Historically Speaking: Don't Call It a Comeback. No, Really -- Don't

Time now for another installment of America's favorite feature, the one that keeps sweeping the Webs, climbing the charts -- with a bullet -- and putting smiles on faces around the world. We've got a bit to cover today so let's-- Now, wait a minute. I've just been handed an urgent bulletin. Bare with me now. This is going to be a bit rough to stomach. It turns out, in addition to cheating on the field, amassing immeasurable units of referee-sauteed home-cooking, and having a jerk-laden fan base, the Denver Broncos Football Club also cheats in the stats room. Amazing. Never saw that coming.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled boredom.

* Today in 1920, representatives from four professional football clubs gathered in Canton, Ohio for a meeting. The result was the American Professional Football Association, which, after two years of that dumb name, became the more clever-sounding National Football League.

* Today in 1948, 78,000-plus gathered at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland for a contest between the Indians and the White Sox. On the hill for the Tribe was Satchel Paige, who tossed the fourth consecutive shutout for the Indians in front of the largest night-game Major League Crowd ever.

* Today in 1974, California Angel Nolan Ryan tallied 19 Ks in a game against the Detroit Tigers, an 11-inning, 1-0 loss for the Halos. It was the third time that season that Ryan had fanned 19 batters, but don't let that fool you: He was the most overrated pitcher in MLB history. Don't come at me with your opinions. These here are facts. The truth has been spoken.

* Six years later, a cat by the name of Omar Moreno swiped his 70th base of the season in a Pittsburgh Pirate uniform. Moreno compiled a 71-steal season in '77, Pirated six more the following year, and closed the '80 campaign with a career-high 96 steals, which is pretty impressive. I went to compare his stats with one R. N. H. Henderson, but the numbers were not visible; it appeared someone had saturated his pages with quarts and quarts of semen.

* Today in 1982, Don Lever became the first captain of the New Jersey Devils. Lever had previously been a Vancouver Canuck, both an Atlanta and a Calgary Flame, and a Colorado Rocky for 22 games before the franchise again moved. He logged his final two seasons in a Buffalo Sabre uniform, and tallied 680 points, 593 PIMs, and played in '82's All-Star Game.

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



...former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Lee Smith, who, in 1990 was awarded a $7.8 million contract. Asked if the contract added pressure to his game, Smith said, "I was born under pressure. My mom wanted a girl."