When three dead men — an umpire, a team owner and a player — were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013, relatives delivered speeches at the enshrinement ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y.
And last year, when the coach Pat Burns was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, his son, Jason, and his widow, Line Gignac Burns, spoke poignantly.
“Healthy Pat,” Line Burns said, taught his teams “how to win: tall, proud, intense, true. Unhealthy Pat taught me, our family and friends how to live and how to survive: tall, proud, intense, true.