Historically Speaking: 4-30-09

* Belle Martell made history today in 1940 when California state boxing officials licensed her as the first woman prize-fight referee.

* Today in 1971 the Milwaukee Bucks took home the NBA title after sweeping the Baltimore Bullets.

* Five years later, Muhammad Ali defeated Jimmy Young in a heavyweight-title defense. Ali took the victory in Landover, Maryland via unanimous decision.

* Should-be Hall of Famer Pete Rose earned himself a $10,000 fine and a 30-day suspension as manager of the Cincinnati Reds today in 1988. In a home-game against the Mets, Rose and first-base umpire Dave Pallone exchanged pleasantries after a delayed call at first base. Pallone accidentally poked Rose in the cheek and Rose retaliated by shoving him twice during the 6-5 loss to New York.

* It was 1996 when the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles played the longest nine-inning game in MLB history. The tilt took four hours, 21 minutes to complete.

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



...former Baltimore Star tight end Ken Dunek, of the USFL, who, when the league chose not to play in 1986, had this to say: "My career has been pretty checkered. This might be checkmate."