Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he was twice voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1985, 1989) and was a five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team. The Eaton became one of the best defensive centers in NBA history. He led the league in blocks four times and holds the NBA single-season records for blocks (456) and blocked shots per game average (5.6), as well as career blocked shots per game (3.5). His 53 was retired by the Jazz. Eaton was a reserve on his high school basketball team before graduating and working as an auto mechanic. He was discovered by an assistant coach at Cypress College, who persuaded Eaton to enroll at the

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

and play basketball. Eaton transferred to play

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, but he was used sparingly. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft by the

as a long-term project. Eaton helped transform the Jazz from a last-place team into a perennial playoff team. When he retired from playing in 1994, he ranked second in the NBA in career blocks behind

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

Early life

Mark Edward Eaton was born on January 24, 1957, in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, and grew up in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. His father, Bud, was a diesel mechanic instructor and stood tall, while Eaton's mother, Delores, was . Despite his height, Eaton was more interested in playing

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

than basketball. As a senior at Westminster High School in Orange County, he stood and weighed but was uncoordinated, not very muscular, and relegated to a

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

role on the basketball team. "The coaches didn't know how to teach me to play big, and I didn't know how to play big," said Eaton.

College career

After graduating from high school in 1975, Eaton attended the Arizona Automotive Institute in Glendale and graduated as an automotive service technician. He returned to Orange County and worked as an auto mechanic, making $20,000 a year, when he was eventually discovered by Tom Lubin while repairing cars in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

in April 1977. Lubin, a chemistry professor, was an assistant basketball coach at Cypress College. He had previously discovered Swen Nater, who did not play in high school but went on to a long, pro career. Lubin's uncle, Frank, played on the 1936 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Lubin's encouragement led Eaton to enroll at the

in 1978 and try out for its basketball team. After his freshman year at Cypress, Eaton was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the fifth round of the 1979 NBA draft with the 107th pick. He was eligible to be drafted because he was already four years removed from high school. However, he opted to return to college basketball. Eaton developed into a solid

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

player under head coach

Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

. He averaged 14.3 points per game in two seasons at Cypress and led the school to the California junior college title as a sophomore in 1980. Eaton transferred to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) in 1980, but did not see much action in his two seasons with the Bruins. He played sparingly under head coach Larry Brown in 1980–81. The tallest players in the

starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are substitutes or b ...

were Darren Daye and Cliff Pruitt at , but Eaton was too slow for the team's fast-paced offense. In Eaton's senior year in 1981–82, new coach Larry Farmer vowed to give him a shot to start, but heralded freshman Stuart Gray got the nod instead. Eaton played just 41 total minutes that season, averaging 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11 games. Farmer did not play him at all towards the end of the season and did not allow him to travel with the team on their last road trip to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and Oregon State. "If I ever felt cheated, that was the time I felt the worst," recalled Eaton in 1985. "I had worked so hard and it wasn't like I was causing any problems." Eaton was initially disappointed with his inability to play effectively in college. At a summer pickup game, Wilt Chamberlain saw his frustration, and encouraged Eaton to focus on protecting the basket, getting rebounds, and passing the ball to quicker guards, rather than trying to compete with smaller, quicker players in scoring. Eaton cited Chamberlain's advice as the turning point in his basketball career.

Professional career

Because of his lack of playing time at UCLA, few NBA teams had an interest in Eaton after he finished his college career. He paid for two tryout camps, but only received an offer of $15,000 to play in Israel and another for $25,000 in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

. However, the

, who finished in last place the prior season, saw him as a potentially dominant defender and selected him as a long-term project in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft with the 72nd overall pick. Utah coach Frank Layden quipped, "Like ormer University of Utah coach Jack Gardner said, 'You can't teach height.'" Also the team's general manager, Layden discouraged Eaton from playing in Europe and signed him to a five-year contract, with the first season guaranteed at $45,000, for a total $570,000. Eaton had worn No. 35 at UCLA, but the number was already taken on the Jazz by Darrell Griffith, prompting Eaton to choose the reversed No. 53. Entering the NBA, Eaton's goal was to become a journeyman backup. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, starting 32 games and replacing Danny Schayes after the cash-strapped Jazz traded the center mid-season. Eaton finished the season with a then-franchise record 275 blocked shots while averaging only 19 minutes per game. His 3.4 blocks per game ranked third in the NBA, behind

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

's Tree Rollins and

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

's Bill Walton. The Jazz placed Eaton on a six-day-a-week program in the offseason. Layden said they treated him "like a high school kid as far as basketball skills are concerned". Eaton continued to improve in his second season. In 82 games in 1983–84, he grabbed a team-leading 595 rebounds and blocked 351 shots (breaking his own franchise record). His 4.28 blocks per game led the NBA, well ahead of Rollins (who finished second with 3.60 blocks per game). During the season, he failed in his attempt to block the hook shot which gave

his 31,421st point to break the NBA career scoring record held by Chamberlain. Eaton's strong defense helped the Jazz improve from 30–52 in his rookie season to 45–37, winning their first Midwest Division title and making their first playoff appearance. In Eaton's third season in 1984–85, he blocked 456 shots, shattering the NBA record for most blocked shots in a single season set during the 1973–74 season by Elmore Smith, who had blocked 393 shots for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Eaton averaged 5.56 blocks per game, an NBA single-season record that was more than double the league's second-ranked shot-blocker that season (

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...

with 2.68 blocks per game). In addition, Eaton averaged 11.3 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the league in that category. "We had no idea that he would develop the way he has," said Layden during the season. Eaton was not on the

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

ballot that year after being one of the final cuts. For his efforts, he was named to the

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in tw ...

and was honored as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. On April 26, 1985, Eaton had ten blocks in a 96–94 loss to the Rockets, becoming the first NBA player to record ten blocks in a playoff game (later tied by Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum). Although he was not a significant offensive contributor, the Jazz relied heavily on Eaton for his shot-blocking, rebounding, and occasional "tippy toe" dunks. With the emergence of superstars

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

and John Stockton, the Jazz became one of the best teams in the NBA. Eaton's stifling defense was a major factor in Utah's success. He continued to rank among NBA leaders in blocked shots, leading the league in 1986–87 and 1987–88. On November 17, 1987, Eaton set a career high with 25 rebounds in a 120–110 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. In 1988–89, he averaged 10.3 rebounds per game (seventh in the NBA) and 3.84 blocks per game (second behind Golden State's

Manute Bol Manute Bol ( ; June 19, 2010) was a Sudanese-American professional basketball player and political activist. Listed at or tall, Bol was one of the two tallest players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After he p ...

). He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career and received his third selection to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, he was chosen to play in the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, joining teammates Malone and Stockton on the Western Conference team. It was the first time that the Jazz had three players in the All-Star Game. In the 1989 playoffs, the second-seeded Jazz were upset in the first round 3–0 by the seventh-seeded Warriors. Golden State coach Don Nelson spread out his offense and avoided going inside against Eaton, and they played most of the series with a small lineup in which their tallest players on the court were Larry Smith or Ben McDonald or even Rod Higgins. Opponents were increasingly playing with smaller lineups, forcing Eaton to guard a quicker player who would draw him out to the perimeter and seek to drive past him. Utah coach Jerry Sloan countered by decreasing Eaton's playing time and employing his own small lineup with backup center Mike Brown. In 1991–92, there was speculation that the more offensive-minded Brown would start the season at center, but Sloan stuck with Eaton. However, Eaton's playing time dropped to 25 minutes per game from 32 minutes in 1990–91. After missing just nine games in his first 10 seasons, Eaton was hindered by knee and back injuries late in his career. His rebounding and shot-blocking averages declined. During the 1992–93 season, knee surgery and back problems limited him to 64 games, averaging 17.3 minutes per game, both career lows. A degenerative back ailment forced him to drop out of training camp and miss the 1993–94 season; his contract expired at the end of the season. After therapy failed to correct the problem, he announced his retirement from basketball in September 1994.

Legacy

Eaton spent his entire 11-year NBA career with the Utah Jazz, helping transform the franchise from perennial 50-game losers to perennial 50-game winners. After going 30–52 in his first year, they made the playoffs in each of his 10 other seasons, beginning a run of 20 straight postseason appearances for the Jazz. In 875 games, he scored 5,216 points, grabbed 6,939 rebounds, and blocked 3,064 shots. At the time of his retirement, he ranked second all-time in league history in total blocked shots, behind

's career total of 3,189. Blocks were not recorded as an official statistic until Abdul-Jabbar's fifth NBA season in 1973–74. Eaton is the NBA's all-time leader in blocks per game, with a career average of 3.50. In a six-season span from his second season through his seventh (1983–1989), he led the league in blocks four times and was the runner-up twice while averaging 4.3 blocks per games over 488 contests. He never averaged more than 10 points per game in a season, which frustrated Utah fans after his scoring tapered off following a career high of 9.7 in 1984–85. To honor his contributions to the team, the Utah Jazz retired Eaton's No. 53 in 1996. In 2010, he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame along with former Jazz player Tom Chambers. In 2014, Eaton had his jersey retired at Westminster High School and also at Cypress College, along with Swen Nater and head coach

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Source: , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 81 , , 32 , , 18.9 , , .414 , , .000 , , .656 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 3.4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 78 , , 26.1 , , .466 , , .000 , , .593 , , 7.3 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 4.3* , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 34.3 , , .449 , , , , .712 , , 11.3 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , style="background:#e0cef2;", 5.6 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 31.9 , , .470 , , , , .604 , , 8.4 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 4.6 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 79 , , 31.7 , , .400 , , , , .657 , , 8.8 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 4.1* , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 33.3 , , .418 , , , , .623 , , 8.7 , , .7 , , .5 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.7* , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 35.5 , , .462 , , , , .660 , , 10.3 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 3.8 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 27.8 , , .527 , , , , .669 , , 7.3 , , .5 , , .4 , , 2.5 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 32.3 , , .579 , , , , .634 , , 8.3 , , .6 , , .5 , , 2.4 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 25.0 , , .446 , , , , .598 , , 6.1 , , .5 , , .4 , , 2.5 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 57 , , 17.3 , , .546 , , , , .700 , , 4.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.2 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 875 , , 815 , , 28.8 , , .458 , , .000 , , .649 , , 7.9 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , style="background:#e0cef2;", 3.5 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , , , , , , , 5.0 , , , , , , 2.0 , , —

Playoffs

Source: , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , , , 23.1 , , .512 , , , , .471 , , 6.9 , , .8 , , .5 , , 3.1 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 31.6 , , .353 , , , , .714 , , 9.0 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 5.8 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 39.3 , , .491 , , , , .667 , , 9.0 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , 4.5 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 38.6 , , .463 , , , , .640 , , 11.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.2 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 41.9 , , .477 , , , , .639 , , 9.4 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 3.1 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 33.0 , , .471 , , , , .818 , , 11.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .7 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 25.6 , , .529 , , , , .200 , , 6.0 , , .0 , , .6 , , 2.8 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 28.3 , , .516 , , , , .583 , , 6.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 1.4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 16 , , 29.6 , , .565 , , , , .778 , , 5.6 , , .3 , , .4 , , 2.3 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 23.4 , , .526 , , , , .500 , , 6.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 1.8 , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 74 , , 63 , , 31.0 , , .489 , , , , .639 , , 7.5 , , .7 , , .5 , , 2.8 , , 6.1

College

Source: , - , style="text-align:left;", 1980–81 , style="text-align:left;",

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .459 , , – , , .294 , , 2.6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1981–82 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .417 , , – , , .800 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .5 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .449 , , – , , .409 , , 2.4 , , .1 , , .1 , , .9 , , 1.8

Post-playing career

After his retirement, Eaton worked for KJZZ-TV in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, providing color commentary and analysis for television broadcasts of Utah Jazz and

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

basketball games. He also hosted a radio talk show before Jazz games. Eaton was a partner in Salt Lake City-area restaurants Tuscany and Franck's. He was a president/board member of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) from 1997 to 2007. He was also a founder and chairman of the Mark Eaton Standing Tall for Youth organization, which provided sports and outdoor activities for at-risk children in

. He was also a motivational speaker, and published the book ''The Four Commitments of a Winning Team''. In the 2013 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Jazz player Jeremy Evans jumped over a seated Eaton to dunk the ball. In later years, Eaton became a mentor to Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who joined him as the only other player in the franchise's history to be named defensive player of the year.

Personal life

Eaton married his first wife, Marci, in 1980. A registered nurse who trained in Los Angeles, she worked as a nurse in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

to support him while he was attending college. The Eatons had two sons, Nicolas and Douglas. While living in Utah in Jeremy Ranch in the 1980s, Eaton ordered a

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

suitable for his body frame, and he biked a number of the region's first mountain bike trails. Around 2016, he began riding a custom French-built road bike for tall cyclists, which came outfitted with wheels. On May 28, 2021, Eaton biked with a neighbor to lunch. A few hours after returning home, Eaton told his wife, Teri, that he was going for a short ride in the neighborhood. He died after a bicycle accident about a block from his home in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

. He was found unresponsive by a passerby and was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was 64 years old. The sheriff said that there were no witnesses to the incident nor any indication that a vehicle was involved.

Publications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Mark 1957 births 2021 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Inglewood, California Basketball players from Salt Lake City Centers (basketball) Cycling road incident deaths Cypress Chargers men's basketball players NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers Sportspeople from Westminster, California Phoenix Suns draft picks Road incident deaths in Utah Basketball players from Orange County, California UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

College career

Professional career

Legacy

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Post-playing career

Personal life

Publications

See also

References

External links