The online competition to guess which famous people won't make it to the end of the current year. If they're elderly, ill, or just live a high-risk lifestyle, stick 'em in your team, and for each one whose death you correctly predict, you'll score points. DDP was dreamt up in Derby, England (hence the name...) by Big-Iain back in 1996, then was run from 2003 to 2007 by Siegfried Baboon and Rude Kid. From 2008 to 2009, it was run by Octopus of Odstock, but from 2010 onwards it's the turn of The Man in Black to run the DDP.
| Latest Stiffs: 28th June 2013 |
Alain goes the distance |
| Alain Mimoun, one of France's most successful track and field athletes, has died.
The Algeria-born Mimoun was often the nearly man of distance running after coming runners-up to the legendary Emil Zátopek on five occasions in Olympic
and European races before eventually winning gold in Melbourne in 1956, finally beating his old nemesis. This was in the marathon and it was his first race at the distance.
Mimoun was 92 and a unique hit for Luck of the Dead.
|
![[Scorecard]](/images/score.png)
![[Points]](/images/death.gif)
+
![[Unique]](/images/unique.gif) = 8pts |
BorGONEovo! |
| Former AC Milan forward Stefano Borgonovo has died after a 5 year battle with ALS. Borgonovo formed an brief but effective partnership with the legendary "Divine Ponytail" Roberto Baggio, when the pair played together at Fiorentina in the early 1990s, before the latter's controversial move to Juventus. Borgonovo's career never really hit the heights, despite a European Cup winner's medal from his time with i Rossoneri. He died aged just 49, a hit for 30 teams including your host and newcomer Thomas Jefferson Survives, who move to 2nd and cuts Octopus of Odstock's lead to 5 points. Still 6 months to go remember... |
(30 teams) = 10pts,
![[Joker]](/images/joker2.gif) (2 teams) = 20pts |
Hans has to die |
| Another double H which left it a little while for an obit was Hans Hass. Hass was an Austrian marine biologist and diver who made several TV shows, forming a successful partnership with his wife Lotte. He died aged 94. Death Speaks German theme team get their first hit of the year... |
|
+
= 8pts |
Hawk-eyed death hawks hawk Hawke |
| Former Australian first lady Hazel Hawke died way back on May 23rd after a long illness aged 83. It seems that no obit was forthcoming, but then the Guardian came to the rescue with this mention of her memorial. Makes me wonder whether one of that paper's dreaded Worldfeed articles slipped through the net at some point. Still, four teams are happy the obit came in whatever format... |
|
(4 teams) = 6pts |
| Latest Stiffs: 24th June 2013 |
Bobby Bland says "I pity the dead pool" |
| Blues singer Bobby "Blue" Bland has died. A protege of B. B. King, Bland found success in the late 1950s, with classic blues standards such as 'I Pity the Fool' and 'Turn On Your Love Light' before developing a smoother sounder sound by the 1970s, often collaborating with King. Bland was 83. Octopus of Odstock still holds a comfortable lead with a potentially significant hit to come... |
|
(2 teams) = 6pts |
Jeffrey's gone pretty smartly |
| Australian artist Jeffrey Smart has died of renal failure. Smart was known for his urban landscapes which had a dash of the surreal about them. He had been resident in Italy for 50 years and died there aged 91. Body Snatcher's Body-Count pick up unique points. |
|
+
= 8pts |
Slim pickings for the Reaper |
| Country & Western star Slim Whitman had died aged 90 (not 89 as previously assumed). Famous for his yodelling style, Whitman's career lasted over six decades, his biggest hits coming in the 1950s.
One of them, 'Rose Marie' from 1955, was number 1 in the UK for 11 weeks, a record until 1991. Ironically enough, eleven teams picked him...
|
(11 teams) + ![[Unlucky 13]](/images/thirteen.gif) = 7pts |
Teresita dead at one nun dead and five |
| Nun and Leo McKern look-a-like Sister Teresita Barajuen died on June 12th aged 105. She was the longest serving cloistered nun, possibly ever, having joined a Cistercian monastery in Spain aged 19. The Daily Express once again come with the goods for an oldie. Two teams pocket the points... |
|
(2 teams) = 4pts |
| Latest Stiffs: 17th June 2013 |
Cecil headlines the racing postmortum |
| Legendary horse trainer Sir Henry Cecil has died after a long battle wth cancer aged 70.
Cecil won the champion trainer title 10 times between 1976-1993, his various charges winning over 20 classic races,
including the Derby on 4 occasions. The last of those Epsom wins, Oath in 1999, was the high spot of a relative downturn in his fortunes. But Sir Henry rose again with his greatest horse Frankel, unbeaten in 14 races.
Cecil's worsening condition was well known among the deadpool cognoscenti and he's the latest of the Drop Forty to fall. Most of the leading contenders for DDP 2013 had him in their teams including leader Octopus of Odstock, who now
has a dozen hits and is nudging towards 100 points, with over half a year left to run. A evens favourite for a second title?
|
|
(65 teams) = 7pts
(11 teams) = 14pts |
Red flag for the Pampas Bull |
| Motor racing driver José Froilán González has died. González had the distinction of being Ferrari's first Grand Prix winner, at Silverstone in 1951. González died aged 90. Four teams, including two theme teams, race away with the points... |
|
(4 teams) = 5pts |
Kimura my hearse |
| The World's oldest man, Jiroemon Kimura, has died. Kimura was the last man born in the 19th Century and also the oldest man in recorded history. He is succeeded by another Japanese person, Misawo Okawa. Kimura was 116 and another from the Drop Forty to kop it. |
|
(47 teams) = 3pts
(3 teams) = 6pts |
Evelyn's death was Jew |
| And Kimura was not the only old dear not to make it to Summer. Evelyn Kozak was believed to be the World's oldest Jewish person. She died in Brooklyn, New York aged 113. The Daily Mail with their eye on the dollar, chip in with the obit, a unique hit for the theme team The Pussy Perishes Last. |
|
+
= 6pts |
Stop Meizhen about |
| Kimura may well have been the official oldest person until recently, but Luo Meizhen from China, had claims on being the oldest ever. Meizhen was reportedly 127 when she died, but this was never offically recognised. Makes absolutely no difference to the points The Grateful Dead are getting though... |
|
+
= 6pts |
Jens gets a Nazi surprise |
| German intellectual Walter Jens has died. Jens was considered the "moral authority" of Germany in the post-war era, although his position was somewhat compromised by his alleged links to the Nazis. Jens was 90. German theme team Falling Like The Wall pick up a unique hit. |
|
+
= 8pts |
| Latest Stiffs: 10th June 2013 |
Hollywood's Mermaid now sleeps with fishes |
| Swimmer-turned Hollywood beauty Esther Williams has died. Williams won a string of US swimming titles before entering the movies, not surprisingly in a set of water-based movies making good use of her physique. She retired from acting in films in 1962. Williams was 91 and and a hit for 5 teams to make a splash. |
|
(5 teams) = 5pts |
Ruairí's Féin-ed death |
| Former Sinn Féin president and reputed commander with the IRA, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (Rory O'Brady as anglicised) has died. Ó Brádaigh led the republican party during it's relatively quiet years in the 1950s and 60s. Although he was elected to the Irish parliament (Dail), he refused to take his seat until total independence from Britain. He was forced out of power by Gerry Adams in 1983, forming Republican Sinn Féin in 1986 and was gradually sent to the margins of Irish politics. Ó Brádaigh was 80 and a unique hit for Northern Irish theme team Their Troubles Will (hopefully) Soon Be Over... |
|
+
= 9pts |
It's gone Pete Xitong for Chen |
| Former mayor of Beijing, Chen Xitong has died aged 83. Xitong was mayor during the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, when several hundred (possibly more) Chinese students
were killed by the military after a series of widespread democratic protests. It was Xitong who was reputedly in favour of the crackdown, although he was said later
to have regretted his actions. He was forced out of the Chinese politburo in 1995 over corruption charges and jailed, although he was later released on medical grounds.
Golden Slumbers gets a unique hit...
|
|
+
= 9pts |
Arran's boat comes in |
| Aristocrat/speed freak Fiona, Countess of Arran passed away on May 16th aged 94. Fiona Gore, as was the want of the aristocracy, was into a lot of things but her biggest interest was in speedboats. Apparently she had two speeds, fast and stop and proceeded to ride competitively into her 60s. The Telegraph actually gave her death a brief mention in dispatches a couple of days later but Muggins here only noticed the proper obit three weeks later! Ironically slow for someone who had such a need for speed. Not Gone Yet, But Still Forgotten bag a second unique hit for the year... |
|
+
= 8pts |
| Latest Stiffs: 4th June 2013 |
Frank Latenberg |
| Veteran Democrat Frank Lautenberg has died. Lautenberg was first elected to the US senate in 1982 as senator for New Jersey. A noted liberal, Lautenberg retired in 2001 only to make a comeback in 2003. He was the last World War II veteran elected to office. He died aged 89 after being ill for some time. Once again Carne And Sarne, Plus Eighteen land a unique hit, the 100th in 2013... |
|
+
= 9pts |
Graham mustn't grumble anymore |
| Graham Walker, founder and bassist of comdey band The Grumbleweeds, has died after a two year cancer battle. Walker formed the band with Robin Colvill in 1962. With their mixture of impressions and comic characters, the Grumbleweeds, contemporaries of that other comedy group The Barron Knights, had success on radio and later television in the 1980s. Walker was 68. Dead Centre Of England get their second hit of the year. |
|
+
= 11pts |
End of the road to Mandawuy |
| Aboriginal singer Mandawuy Yunupingu had died aged 56. Yunupingu was a pioneer in promoting Australia's indigenous culture through his band Yothu Yindi (child and mother). He was the first aboriginal from
the Arnhem Land reservation to gain a university degree, later becoming a teacher and principal before his career with his band took off. Two teams were shrewd enough to pick him...
|
|
(2 teams) = 9pts |
All in the family plot |
| Actress Jean Stapleton, who played Edith the long-suffering wife of Archie Bunker in hit US 1970s sitcom 'All in the Family', has died. 'All in the Family' ran from 1971-1979 and was based on the hit 1960s British sitcom 'Till Death Us Do Part'. Carroll O'Connor, who played the bigoted Archie, died in 2001 and was also a DDP graduate. Stapleton left the show's follow up 'Archie Bunker's Place' in 1980. She was 90. She was a hit for five teams including veteran Eternity Tours, having their best season yet and now nestled in the top ten... |
|
(5 teams) = 5pts |
| List of the Lost - Latest Entrants |
| List of the Missed - Latest Entrants |
|
Pierre Mauroy, Rory Morrison, Heinz Flohe, Ottmar Walter, Geoff Strong, Roger LaVern, Emilio Colombo, Jerome Karle |
| Player of the Month - May |
|
David Quantick's Showbiz Pals and Dispatch Dudes - 17 points |
| Latest News |
|
Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition as South Africa fears the worst. Again. Moors Murderer Ian Brady is judged still be bonkers by a court and will remain in a mental institution. Again. There are shocks galore at Wimbledon, as Rafael Nadal and then Roger Federer tumble out in the early rounds. Could this be Andy Murray's big chance? Or will he shit it? Again. The Theme Team League and Stats & Facts pages have been updated... |
| Message to all current competitors: There will be no more regular emails except in certain circumstances, such as rules and invitation to next year's competition. |
| Further Information |
| Derby Dead Pool is hosted by The Man In Black
with contributions from Big-Iain, Rude Kid, Siegfried Baboon, Octopus
of Odstock, WEP 2.0 - World's Eternity Prophet Reloaded and The Grey Horde
|
![[DDP 2013]](/images/ddp2013.png) |
| Archive |
| December |
| November |
| October |
| September |
| August |
| July |
| June |
| May |
| April |
| March |
| February |
| January |
| 2012 |