August 16

From Hoopedia

• 1862 - Amos Alonzo Stagg, Hall of Famer who would play in the first public basketball game and help spread the game in the Midwest, is born in West Orange, New Jersey.

• 1911 - Bill "Skinny" Johnson, the towering 6'4" Hall of Fame center, who starred at the University of Kansas, is born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

• 1987 - Phoenix Suns center Nick Vanos is one of 154 passengers tragically killed on Northwest Airlines Flight 255 to Phoenix, Arizona.

Gomelsky's funeral took place at the CSKA arena with full military honors.

• 2005 - Above: Hall of Fame Soviet coach Alexander Gomelsky dies in Moscow. He coached the Soviet National team for nearly thirty years, taking a good team and making a world champion.