Sports fans said goodbye to The King, The Greatest and Mr. Hockey in 2016.

Here are just some of the inspiring athletes we said goodbye to this past year:

  • , the heavy-weight champion known as boxing鈥檚 鈥淕reatest,鈥� who had a gift for verbal sparring outside the ring, died in June of septic shock. He was 74.
  • , the six-time Hart Trophy winner nicknamed 鈥淢r. Hockey,鈥� survived a stroke in 2014, but died in June at 88.
  • , 鈥淭he King鈥� of golf, died in September of complications from heart problems. He was 87.
  • , the first Chinese-Canadian player in the CFL who went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, died 鈥減eacefully in his sleep鈥� in September at age 86.
  • , the B.C. golfer who won three LPGA Tour titles, died of cancer in November at age 56.
  • , 35, the hockey player who entertained Quebecers with his raunchy hockey and drinking songs, died in a helicopter crash in September.
  • , the WWE wrestler who struggled with addiction, died in April at 46.
  • , the Hart Trophy winner who helped the Toronto Maple Leafs secure their 1964 Stanley Cup, died in February at age 83.
  • , who played most of his 14 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, died of leukemia in July at age 74.
  • , the Miami street fighter turned mixed martial artist, died in June at age 42.
  • , the Slovakian-born long-time Colorado Avalanche forward, died in November at 34.
  • , the Miami Marlins pitcher, was killed in a boat crash in September. The 24-year-old athlete had cocaine and more than double the legal limit of alcohol.
  • , the UFC fighter known as 鈥淭he Big Deal,鈥� was killed in a hit-and-run after an altercation in Edmonton in June. Two men were in connection with the death. He was 34.
  • , the BMX biker and X Games champ, died at age 41 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Doctors later confirmed Mirra suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
  • , the NFL defensive lineman who became paralyzed after breaking his neck in 1992, was killed Saturday in a car accident in October at the age of 50.
  • of the Saskatchewan Roughriders was shot to death in Louisiana after a road rage incident in December. A 54-year-old man was charged with manslaughter. McKnight was 28.