose album was often cited as "America's answer to Led Zeppelin"^[2] and Ronnie Montrose was often referred to as one of the most influential guitarists in American hard rock.^[3]

(November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012)

Montrose was born in San Francisco, California.^[4] When he was a toddler, his parents moved back to his mother's home state of Colorado (his father was from Bertrand, Nebraska, and his mother was from Golden, Colorado). He spent most of his younger years in Denver, Colorado^[1] until he ran away at ^[5]

about 16 years old to pursue his musical career. He ultimately spent most of his life in the San Francisco Bay area.

In 1969, he started out in a band called 'Sawbuck' with Bill Church. Montrose had been in the process of recording what would have been his first album with Sawbuck when producer David Rubinson arranged an audition with Van Morrison. Montrose got the job and played on Morrison's 1971 album Tupelo Honey.^[6] He also played on the song "Listen to the Lion", which was recorded during the Tupelo Honey sessions but released on Morrison's next album Saint Dominic's Preview (1972).^[7]

Montrose played briefly with Boz Scaggs and then joined the Edgar Winter Group in 1972, recording electric guitar, acoustic 12 string, and mandolin on Winter's third album release, They Only Come Out at Night (1972), which included the hit singles "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride".^[8]

Montrose formed his own band, Montrose, in 1973, featuring Sammy Hagar on vocals. That incarnation of the band released two albums on Warner Bros. Records, Montrose (1973) and Paper Money (1974), before Hagar left to pursue a solo career. Although the liner notes for the CD edition of Paper Money said that Montrose was offered to play lead guitar for Mott the Hoople, when he left the Edgar Winter Group, Montrose says that it never happened and was just a rumor. He also added his guitar work to Gary Wright's song, "Power of Love" off the 1975 album, The Dream Weaver.

The guitarist released two more Montrose band albums in the rock/vocal format (Warner Bros. Presents Montrose! (1975) and Jump on It (1976), featuring vocalist Bob James replacing Sammy Hagar), then shifted direction and released his debut solo album, the all-instrumental Open Fire (1978) before returning to the rock-vocal format and forming Gamma in 1979, initially releasing three albums under that name with Davey Pattison singing.

In 1983 he played lead guitar on the song "(She Is a) Telepath" from Paul Kantner's album Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra although he wasn't a member of the original PERRO.

In 1985 he joined Seattle's Rail (winners of MTV's first Basement Tapes video competition) for several months. He was looking for a new band and one of Rail's guitarists, Rick Knotts, had recently left. Billed as 'Rail featuring Montrose' or 'Ronnie & Rail', they played a set of half Rail favorites and half Montrose songs ("Rock Candy", "Rock the Nation", "Matriarch" and Gamma's remake of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air"). At the end of the tour, there was an amicable split.

He continued to record through the 1980s and 1990s, releasing solo albums including The Speed of Sound (1988), Music from Here (1994), and Bearings (2000), as well as another Montrose album titled Mean (1987) and a fourth Gamma album Gamma 4 (2000).

Montrose appeared on Sammy Hagar's solo album Marching to Mars (1997) along with original Montrose members bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi on the song "Leaving the Warmth of the Womb". The original Montrose lineup also reformed to play as a special guest at several Sammy Hagar concerts in summer 2004 and 2005. Montrose also performed regularly from 2001 until 2011 with a Montrose lineup featuring Keith St. John on lead vocals and a rotating cast of veteran hard rock players on bass and drums. In 2011, Montrose formed the 'Ronnie Montrose Band' with Randy Scoles on vocals, Dan McNay on bass, and Steve Brown on drums, playing music from his entire career, including both Montrose and Gamma songs. This lineup was captured in his final released work, the concert DVD Ronnie Montrose: Live at the Uptown.^[9]

During his 2009 tour, Montrose revealed that he had fought prostate cancer for the previous two years but was healthy once again;^[10] he continued to tour until his death in 2012.

 Montrose had two children, Jesse and Kira, and five grandchildren. He was also survived by two brothers, Rick and Mike, and his wife, Leighsa.

 On March 3, 2012, Montrose died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death was originally assumed to be the result of his prostate cancer.^[11] However, the San Mateo County Coroner's Office released a report that confirmed the guitarist had taken his own life.^[12]

The toxicology reported a blood alcohol content of 0.31 percent at the time of death. In early 2012, the deaths of his uncle and of Lola, his bulldog, worsened what Guitar Player magazine called a “clinical depression that plagued him since he was a toddler.”

 

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