New Mexico sports in memoriam for 2024

They range in age from 17 to 93. They played basketball, baseball, football, tennis, ran track and cross country.

Some coached those athletes and others, lifting them up to reach their potential. Some worked to create a level playing field for those athletes.

Some wrote stories in recognition and appreciation. One fearlessly drove a race car.

Their absence will be felt by many, far beyond any limits prescribed by the calendar. And some live on in the talents and accomplishments of their progeny.

Here’s a list, by no means complete, of sports-related New Mexicans we lost in 2024.

PETER ARNDT: He came to Albuquerque in 1972 from his native Australia to play tennis for UNM and never left. The father of former Lobo basketball star Lindsey Arndt and the grandfather of current Eldorado basketball player and tennis player Addison Arndt, he died on May 29 at 72.

JOE BAILEY: A successful and immensely respected track and cross-country coach at Moriarty High School, Bailey took the Pintos to two girls state track titles. He died on Sept. 26 at 65.

JIM “BUCKY” BRANDENBURG: Far better known as Bernalillo County’s District Attorney from 1972-76 — his daughter Kari later held the same office — Brandenburg was a star multi-sport athlete at Santa Fe High School and played football and basketball at UNM. He died on April 13 at 93.

GREG BROWN: A human whirlwind on the basketball court at 5-foot-7, Brown led Albuquerque High to the 1990 big-school state title and starred at New Mexico Junior College before two brilliant seasons at UNM. In 1994, he was accorded the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation’s best player standing under 6 feet tall. Brown died in a car crash on June 14. He was 51.

MAURICE “MOREY” CARPENTER: A Roswell High graduate, Carpenter played with distinction, as an end and a punter, on some of UNM’s most successful football teams from 1960-63. He died in San Diego on Oct. 2 at 83.

LARRY DEMAREE: Among the winningest and most fearless drivers Albuquerque’s Speedway Park had seen, Demaree won many races there in the 1970s-80s. He died on Aug. 17 at 81.

RUBEN DOUGLAS: A transfer from Arizona, Douglas led the nation in scoring and was named the Mountain West Player of the Year for coach Ritchie McKay’s men’s basketball Lobos in 2003. He died from a virus in Costa Rica on April 12 at age 44.

CAMERON DUNKIN: A Phoenix boxing manager, Dunkin came to Albuquerque in the 1990s in hopes of signing pro prospect Danny Romero. He succeeded, helping Romero win a world title at age 20 and paving Dunkin’s way to a hugely successful managerial career. Dunkin, who also represented Albuquerque’s Johnny Tapia for a time, died on Jan. 2 at 67.

MATTHEW ESQUIBEL: Known throughout the Albuquerque boxing community as much for his gentlemanly ways as for his skill in the ring, Esquibel, a state, regional and national amateur champion, fashioned an 11-1-1 record as a pro. He died of unspecified causes on Jan. 14 at 36.

ARMANDO “ABE” ESTRADA: A star athlete at Lordsburg High School, Estrada earned the unofficial title of “Secretary of Defense” as an assistant to Jim Hulsman at Albuquerque High. Estrada later served as the boys head basketball coach at Rio Grande. He died on Oct 22 at 92.

BOB GAITERS: An Ohio native, Gaiters led the nation in rushing while helping the New Mexico State Aggies to an undefeated (11-0) season and a victory over Utah State in the 1960 Sun Bowl. Gaiters, who went on to play in the NFL and the Canadian Football League, died on Jan. 5 at 85.

JIM GATES: An outstanding player on coach Bill Gentry’s unbeaten state football champions at Highland in 1963, Gates went on to coach multiple sports at Hayes Junior High and Valley High School. He was the Vikings’ head wrestling coach for years. Gates died on Sept. 27 at 79.

BOBBY GIBBS: A native of Madrid, New Mexico, Gibbs played multiple sports at St. Mary’s High School and College of St. Joseph. An assistant football and basketball at Highland, Gibbs was best known as executive director of the Albuquerque Boys & Girls Clubs and as director of the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. He died on Oct. 16 at 88.

DREW GORDON: The UCLA transfer played two seasons of basketball at UNM, averaging 13.4 points and 10.8 rebounds and playing a key role in getting coach Steve Alford’s Lobos to the NCAA Tournament in 2012. Gordon died in a car crash on May 30. He was 33.

RICHARD JENKINS: Before there was Greg Brown at Albuquerque High, there was Jenkins. The Albuquerque Tribune Metro Player of the Year in 1973, Jenkins, an explosive point guard, died on Dec. 12, 2023, at 68.

CHARLEY JOHNSON: He quarterbacked New Mexico State to two Sun Bowl championships, a perfect 11-0 season in 1960 and two victories over the Lobos before moving on to a successful career in the NFL with the Cardinals and the Broncos. Later, he chaired the chemical engineering department at NMSU. He died on Sept. 3 at 85.

SISSY KELLY: A superb tennis player, Kelly also served as a tennis coach and an administrator. A member of the New Mexico Tennis Hall of Fame, Kelly was a competitive skier as well. She died on Aug. 25 at 82.

JACK KENNEDY: He was a Highland High grad and UNM’s first tennis All-American in 1958 before going on to a career in dentistry. Kennedy died on Nov. 18, 2023, at 85. He was inadvertently omitted from the print version of the Journal’s 2023 In Memoriam.

STEVE KRAGTHORPE: An Eastern New Mexico quarterback in 1983-84, Kragthorpe later was the head football coach at Louisville and Tulsa. He died on Aug. 4 at 59.

GREG LAY: An Albuquerque Journal sports stringer in the 1960s-70s, Lay also edited a sports magazine and did publicity for the powerful Maloofmen AAU basketball team. Lay also played for the Maloofmen, describing himself as “a 20-point player. Anytime we get 20 points ahead, I get to play.” Lay died on Oct. 28 at 79.

WILLIAM LOVE: “Big Will” was a dynamic defensive lineman for Bill Gentry’s Highland Hornets but chose to concentrate on basketball. A dominant big man for HHS, he played collegiately at NMSU and New Mexico Highlands. Love died on April 6 at 60. His daughter, Leilani Love, was the Gatorade Player of the Year for Albuquerque High’s girls in 2023.

BUSTER MABREY: A star linebacker at Hobbs High School in the mid-80s, Mabrey was an assistant director at the New Mexico Activities Association, then served as the executive director of the New Mexico High School Coaches Association until his death on Monday (Dec. 30). Mabrey, a 1985 Hobbs graduate, was 57.

PETE MCFARLANE: Sandia Prep’s athletic director for 41 years and a coach of multiple sports, McFarlane died while out for a run — something he loved doing — on July 23. He was 77.

ISAAC VENZOR PRADO: A Rio Grande High School baseball player, Venzor Prado died on March 26 after collapsing during a workout. He was 17.

OLLIE REED JR.: A Mississippi native, Reed covered high school sports for the Albuquerque Tribune before taking on other writing assignments at the Tribune and, later, the Albuquerque Journal. An award-winning feature writer and a devoted Dallas Cowboys fan, Reed died on Nov. 19 at 76.

MARK RAUGHT: A star basketball guard at Rio Grande High School, Raught earned MVP honors in an Albuquerque-vs.-Denver all-star game in 1975. He died on Oct. 2 at 66.

JERRI ROBERTSON: The wife of longtime Albuquerque Public Schools athletics specialist Buddy Robertson, Jerri was an APS physical education teacher and a welcoming presence at Wilson Stadium at football games and track meets. She died July 15 at 84.

FRED ROMERO: A basketball and baseball star at Los Lunas High School and a baseball player-coach at New Mexico Highlands, Romero coached the West Mesa basketball team to three state tournament appearances and more than 300 victories. Romero died on Nov. 24 at 94. His son, Fred, coached La Cueva to three state football titles.

HENRY RONO: One of the greatest distance runners in history, Rono lived in Albuquerque for most of 39 years before returning to his native Kenya. He died on Feb. 15 at 72.

KENT SEERY: A three-sport athlete and an all-state performer at Belen High School in the 1960s, Seery went on to play football at Wisconsin. A member of one of Belen’s most prominent sports families, Seery died on Jan. 18 at 78.

GARY SPITZBERG: Coach, administrator, game official, clock operator … Spitzberg did it all for New Mexico athletics during his decades of service. He died on Sept. 5 at 79.

JIM THRASH: He coached Manzano to two boys big-school titles before moving on to a long career as a college coach and an NBA scout. Thrash died on Jan. 5 at 77.

LEE TRUSSELL: A state pole vault champion at Highland High in 1959 and a four-year track-and-field letterman at UNM, Trussell died on April 22 at 83.