I'm trying to perspectivate Sammy with this:
- Lilian Board, 400 silver medalist in '68; cancer at 22
-Prefontaine; car crash
-Ivo Van Damme, double silver medalist 800/1500 in '76 age 22; car crash
-Lou Gehrig MLB great; ALS
-Wolfgang Gullich, rock climber with hardest routes in the world; car crash
-'80's College hoop star whose name escapes me atm; heart failure on court
Others???