New Mexico sports in memoriam: Those we lost in 2023

Dec. 31—Two athletic and sports-minded New Mexico governors. Four highly successful high school coaches, one of them a star UNM quarterback. Two dedicated sports journalists.

Two men bearing the same last name who made indelible contributions to athletics at the state's two Division I universities. A wunderkind of a golfer. A giant of the gymnastics world.

Saddest of all, two promising soccer players gone before their 21st birthday.

Here is a list of New Mexico sports-related deaths in 2023. If, regrettably, anyone is omitted from this list, please let us know at sports@abqjournal.com.

HOWARD ANDERSON: Head football coach at Del Norte from 1967-80, his undefeated, almost unscored-upon 1974 state champions rank among the best in New Mexico history. He also coached the Knights to state track championships in 1967 and 1969. Anderson died Sept. 22 at age 86.

JERRY APODACA: Best known as New Mexico's governor from 1975-79, Apodaca was a star halfback at Las Cruces High and was a starter in the backfield for UNM in the 1950s. He served as chairman of President Jimmy Carter's Council for Physical Fitness from 1978-80. Apodaca died April 26 at age 88.

BARBARA ARMIJO: A Rio Grande and UNM alumnus, Armijo came to the Albuquerque Journal as a sports writer in 1986. Before moving on to other sections of the newspaper and then to a career in education, she broke ground as a woman covering the Albuquerque Dukes beat. Armijo died Nov. 28 at age 60.

THEO BARELA: His service as president of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame was cut short, but not before he helped raise unprecedented levels of funding for the organization. Barela died June 21 at age 70.

JOSEPH BRADY: A New Mexico amateur boxing champion, winner of 13 of his first 14 pro fights, Brady died July 16 at age 48.

CLEM CHARLTON: An Albuquerque High and UNM graduate, Charlton was Sandia High School's first head football coach and worked at SHS in various capacities from 1958-88. His Matadors football teams never won a state title, but his wrestling and golf teams did. He died on Sept. 10 at age 98.

THALIA CHAVERRIA: A standout New Mexico State soccer player, Chaverria died of unspecified causes on July 10 in Las Cruces. She was 20.

GARY COLSON: Hired to restore respectability to UNM mens' basketball after the Lobogate scandal, Colson did that and more, guiding the Lobos to 146 victories and five National Invitation Tournament berths from 1981-88. He died Nov. 3 at 89.

KEITH COLSON: A former New Mexico State basketball player, assistant coach and athletic director, Colson (no relation to Gary) died March 31 at age 88.

RAY CRAGUN: Among the finest golfers New Mexico has produced, the winner of a record five New Mexico State Amateur championships — the first at age 16 — Cragun died Oct. 26 at age 67.

JIM CROMARTIE: He quarterbacked the Lobos to a 1961 Aviation Bowl victory and to a 1962 Western Athletic Conference championship before embarking on a 20-years-plus high school coaching career, taking Bloomfield to two state title games. Cromartie died on Aug. 5 at 82.

CHESTER FULLER: A starting guard for UNM coaches Bob King and Norm Ellenberger in the early 1970s before beginning a 26-year career with Albuquerque Parks & Recreation, Fuller died Nov. 6 at age 73.

JERRY HALL: Eldorado's head football coach from 1971-88, his Jim Everett-, Vincent Warren-led Eagles went unbeaten in winning the 1980 big-school state championship. Hall died on June 10 at age 85.

JADEN HULLABY; A UNM tight end/running back in 2022, Hullaby died from injuries suffered in a car crash May 19 in his native Texas. He was 21.

DENNIS LATTA: Hired by the Albuquerque Journal in 1980 to cover UNM men's basketball, Latta served as the Journal's sports editor from 1982-88 and in 2004 was appointed by then-Gov. Bill Richardson as executive director of the New Mexico Sports Authority. Among the founding fathers of the New Mexico Bowl, Latta died on June 16 at age 75.

RUSTY MITCHELL: A 1960 U.S. Olympian, Mitchell took over the Lobo men's gymnastics program in 1966 and made it UNM's most successful athletic program before gymnastics was dropped in 1999. He died on Feb. 25 at age 80.

CHRISTOPHER PEARCE: A varsity soccer player at Moriarty, Pearce died of carbon dioxide poisoning during a sleepover in Edgewood. He was 17.

BILL RICHARDSON: As New Mexico's governor from 2003-2011, among the many state, national and international roles he played during his lifetime, this former baseball pitcher founded the New Mexico Sports Authority, directed millions in capital outlay to UNM and NMSU athletics facilities and played a key role in establishing the New Mexico Bowl. Richardson died on Sept. 1 at age 75.

RONNIE RODRIGUEZ: An All-State basketball guard at St. Michael's and Santa Fe High, SFHS Class of 1978, Rodriguez went on to a successful career at the College of Santa Fe. He died in late December.

CHUCK SCHUCH: A state-champion middle-distance runner at Sandia in the mid-1960s, Schuch went on to a successful college career at Utah, San Diego State and UNM. He died July 22 at age 75.