Thursday, August 6, 2009

Historically Speaking: 8-06-09



Sports goodies, laid out on a platter for you to devour, after the jump.

* Denton True Young, occasionally referenced as "Cy," pitched his first Major League Baseball game today in 1890. It was win number one of 511 for the hurler.

* The year was 1952 when Satchel Paige, at the age of 46, became the oldest player in MLB history to pitch a complete game.

* Today in 1966 Muhammad Ali handled Brian London in a heavyweight title-defense fight. London went down in London in the third round, courtesy of an Ali knockout.

* Minnesota Twin Dean Chance got credit for a perfect game today in 1967. The 2-0 win over Boston, however, only lasted five innings. Nineteen years later to the day, the Rangers and Orioles got together for a game. The 13-11 win for the Rangers included a Texas grand slam from Toby Harrah in the second, and Baltimore slams from Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer, who both unloaded theirs in the fourth.

* It was today in 1997 that the National Hockey League expansion team in Nashville named Barry Trotz as the club's first head coach. And you know what? He's still there. After 10 seasons as the Predators bench boss, he's guided the club to 364-342-60 mark with four consecutive (2003-07 )post-season appearances.

And your Sports Illustrated quote of the day came from the mouth of...



...one Ray Robinson in 1958. After a 15-round championship fight with Carmen Basilio, Robinson was informed that his opponent insisted he could've gone another 15. Robinson's reply: "Well, maybe he could have went another 15, but he wouldn't have went 'em with me."

2 comments:

old no. 7 said...

Cy Young pitched 749 complete games.

Cecil said...

Cy Young was also not in the first Hall of Fame class. And he worked on his farm in the offseason, so baseball must have seemed like a vacation.

Ray Robinson is one of the baddest men America has ever produced. Without the original Sugar Ray, no Ali.