Hall of Fame Coach Dies

By Caitlin O'toole

09/30/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

Al McGwire, Hall of Fame basketball coach and, later, CBS sportscaster, died Friday at the age of 72. McGwire was reportedly battling leukemia, but the exact cause of death has not been disclosed. He enjoyed a brief NBA career that ended in 1955, and then made his mark on the sport as a coach and broadcaster, earning him election to the Hall of Fame in 1992. NBC broadcaster Bob Costas, who worked with McGuire and occasionally substituted for him, described him as "a genuine original who came out of a time when there were real characters in sports, not packaged images." McGwire is survived by his wife, three children, a brother and six grandchildren.