Mark Eaton, shot-blocking king and Jazz great, dies at 64 Mark Eaton the 7-foot-4 shot-blocking king

Mark Eaton, the 7-foot-4 shot-blocking king who twice was the NBA's defensive player of the year during a career spent entirely with the Utah Jazz, has died. He was 64.

The team announced his death Saturday.

Eaton left his home for a bike ride Friday night in Summit County, Utah, and shortly thereafter someone called 911 to report after seeing him lying on a roadway and unconscious. Eaton was taken to a hospital where he later died.

The team, citing county officials who investigated, said “there is no reason to believe a vehicle was involved in the incident."

The Jazz described him in a statement as an “enduring figure in our franchise history” who had a "significant impact in the community after his basketball career.”

FILE - In this Nov. 11, 1983, file photo, Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton , right, puts a hook shot up and over the outstretched hand of Houston Rocket center Ralph Sampson during the first period of an NBA basketball game at the Summit in Houston. Eaton, the 7-foot-4 shot-blocking king who twice was the NBA's defensive player of the year during his career with the Utah Jazz, has died, the team said Saturday, May 29, 2021. He was 64.

Utah coach Quin Snyder said Saturday night before Game 3 in Memphis that the team's thoughts and prayers go out to Eaton's wife.

“Mark was someone that was a friend, and I think a friend who a lot of us, in his relationship with Rudy Gobert I think is emblematic of who he was and his ability to listen,” Snyder said. “And then to offer counsel and support was something that was really unique, and obviously we’ll miss him.”

The center led the league in blocks per game four times and his average of 5.6 per contest in 1984-85 remains the highest average since the NBA started officially tracking that statistic.

Eaton's career blocks average of 3.51 per game is the best in NBA history, and his career happened almost by accident. He was working as an auto mechanic in 1977 when a community college basketball coach persuaded him to enroll. From there, he went to UCLA, and his stint with the Jazz followed.

“I had an unusual background,” Eaton said for a story published on the Jazz web site two years ago. “It’s an unlikely story to be sure. I basically came into the NBA with two years of junior college experience and sat on the bench at UCLA for two years. And Frank Layden gave me a chance and the team was in a space where they could afford to let me make some mistakes out there and get my feet underneath me. It worked out well for both of us.”

Eaton had been, among other things, a restaurateur and motivational speaker in his retirement. In recent years, he served as a mentor to Utah center Rudy Gobert — the only other player in Jazz history to win the defensive player of the year award.

“He was so impressive,” longtime NBA broadcaster Mike Inglis, now the radio voice of the Miami Heat, said Saturday. “I used to call him the human condominium complex. He was something else on defense, let me tell you.”

Eaton’s death came days after he was in Chicago to be part of the celebration for his friend Joe West, who broke baseball’s umpiring record by working his 5,376th regular-season game Tuesday night.

His 11 playing seasons with the Jazz are third most in team history, behind longtime Utah cornerstones Karl Malone and John Stockton. His durability was noteworthy, with him once appearing in 338 consecutive games. He finished with career averages of 6.0 points and 7.9 rebounds.

But his best skill was defending the rim, and once told a story about how Wilt Chamberlain offered him advice about his career. He incorporate the tale into a motivational speech, telling others that Rule No. 1 for success is to “know your job."

“Wilt grabbed me by the arm, took me out on the floor, positioned me right in front of the basket. He said, ‘You see this basket? Your job is to stop players from getting there. Your job is to make them miss their shot, get the rebound, throw it up to the guard, let them go down the other end and score and your job is to cruise up to half-court and see what's going on,'" Eaton said.

“When Wilt shared that with me, everything changed. I understood what I needed to do," Eaton said. “I understood what I could be great at. Wilt showed me what my job was and how doing what I did would benefit my team."

Eaton also served as an officer in the National Basketball Players Association, and the union released a statement Saturday saying he would be missed.

“It may be cliched, but it’s true: Mark Eaton was a giant, in every sense of the word," the NBPA statement said. “A long-time member of the NBPA Executive Committee right through his retirement from the league in 1994, Mark served his colleagues with grace and strength, and continued to watch over them through his service for the Retired Players Association. His imposing physical presence made a delightful match with his warm and thoughtful manner."

Eaton’s No. 53 was one of the first jerseys retired by the Jazz. He was the defensive player of the year in 1984-85 and 1988-89, was a five-time All-Defensive team selection — three first-team nods, two second-team picks — and was an All-Star in 1989.

He was taken with the 107th overall pick by Phoenix in the 1979 draft, then drafted again at No. 72 overall by Utah in 1982. And he never left; his last game was in 1993, but back problems ended his career and he retired in September 1994.

“It has been a great ride, but life does have a way of moving on and I must move on with it,” Eaton wrote in a column for The Salt Lake Tribune in which he announced his retirement. “Thank you for letting me be a part of your life and community. I’ll be around.”

True to his word, Eaton remained a Utah mainstay for the rest of his life.

The late singer scored No. 1 hits on the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Adult Contemporary charts.
Following a battle with stage-four lung cancer, B.J. Thomas, whose musical career endured for over 50 years, died May 29 at his home in Arlington, Texas. He was 78.

Thomas was a chart force beginning in the 1960s. He logged 26 hits, including two No. 1s among five top 10s, on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1966 through 1983 and achieved No. 1 singles across the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Adult Contemporary charts. His 1969 classic "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" became his first leader on any Billboard survey, spending four weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and seven frames atop Adult Contemporary.

Born in Hugo, Texas, and raised in Houston, Thomas also topped tallies with: "I Just Can't Help Believing" (one week, Adult Contemporary, 1970); "Rock and Roll Lullaby" (one week, Adult Contemporary, 1972); "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" (one week each on the Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Hot Country Songs, 1975); "Whatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love" (one week, Hot Country Songs, 1983) and "New Looks From an Old Lover" (one week, Hot Country Songs, 1983).

Thomas last sang a top 10 Billboard chart hit that was known to millions before it even became a single: "As Long as We Got Each Other," credited to Steve Dorff & Friends, was sung by Thomas and fellow multi-decade pop star Dusty Springfield. Serving as the theme song to the hit ABC sitcom Growing Pains, it rose to No. 7 on Adult Contemporary in February 1989.

Thomas initially appeared on a Billboard chart when his version, with The Triumphs, of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" entered the Hot 100 dated Feb. 19, 1966. It reached No. 8 that April. He returned to the top 10 in January 1969 with the No. 5-peaking "Hooked on a Feeling," later a No. 1 for Blue Swede in 1974. Thomas' next top 10, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," became his first Hot 100 leader in January 1970.

B.J. Thomas' Biggest Billboard Hits
Rank, Title, Artist, Hot 100 Peak Position, Year
1. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," No. 1 (four weeks), 1970
2. "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," No. 1 (one week), 1975
3. "Hooked on a Feeling," No. 5, 1969
4. "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (with The Triumphs), No. 8, 1966
5. "I Just Can't Help Believing," No. 9, 1970
6. "Don't Worry Baby," No. 17, 1977
7. "Rock and Roll Lullaby," No. 15, 1972
8. "No Love At All," No. 16, 1971
9. "The Eyes of a New York Woman," No. 28, 1968
10. "Everybody's Out of Town," No. 26, 1970

B.J. Thomas' Biggest Billboard Hits recap is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.

Thomas scored his first success on Hot Country Songs in 1975 with his initial entry, "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," which led the list that May. In 1975-2000, he notched 16 Hot Country Songs appearances, including three No. 1s among five top 10s. Along with his additional No. 1s "Whatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love" and "New Looks From an Old Lover," both in 1983, he reached the top 10 with "Two Car Garage" (No. 3) and "The Whole World's in Love When You're Lonely" (No. 10), both in 1984. He last visited the chart in 2000 with "You Call That a Mountain."

Thomas also earned 10 entries on the Billboard 200 albums chart, led by the No. 12-peaking Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head in 1970.

Thomas posted his last Billboard chart appearance during his lifetime in 2013 when The Living Room Sessions hit No. 39 on Top Country Albums. The unplugged career retrospective includes collaborations with, among others, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Richard Marx and Keb' Mo'.

The executive puts a strong focus on remaining sensitive to his artists' mental health -- and has even participated in group therapy sessions with his co-founders.
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Billboard has partnered with ==Ian Davis and Brandon Holman== of The Mindful Creative on a series of conversations with music artists and executives about the self-care practices they use to keep themselves on track, both during the pandemic and beyond.

I try to be as real as possible with all of our artists. A big part of what we do is manage expectations and their mental state to a certain degree. It's easy to get high and very low when you're dealing with someone judging your artwork. Music is one of the career choices where you literally put something out and get immediate responses that come directly to your phone. On one level, it's being as honest as I can with them. Giving them a truth that they don't want to hear and then other tim