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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.

By Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

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