In 1934: The New York Yankees officially became a dynasty as they made the seamless transition from aging, hot dog-gorging Babe Ruth to young, starlet-banging Joe Dimaggio by purchasing his contract from the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. Dimaggio, who tuned up for his 56-game hitting streak in 1941 with a 61 game streak as an 18-year-old Seal in 1933, joined the Yankees full-time in 1936 and was an instant superstar. He started every game in centerfield and led New York to a World Series that October. Dimaggio became a fixture in the Fall Classic, playing in 10 of 13 Series’ (winning nine) during his career (of which he missed 3 seasons due to military service). He was also an all-star in every single year he played and was named the game’s greatest living player at the centennial celebration of baseball in 1969. (baseball-library.com)
In 1982: Hard as it might be to believe, the NFL was once just as dumb as baseball and hockey as a 57-day player’s strike finally ended. A shortened, nine-game season was the result, with a hokey eight-team “tournament” to temporarily replace the traditional playoffs. As of press time, we’re still not sure if the 4-5 Lions or Browns of 1982 have hanging banners that proclaimed themselves “Wild Card” teams.
