42 Athletes That Died Before 40

NBA | February 16, 2021

Thurman Munson

Thurman Munson was a New York Yankees catcher who spent 11 seasons with the team, earning seven All-Star honors. Munson lived a high life and could afford to buy a plane. He practiced flying for over 12 months but in 1979, everything went wrong.

His fourth attempt at landing and taking off went sideways. Errors on Munson’s account caused the plane to crash and then burst into flames on the ground. Others survived the crash, but Munson did not. He died from asphyxiation and a broken neck. Munson was 32 years old.