Historically Speaking: 2-17-09

All of these boxing stats and photos are making me nostalgic for the 1900s, like, when el boxeo kicked a ton of ass. I dunno. Maybe it still does, but there certainly is not even a fraction of the hype or superstars. How did we lose it? How do we get it back?

* Today in 1941, Joe Louis knocked out Gus Dorazio in the second round to become the champion of the heavyweight boxing world.

* Two years later, New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio enlisted in the United States Army.

* Exactly a decade afterwards, Ted Williams' plane is shot down in Korea. Luckily for Red Sox fans, the slugger is uninjured, still with a solid seven years of baseball left in him.

* In 1968, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opened in Springfield, Massachusetts.

* Finally, a mutual agreement was reached between Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and running back Emmitt Smith that it would be in the best interest of both parties to let Smith go in 2003. While I'm sure Arizona Cardinals fans loved it for a minute, those of us that eventually had to hear him on television wish that he was still playing.

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



...former WBC junior middleweight champion Elisha Obed, who, circa 1982, was asked to name his best punch. Obed's response: "I don't know. I never hit myself."