Nicolaas (Nick) Vanos (April 13 1963 – August 16 1987) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
player for the
Phoenix SunsThe Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Their home arena is the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix at Copper Square.The Suns have been generally...
of the
NBAThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
. The
San Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, and Belmont to the south...
native was selected 32nd by the Suns in the
1985 NBA DraftThe 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. A total of 162 players were selected over 7 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The New York Knicks were awarded the first overall pick, by winning the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery, which was held in...
, after playing for
Hillsdale High SchoolHillsdale High School is a public high school in San Mateo, California serving grades 9-12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District...
and collegiately at
Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara University is a private, co-educational Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose members founded...
. He played for the Suns as a
centerThe center, colloquially known as the five or the pivot, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
on the team.
His career with the Suns lasted only two years before coming to a tragic end. On August 16, 1987, Vanos and his fiancee boarded
Northwest Airlines Flight 255Northwest Airlines Flight 255 was a flight that originated in Saginaw, Michigan, United States's MBS International Airport and was scheduled to terminate at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, with intermediate stops at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, near...
for a trip to
PhoenixPhoenix is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populous city in the United States...
,
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
.
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Nicolaas (Nick) Vanos (April 13 1963 – August 16 1987) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
player for the
Phoenix SunsThe Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Their home arena is the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix at Copper Square.The Suns have been generally...
of the
NBAThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
. The
San Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, and Belmont to the south...
native was selected 32nd by the Suns in the
1985 NBA DraftThe 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. A total of 162 players were selected over 7 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The New York Knicks were awarded the first overall pick, by winning the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery, which was held in...
, after playing for
Hillsdale High SchoolHillsdale High School is a public high school in San Mateo, California serving grades 9-12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District...
and collegiately at
Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara University is a private, co-educational Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose members founded...
. He played for the Suns as a
centerThe center, colloquially known as the five or the pivot, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
on the team.
His career with the Suns lasted only two years before coming to a tragic end. On August 16, 1987, Vanos and his fiancee boarded
Northwest Airlines Flight 255Northwest Airlines Flight 255 was a flight that originated in Saginaw, Michigan, United States's MBS International Airport and was scheduled to terminate at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, with intermediate stops at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, near...
for a trip to
PhoenixPhoenix is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populous city in the United States...
,
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
. The
McDonnell DouglasMcDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at St. Louis's Lambert International...
MD-82 crashed on takeoff from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in
Romulus, MichiganRomulus is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 22,979 at the 2000 census and was estimated to be 24,269 for the 2007 census estimate. Romulus is home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, a General Motors plant which opened in 1976, and is also the...
, killing 154 passengers and crew, as well as two motorists.