Elk Grove family mystified by ballplayer's sudden death
Elk Grove family mystified by ballplayer's sudden death Oldest brother says a recent physical exam didn't show any health problems. By Edie Lau -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, March 6, 2005 Get weekday updates of Sacramento Bee headlines and breaking news. Sign up here. A day after Elk Grove High School senior Chris Marshall collapsed and died while playing basketball at school, his family was still waiting to learn how that could have happened. "We have no idea what it could have been," his eldest brother, James Cameron Marshall, said Saturday. "He seemed completely healthy. He'd just had a physical - you have to have a physical before basketball season starts - and nothing was found," Marshall said. "He was never sick or anything like that." Chris Marshall was 18, a straight-A student and captain of the school's varsity basketball team. On Friday, while playing ball during a physical education class in which he was a teacher's assistant, his brother said, he suddenly fell and couldn't get up. He was taken by ambulance to Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Chris Marshall was the fourth-born of five sons. James Marshall, 24, said his little brother was always sensitive, compassionate and quiet. "He had three brothers who were older than him, so he got to see a lot of things," Marshall said. "He was getting coached all his life. I remember teaching him how to share: You share things with somebody else, you get things in return." The lessons sank in. His classmates Friday were full of stories of Chris Marshall's kindness and generosity. On Saturday, a team of Elk Grove students at a robotics competition in Davis dedicated their efforts to him. "Let's say you've got a daughter. He's the guy you'd want your daughter to date," his brother said. "If you had a son, he's the guy you'd want your son to be like." Because his brother was such a good person, Marshall said that his grief is tempered by pride. "I'm ... just grateful for the opportunity to say, 'that was my brother,' " he said. He said the family is expecting results from an autopsy within the next few days.
posted by Chris Lombardo @ 3/07/2005 06:54:00 PM
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