June 26, 2003: The Death of Marc-Vivien Foé

June 26, 2003: Marc-Vivien Foé dies of a previously undiagnosed heart condition, while playing midfield for Cameroon against Colombia, in the Semifinal of the Confederations Cup, a match being held in his adopted hometown of Lyon, France. He was 28, and was survived by a wife, but no children.

Foé was born on May 1, 1975, in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. A midfielder, he won his country's version of the FA Cup with Canon Yaoundé in 1993. He moved to France, and helped Racing Club de Lens win the League title in 1998.

He spent the next season with West Ham United of East London, and helped them win the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, a 3rd-tier European tournament. He moved to Olympique Lyonnais, and helped them win the Ligue 1 title in 2002. In addition, he helped Cameroon with the Africa Cup of Nations, the continent's national team tournament, in 2000 and 2002.

Lyon loaned him to Manchester City for the 2002-03 season, and he played in 38 of their 41 games, scoring 9 goals, including the last goal at their old stadium, Maine Road, on April 21, 2003.

The Cameroon team, known as the Indomitable Lions, reached the World Cup in 1994 and 2002. Foé was in both squads, but they did not get past the Group Stage either time. They played in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. Foé played in wins over Brazil and Turkey. With the team having thus qualified for the knockout stage, he was rested for their game against the United States, a 0-0 draw that knocked the Americans out of the tournament.

Only 4 teams qualified for the knockout stage. On June 26, Cameroon faced Colombia in the Semifinal, at what was officially his club home field, the Stade de Gerland in Lyon. In the 72nd minute, with Cameroon leading 1-0, he ran to the center circle, and collapsed. No other player was near him, so he hadn't been fouled.

The medical team attempted to resuscitate him on the pitch. He was stretchered off, and for 45 minutes, they tried to restart his heart. It didn't work, and he was dead at 28.

His wife, Marie-Louise, said that he had been suffering from stomach issues, but he wanted to play this game in his adopted hometown. Winfried Schäfer, Cameroon's German manager, had noticed that Foé seemed fatigued. He signaled to Foé that he wanted to substitute him off, but Foé signaled that he wanted to keep going.

The game was played to a conclusion, and Cameroon hung on to win. That night, in the other Semifinal, at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, France beat Turkey, 3-2. Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord, all players for North London team Arsenal, scored for France, and each pointed to the sky as a salute to Foé. Three days later, France beat Cameron in the Final at the Stade de France, with Henry scoring a "golden goal" in the 97th minute.

Unlike in North American sports, retiring uniform numbers is unusual in world soccer, and is rarely done for a player who is still alive. Lens retired the Number 17 shirt that he wore for them, and Manchester City did the same with Number 23. Plaques honoring him were installed at the new City of Manchester Stadium (now the Etihad Stadium) and in the memorial garden at the housing complex built on the site of Maine Road. A street outside Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens was renamed for him.

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June 26, 2003 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mike Mussina got the win, supported by home runs from Jason Giambi and Raúl Mondesí. Derek Jeter went 0-for-5.

* The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins, 6-1 at Shea Stadium.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Randy Wolf outpitched Mike Hampton, and was supported by home runs from Jim Thome and Mike Lieberthal.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 13-8 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sammy Sosa hit a home run, but the Cubs blew a 3-2 lead in the 9th inning, including a home run by Geoff Jenkins.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 11-7 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 13-0 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Tim Hudson pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers finished a 4-hit shutout.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Anaheim Angels, 10-6 at Edison International Field (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* And the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies, the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Montreal Expos, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants were not scheduled.