Historically Speaking: 20 Years Since Rose's Ban

What you'll find after the jump are some sports tidbits. How is that different than any other installment of this feature? Why, it's not.

* We're talking 1908, this date, Tommy Burns, and Bill Squires. The two climbed into the ring for a heavyweight title fight, a rematch, in Sydney. Thirteen rounds later, Burns had knocked out Squires, his 10th straight title defense since taking the belt from Marvin Hart two years prior. In their first fight, which took place two months prior in Paris, Burns downed Squires in eight.

* Bill Veeck, one-time owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox, had a wooden leg that he sometimes used as an ashtray, which, if you smoke three-four packs of cigarettes a day, probably comes in handy. Veeck, nonetheless, was famous for his publicity stunts, including one that took place on this day in 1951. He called it "Fans Managers' Night," in which 1000 fans behind the Browns' dugout were given cards with either 'yes' or 'no' written on them, and they could vote on decisions made by the St. Louis coaching staff. Whether they had an impact or not, the Browns defeated Philadelphia 5-3.

* Today in 1972, Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau were inducted into Hockey's Hall of Fame. After 20 seasons in a Montreal Canadiens sweater, Beliveau retired with 507 goals, 712 assists, and a staggering 10 Stanley Cup championships. He also went to 13 All-Star games, won an Art Ross, a Conn Smythe, and two Hart Memorials. Howe tallied 801 goals, 1,049 assists, and nearly 1700 PIMs. He won four Cups with Detroit, played in 23 All-Star games, won six Hart Memorials, and six Art Rosses. For most of the 1950s, he led the league in games played, and frequently led, or was second, in goals and assists.

* Kansas City Royal catcher John Wathan stole his 31st base today in 1982, which broke the record for steals by a catcher set by Ray Schalk in 1916. Wathan wrapped up the season with 36 swipes.

It was on this day in 1989 that Major League Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti suspended Pete Rose from baseball for life. The fat piece of shit offered these words in doing so:

"The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a
sorry episode. One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of
acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of
those acts. By choosing not to come to a hearing before me, and by choosing not
to proffer any testimony or evidence contrary to the evidence and information
contained in the report of the Special Counsel to the Commissioner, Mr. Rose has
accepted baseball's ultimate sanction, lifetime ineligibility."

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



...Major League Baseball manager Joe Torre, who, in 1996, was skipping the New York Yankees and had an infant daughter. Torre was asked if nighttime feedings disturb his sleep, to which he replied, "I'm 55 years old. I get up three times a night to go to the bathroom. the baby is on my schedule."