The tragic plane crash involving Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle has impacted many.  Outside of the baseball world, Lidle was also a poker fanatic and quite well known in the poker tournament circuits.

The Cory Lidle Celebrity Poker Tournament benefited  the Make-A-Wish Foundation, one of Lidle's favorite charities.

Federal investigators are combing through a high rise on the Upper East Side of Manhattan looking for clues in a deadly plane crash. The small plane slammed into a 50 story building killing New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor.

Wednesday night, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were trying to figure out what went wrong. They say that a distress call was made reporting fuel problems. Witnesses say that it appeared that the plane was behaving erratically before hitting the building.

Friends, family members (including Cory's twin brother) and fellow players described Cory as a "genuinely nice person with a great sense of humor who loved to laugh".

And it was evident he loved life and its many thrills.  Aside from flying, Lidle - like many baseball players - loved the excitement of poker.

This past January Cory Lidle Celebrity Poker event featured a $1,200 buyin, which allowed players to sit down at a table with Lidle and fellow ballplayers like Lieberthal, Giambi, Wolf, Wooten; or celebs like Thunder Keller and Lisa Guerrero.  After breaking even in 2005, this year’s event raised $15,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

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Don Shapiro, www.sports911.com

Originally published October 12, 2006 1:05 am ET