Tag: sports history

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NBA General

August 8 in Sports History: The Dream Team brings home Gold


In 1992 The U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball team clinched the gold medal with a 117-85 win over Croatia. The Dream Team, led by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley (to name a few) was simply the greatest basketball team ever assembled. The addition of Christian Laettner secured their place in basketball lore (kidding). They steamrolled their ridiculously overmatched opponents with victory margins averaging 44 points per game. It was funny to hear players such as Karl Malone and Johnson trying to be diplomatic when discussing opponents such as Angola (won by 68), Brazil (by 44) and Germany (43) by saying, “we have to be careful,” and “we don’t want this to turn into an all-star type game.” Barkley put it better by saying, “They in trouble. They in trouble.” (www.usabasketball.com)

In 1931: We all know how rare a perfect game is in baseball; as there have only been 17 such masterpieces (including one post season) throughout the history of the game. No-hitters, on the other hand, are a little different; and it seems almost every starting pitcher has a chance to catch lightning in a bottle – including forgettables such as Joe Barney, Ed Head, Jose Jimenez and Hod Eller (I swear I didn’t make those up). It was an obscure left-hander named Bobby Burke of the Washington Senators who accomplished the feat on this day in 1931. Burke shut down the Boston Red Sox 5-0. Burke had just a 38-46 career record with a 4.29 ERA, but will always be remembered in baseball legend for one brilliant afternoon. (baseball-almanac.com)

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MLB General

August 7th in Sports History: Baseball Strikes Again



Hit #3000

In 1985: The two-day baseball strike–the seventh work stoppage since 1972– ended as the owners and Players Association signed a five year agreement. The main reasons for the strike were disagreements over player pensions, arbitration rules and mistrust of the owners over financial records. Commissioner Peter Ueberoth announced that the season would resume the next day. The owners would exact revenge, however. After the 1985 season, the owners colluded to not sign a single free agent player, thus keeping salaries down. They were found guilty and forced to pay over $280 million in damages to the players.

In 1999: Wade Boggs of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the 22nd player to reach 3,000 career hits in a game at Tropicana Field. Coming into the game three shy of the milestone, he singled twice and homered. Ironically for Boggs — a reknowned singles and doubles hitter — he was the first player to homer on his 3000th hit, and he kissed home plate as he crossed it. True to fashion, though, the Devil Rays lost to the Indians 15-10.

and in 2004: Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs won his 300th career game with an 8-4 victory in San Francisco over the Giants. Maddux became the 22nd and most recent pitcher to join the 300 win club.

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NFL General

August 4 in Sports History: the USFL folds up tent


In 1986: The United States Football League officially folded. Having played the first two seasons in the spring during the NFL offseason, the USFL made a catastrophic mistake by trying to compete head-to-head with the NFL in Fall of 1985. They then brought an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, but was only awarded one dollar in damages. Useless Knowledge to Take Into Your Weekend: The Pittsburgh Maulers were the only team to ever sell out a USFL game. Pittsburghers basically showed up to throw batteries at former Steeler and then-current Birmingham Stallions’ quarterback Cliff Stoudt. (thisistheusfl.com)

In 1982: In one of the strangest accomplishments in baseball history, Joel Youngblood played in two games for two different teams on the same day; and even collected a hit in each game. Also, both hits were off Hall of Fame pitchers. Playing for the Mets in the afternoon game in Chicago, he hit a single off Ferguson Jenkins, but was traded to the Expos during the game. He immediately flew to Philadelphia for a night game, arrived in time to pinch hit, and stroked another single off Steve Carlton. (baseballlibrary.com)

In 1983: While throwing in the outfield between innings of a game at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees accidentally clipped a seagull with a baseball, killing it. The 12-time All-Star, Hall of Famer and member of the 3,000 hit club was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He was forced to post a $500 bond, but the charges were dropped the next day. (baseballlibrary.com)

In 1985: On the same day, White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver won his 300th career game in New York against the Yankees; while Angels second baseman Rod Carew collected his 3,000th hit against the Twins in Anaheim. Carew was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1991, and Seaver received the highest-ever percentage of first-place ballots (98.2) in 1992. (baseball-almanac.com)

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MLB General

August 3 in Sports History: Satchel Paige makes his MLB debut


In 1948: After years of pitching in the Negro Leagues, Leroy “Satchel” Paige makes his first Major League start for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 42 (nobody was ever sure of his exact age, however). Paige pitched seven innings in a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Browns. It seemed that the legend of Paige was just as great as the pitcher himself, as Joe DiMaggio once called him “the fastest and best pitcher I‘ve ever seen,” (according to Paige’s official website). Although there were very few official records in the Negro Leagues, it was believed that Paige once threw 64 straight shutout innings (Orel Hershiser holds the ML record with 59), won 21 consecutive games (Carl Hubbell had 24) and once had a 31-4 season. Paige pitched in the majors until he was 59 years old. He helped the Indians win the World Series in 1948 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

In 1949: The NBA as it is known today is formed in a merger between the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The league then had 17 teams, including the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons, Minneapolis (Los Angeles) Lakers and Syracuse Nationals (who became the Philadelphia 76ers). The Lakers won the first championship in the new league.

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MLB General

August 2 in Sports History: Thurman Munson dies in plane crash


In 1979: New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson was killed when the single-engine plane he was learning to fly crashed in Canton, OH. Munson, the clubhouse leader of an outstanding Yankee team that had won back-to-back World Series titles, was 32. He was a seven-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and won the 1970 A.L. Rookie of the Year award and the 1976 A.L. MVP. He was a career .292 hitter, but hit .356 in 30 postseason games. A memorial service would be held the next night at Yankee Stadium vs. the Orioles, with 51,151 fans attending. It was the largest crowd of the season.

In 1921: The eight Chicago White Sox players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series are acquitted by a jury in Chicago. According to trial accounts, the jurors hoisted the “Black Sox” on their shoulders as they left the courtroom. Newly appointed Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis would have none of it, and the very next day he banned Buck Weaver, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Chick Gandil, Happy Felsch, Lefty Williams, Swede Risberg and Fred McMullin from baseball for life. Weaver and Jackson (although he earlier confessed to it) contended that they were not in on the fix; and despite their best efforts to be reinstated, they never again played a big league game.

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MLB General

August 1 in Sports History: Raffy caught with steroids



I did not have sexual relat..

In 2005: Just 135 days after self-righteously wagging his finger in front of Congress and the nation, claiming, “I have never used steroids, period,” Rafael Palmeiro of the Orioles is suspended for using steroids. Palmeiro stood by the statements he made on March 17, claiming that he did not knowingly take anything illegal (where have we heard that one before?). He was still suspended for 10 days, however, and the Orioles cancelled a celebration of his recent 3,000th hit. Palmeiro only appeared in seven more games and is currently out of baseball.

In 1978: Pete Rose’s National League record-tying 44-game hitting streak came to an end, 12 games short of Joe DiMaggio’s 1941 feat. Rose’s streak (shared with Willie Keeler) began on June 14 in Cincinnati against the Cubs, and ended against pitchers Larry McWilliams and Gene Garber in Atlanta. After the game, Rose publicly blasted both pitchers for not throwing him any fastballs, despite the game being a 16-4 rout in favor of the Braves. Charlie Hustle would go on to become the all-time leader in hits with 4,256. He was permanently banned from baseball for gambling in 1989 (baseball-almanac.com).

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MLB General

July 28 in Sports History: Perfect games

In 1991: Dennis Martinez of the Montreal Expos tossed the 13th perfect game in Major League history with a 2-0 gem over the Dodgers in L.A. It is the second time in four years the Dodgers have been the victims of a perfect game by the opposing pitcher (Tom Browning of the Reds did it in 1988). From the Wow Your Friends with Baseball Trivia department: Expos catcher  Ron Hassey became the first catcher to be behind the plate for two perfect games, as he caught Len Barker’s masterpiece for the Indians in 1981. Also, the Dodger’s Alfredo Griffin went hitless in the game, just as he did in Browning’s perfecto in 1988 and in Barker’s, as a member of the Blue Jays in ‘81!

In 1994: On the same day that the players voted to strike on August 12, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers threw the 14th perfect game in Major League history with a 4-0 shutout of the California Angels in front of the largest crowd in the history of the Ballpark in Arlington. He became the first left-hander in American League history to accomplish the feat as he struck out 11. The perfect game was saved in the bottom of the ninth inning by Rusty Greer’s diving catch in centerfield. More useless trivia: the last perfect game in the American League before this also took place in Arlington, and was also between the Angels and Rangers, with California’s Mike Witt shutting down Texas ten years earlier in 1984.

In 2001: In what was probably the most amazing comeback in baseball history, the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to defeat the Houston Astros 9-8 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Trailing 8-2 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and nobody on base, the Pirates scored seven runs to stun the Astros and take the first game of the day/night doubleheader. Brian Giles of the Pirates hit a game-winning grand slam off Astros’ closer Billy Wagner to the delight of the very few fans remaining in the ballpark. What was even more amazing, however, is the fact that the Pirates lost 100 games in 2001, and it was the only game they won all year when trailing after eight innings.

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MLB General

July 26 in Sports History

In 1922: Hoyt Wilhelm was born in Huntersville, North Carolina. Hoyt was the first great relief pitcher in baseball history, reaching 200 saves before anyone else. He is also the owner of the most wins by a relief pitcher with 124. Hoyt was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

1948: July 26 also marks the last day that Babe Ruth was seen in public. He went to a screening of The Babe Ruth Story in New York City. After the screening, Ruth went back to the hospital and died about a month later, succumbing to throat cancer.

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MLB General

July 25 in Sports History: Roseanne Barr wrecks the National Anthem


In 1990: Before the start of the Reds-Padres game in San Diego, somebody for some reason let Roseanne Barr “sing” the National Anthem. While not quite up to Whitney Houston’s version at the Super Bowl that year, it wasn’t even Carl Lewis-sad-funny or that little-girl-who-forgot-the-words cute. After screeching through an off-key rendition, Roseanne showed her patriotism by grabbing her crotch and spitting. The crowd booed, and many people were upset, including President Bush, who called it “disgusting,” and a “disgrace.” She later apologized.

In 1999: Nearly dead from cancer just three years earlier, cyclist Lance Armstrong comes all the way back to win the Tour de France for the first time. Armstrong was only the second American to win the Tour (Greg Lemond did it three times in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s). Given just a 40 percent chance to live after testicular cancer had spread to his lungs and brain, Armstrong’s feat was considered one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. Although this 1999 victory would’ve have been enough, he went out and won the event seven straight times, including this day in 2004.

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Kansas City Royals

July 24 in Sports History: The Pine Tar Incident

In 1983: George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hit a two-run homerun off Goose Gossage of the New York Yankees in the top of the ninth at Yankee Stadium to take a 5-4 lead. Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles alerted manager Billy Martin that the pine tar on Brett’s bat was a little too high, and Martin argued. Umpire Tim McClelland recalled the obscure rule 1.10(b), which stated that “a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 inches from the handle.” Brett’s bat apparently was covered up to 20 inches. He walked to the dugout and signaled that Brett was out. Brett erupted out of the dugout in one of the most famous tirades in history and had to be restrained by teammates; and the Yankees were awarded a 4-3 victory. The Royals protested, and A.L. President Lee MacPhail ordered the home run to stand. The protested game was finished on August 18, with the Royals holding on to win, 5-4 — 25 days after the game had started. Brett, who up to that point had been best known for almost missing the 1980 World Series because of hemorrhoids, would now be famous for the time he went all Jack Nicholson in The Shining on an umpire.

In 2004: The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry reached a fever pitch (sorry, folks) with a bench-clearing brawl at Fenway Park. In the top of the third inning, Boston’s Bronson Arroyo hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch. As A-Rod stared Arroyo down, Sox catcher Jason Varitek stepped in and told the $250 million dollar slugger, “We don’t throw at .260 hitters. Get your ass down to first base.” After a few more pleasantries, Varitek shoved Rodriguez and the benches cleared. Varitek and A-Rod were ejected, along with Boston’s Gabe Kapler and New York’s Kenny Lofton and Tanyon Sturtze. A handful of players were also fined and suspended. The ending was also memorable, as the Red Sox rallied off Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning to win on a Bill Mueller homerun, 11-10. Many felt that this game helped turn the Red Sox season around, and they eventually won the World Series.