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Cape Town - The following are the major deaths that occurred in the sports world during 2011.
DECEMBER:
December 4: Socrates, 57
Former Brazilian football captain died of an intestinal infection.
NOVEMBER:
November 28: Gary Speed, 42
Wales national football coach committed suicide.
November 27: Styles Phumo, 74
Former South African national football coach died of cancer.
November 25: Vasily Alexeev, 69
Two-time Olympic weightlifting champion died of heart-failure.
November 19: Basil D'Oliveira, 80
South African cricketer. He went on to play for England and caused an English tour to South Africa to be cancelled when he was included in the side. He was suffering from Parkinson's disease.
November 18: Walt Hazzard, 69
Won Olympic gold with the US basketball team before joining the NBA. Died of complications following heart surgery.
November 13: Peter Roebuck, 55
Renowned cricket writer and former England cricketer. Died after committing suicide in Cape Town.
November 13: Solly Tyibilika, 32
Former Springbok loose forward. Murdered in Cape Town township.
November 11: Bernd and Reiner Methe, 47
German handball referees. The twins died in a car crash on their way to officiate in a German handball Bundesliga match.
November 10: Howard Aris, 75
Head of the Jamaican athletics federation died of unknown causes.
November 8: Valentin Ivanov, 76
Former Soviet Union football great who was joint top scorer at the 1962 World Cup finals and won Olympic gold in 1956 with the Soviet team. He was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
November 7: Joe Frazier, 67
Former world heavyweight boxing champion, who was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali, died of cancer.
OCTOBER:
October 31: Florian Albert, 70
Hungarian football legend who was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1967. Died of a heart attack.
October 23: Marco Simoncelli, 24
Italian MotoGP driver, who won the 250cc World Championship in 2008. He died after crashing during the Malaysian Grand Prix.
October 16: Dan Wheldon, 33
British racing driver, who twice won the Indianapolis 500, died after crashing during a IndyCar World Championship race in Las Vegas.
SEPTEMBER:
September 27: Chus Pereda, 73
Spanish footballer who helped his country win the 1964 European Championship. He died of cancer.
September 22: Mansoor Ali Khan, 70
Indian cricketer who captained his country. Also known as Tiger Pataudi, he died of respiratory failure.
September 7: 25 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players
Virtually the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team died in a plane crash en route to a league game. Amongst the dead are Czech world champions Karel Rachunek and Jan Marek. Alexander Galimov, who survived the initial accident, died of his injuries in hospital five days later.
AUGUST:
August 4: Naoki Matsuda, 34
Former Japanese international who twice won the AFC Asian Cup with Yokohama Marinos. He died after collapsing during training with his third division club due to a cardiac arrest.
JULY:
July 25: Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, 29
American freestyle skier who won the silver medal at the 2010 Olympics died after shooting himself.
July 15: Armen Gilliam, 47
American basketball player who spent 13 seasons in the NBA. Died of a heart attack he suffered while he was playing basketball.
JUNE:
June 9: Mike Mitchell, 55
American basketball player who enjoyed a successful stint with San Antonio Spurs, once being nominated for the NBA All Star game. He also played in Israel and Italy. Died of cancer.
MAY:
May 15: Samuel Wanjiru, 24
The 2008 Olympic marathon champion from Kenya. He died from injuries sustained in a fall from the balcony in his house. It is unclear whether he jumped, was pushed or whether it was an accident.
May 9: Wouter Weylandt, 26
Cycling professional who was a member of the Leopard Trek team died after crashing during the third stage of the Giro d'Italia.
May 7: Severiano Ballesteros, 54
Golfing great, who won five majors. The Spaniard, who won 50 times on the European Tour, died from cancer.
APRIL:
April 29: Waldemar Baszanowski, 75
A lightweight weightlifter who won two Olympic gold medals for Poland in 1964 and 1968. The five-time world champion died after a lengthy illness.
April 19: Grete Waitz, 57
Pioneering Norwegian long-distance runner who won the silver medal in the inaugural marathon event for women at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She died of cancer.
April 18: Olubayo Adefemi, 25
Nigerian international football player. The Skoda Xanthi defender won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic games died in a car accident in Greece.
FEBRUARY:
February 27: Maurice Guigue, 98
A former referee, he officiated the 1958 World Cup final between Brazil and Sweden, becoming the second Frenchman to be in charge of a World Cup final. He died of unknown causes.
DECEMBER:
December 4: Socrates, 57
Former Brazilian football captain died of an intestinal infection.
NOVEMBER:
November 28: Gary Speed, 42
Wales national football coach committed suicide.
November 27: Styles Phumo, 74
Former South African national football coach died of cancer.
November 25: Vasily Alexeev, 69
Two-time Olympic weightlifting champion died of heart-failure.
November 19: Basil D'Oliveira, 80
South African cricketer. He went on to play for England and caused an English tour to South Africa to be cancelled when he was included in the side. He was suffering from Parkinson's disease.
November 18: Walt Hazzard, 69
Won Olympic gold with the US basketball team before joining the NBA. Died of complications following heart surgery.
November 13: Peter Roebuck, 55
Renowned cricket writer and former England cricketer. Died after committing suicide in Cape Town.
November 13: Solly Tyibilika, 32
Former Springbok loose forward. Murdered in Cape Town township.
November 11: Bernd and Reiner Methe, 47
German handball referees. The twins died in a car crash on their way to officiate in a German handball Bundesliga match.
November 10: Howard Aris, 75
Head of the Jamaican athletics federation died of unknown causes.
November 8: Valentin Ivanov, 76
Former Soviet Union football great who was joint top scorer at the 1962 World Cup finals and won Olympic gold in 1956 with the Soviet team. He was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
November 7: Joe Frazier, 67
Former world heavyweight boxing champion, who was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali, died of cancer.
OCTOBER:
October 31: Florian Albert, 70
Hungarian football legend who was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1967. Died of a heart attack.
October 23: Marco Simoncelli, 24
Italian MotoGP driver, who won the 250cc World Championship in 2008. He died after crashing during the Malaysian Grand Prix.
October 16: Dan Wheldon, 33
British racing driver, who twice won the Indianapolis 500, died after crashing during a IndyCar World Championship race in Las Vegas.
SEPTEMBER:
September 27: Chus Pereda, 73
Spanish footballer who helped his country win the 1964 European Championship. He died of cancer.
September 22: Mansoor Ali Khan, 70
Indian cricketer who captained his country. Also known as Tiger Pataudi, he died of respiratory failure.
September 7: 25 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players
Virtually the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team died in a plane crash en route to a league game. Amongst the dead are Czech world champions Karel Rachunek and Jan Marek. Alexander Galimov, who survived the initial accident, died of his injuries in hospital five days later.
AUGUST:
August 4: Naoki Matsuda, 34
Former Japanese international who twice won the AFC Asian Cup with Yokohama Marinos. He died after collapsing during training with his third division club due to a cardiac arrest.
JULY:
July 25: Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, 29
American freestyle skier who won the silver medal at the 2010 Olympics died after shooting himself.
July 15: Armen Gilliam, 47
American basketball player who spent 13 seasons in the NBA. Died of a heart attack he suffered while he was playing basketball.
JUNE:
June 9: Mike Mitchell, 55
American basketball player who enjoyed a successful stint with San Antonio Spurs, once being nominated for the NBA All Star game. He also played in Israel and Italy. Died of cancer.
MAY:
May 15: Samuel Wanjiru, 24
The 2008 Olympic marathon champion from Kenya. He died from injuries sustained in a fall from the balcony in his house. It is unclear whether he jumped, was pushed or whether it was an accident.
May 9: Wouter Weylandt, 26
Cycling professional who was a member of the Leopard Trek team died after crashing during the third stage of the Giro d'Italia.
May 7: Severiano Ballesteros, 54
Golfing great, who won five majors. The Spaniard, who won 50 times on the European Tour, died from cancer.
APRIL:
April 29: Waldemar Baszanowski, 75
A lightweight weightlifter who won two Olympic gold medals for Poland in 1964 and 1968. The five-time world champion died after a lengthy illness.
April 19: Grete Waitz, 57
Pioneering Norwegian long-distance runner who won the silver medal in the inaugural marathon event for women at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She died of cancer.
April 18: Olubayo Adefemi, 25
Nigerian international football player. The Skoda Xanthi defender won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic games died in a car accident in Greece.
FEBRUARY:
February 27: Maurice Guigue, 98
A former referee, he officiated the 1958 World Cup final between Brazil and Sweden, becoming the second Frenchman to be in charge of a World Cup final. He died of unknown causes.
