Former Sparks player Margo Dydek dies at 37
Margo Dydek, a former WNBA star who played with four teams in the professional women's basketball league, including the Sparks, died Friday in Brisbane, Australia, a week after suffering a heart attack. She was 37.
Cathy Roberts, the operations manager for the Northside Wizards in the Queensland Basketball League, where Dydek was head coach, confirmed her death.
The Poland-born Dydek, who was pregnant with her third child, suffered the heart attack on May 19. She collapsed at her home in Brisbane and was put in a medically induced coma.
Roberts said that Dydek was at an early stage in her pregnancy and that her unborn child had also died.
Dydek was the No. 1 pick in the 1998 WNBA draft by the Utah Starzz. She also played for San Antonio, Connecticut and the Sparks.
The 7-foot-2 Dydek was once said to be the tallest active professional female basketball player in the world.
She held the record for most blocks in a WNBA career, with 877 in 323 games, and led the league in blocks nine times, from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2005-07.
In August 2008, Dydek signed with the Sparks following time away from basketball due to the birth of her first son in April 2008.
An entry on Dydek's Facebook page says she was born April 28, 1974, in Warsaw, Poland, to a 6-foot-7 father and a 6-foot-3 mother. She had two sisters, and her elder sister, Kashka used to play for the Colorado Explosion of the now-defunct ABL, and in Poland.
Tina Thompson, a former teammate of Dydek's on the Sparks, said on the WNBA's Twitter feed: "My condolences to the family of Margo Dydek, may she rest in peace!"
The Brisbane-based Wizards posted a statement on their website Friday.
"Always in our hearts - Margo," it said. "With great sadness we acknowledge the passing of … Margo Dydek. Margo suffered a heart attack just over a week ago and passed away Friday 27th May, peacefully and surrounded by her family.
"You were a much-loved member of our community and we will miss you greatly. Our hearts go out to your family, David and your beautiful boys."
She is survived by her husband, David, and two sons, David, 3, and Alex, 7 months.
ALSO:
Huguette Clark dies at 104; reclusive heiress
-- Associated Press
Photo: As a member of the Sparks, Margo Dydek faces off against Atlanta's Katie Feenstra in a 2008 WNBA game. Credit: Associated Press
As a WNBA fan since 1998 I had the honor of watching Margo play many times. My prayers are with her children, husband, family and friends. Rest in peace.
Posted by: Deb Tokarski | 05/27/2011 at 09:43 AM
Wow! Death doesn't respect any age. My condolences to the family. May she rest in peace.
Posted by: Sabrina | 05/27/2011 at 10:05 AM
Sucks.
Posted by: H | 05/27/2011 at 10:15 AM
My heart goes out to the family. May she rest in peace :(
Posted by: comment | 05/27/2011 at 10:42 AM
A 7 monthl old baby and pregnant again - no wonder her body was stressed - so sad for the little boys.
Posted by: Marlena | 05/27/2011 at 10:51 AM
WOW!! Prayers go out to her family. Could she have had Mar-fans Disease?
Posted by: iknowit | 05/27/2011 at 10:52 AM
sad, but she lo0ked contented in the photo, as if she really enjoyed what she was doing...did she have Marfan's disease?...that thing that really tall, slender people sometimes have...she looks like she may have...I think it affects the heart
Posted by: glenn grab | 05/27/2011 at 11:15 AM
I dont know who she is since I dont follow the WNBA but this is sad. My condolences to her family and friends.
Posted by: Philip | 05/27/2011 at 11:55 AM
May she rest in peace? Humm...should be written: may her rest in peace.
Dying young...Sad to hear
Posted by: J.N.T | 05/27/2011 at 12:36 PM
This is sad.
Sad for her little boys.
RIP
Posted by: Ben | 05/27/2011 at 01:34 PM
RIP
Posted by: Ron Jeremy | 05/27/2011 at 02:41 PM
J.N.T. is obviously illiterate. "May she rest in peace" is properly written, not "May her rest in peace," as J.N.T. claims. "She" is a personal pronoun used to simply indicate that the person being referred to is a female. "Her" is a possessive pronoun indicating a female owner or recipient of something. The use of pronouns is usually learned in grammar school.
Betty
Posted by: Betty Miller | 05/27/2011 at 03:39 PM
It's always sad when someone dies way before their time. 37 is way, way too young to die from a heart attack.
My condolences to her family.
Posted by: Frederico | 05/27/2011 at 05:10 PM
Lighten up, Betty. This is an obituary, not a course in english grammar. JNT's comment was respectful. And where's your "rest in peace?" Or are you just trolling? RIP Margo.
Posted by: MWP | 06/02/2011 at 09:59 AM
She was having her children awfully close together. There are always huge risks in doing that, not only in mothers over 30, but also the high BP induced by pregnancy puts women at risk for stroke.
Extremely tall people are also at risk for heart problems.
It's reasonable to believe that Margo's physician should have known all of these risk factors and cautioned her about a third pregnancy so close to the previous one and monitored her heart as well. Especially because they are not rare, they are fairly typical considering all the other factors.
Such a tragedy.
Posted by: Regan DuCasse | 07/20/2011 at 10:07 AM