Historically Speaking: 11-6-09

Wow. Another week in the bank. Don't start looking for the party, yet. There's some last-minute reading, after the jump.

* We go back to the wonderful year of 1974 when Los Angeles Dodger Mike Marshall became the first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Ten years later, Willie Hernandez is awarded the American League Most Valuable Player Award, joining Rollie Fingers as the only relievers to win the MVP and the Cy Young in the same season.

* To quench that boxing fix: Larry Holmes went 11 rounds with Ronaldo Snipes, ultimalely TKOing him for the heavyweight title. Twelve years later, Evander Holyfield defeated Riddick Bowe for the belt, and three years after that, the 45-year-old George Foreman became the champ when he knocked out Michael Moorer.

* Today in 1982, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the National Football League could not dictate what the hometown team of a franchise would be. It comes as no surprise that this court case was the result of Al Davis wanting to move the Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles.

* The year was 1985 when New York Islander Pat Flatley registered his first career hat trick, finishing the evening with four goal and an assist in a 5-4 road win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. What. You want more hockey? Fast forward 10 years: Mark Messier lit the lamp for the 500th time. Still not good? Fast forward seven more: Emmitt Smith dropped the puck to kick off a game between the Dallas Stars and the Vancouver Canucks.

* The Milwaukee Brewers jumped the A.L. ship today in 1997, and officially became a National League team. The move was announced some 30 years after the Braves left Milwaukee for Atlanta, and it evened things out for the two expansion teams joining the Bigs the following year, thus making interleague play possible. Yay!

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



...Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra, who, in 2004, spoke with ex-teammate Whitey Ford. The two, at an Old Timers' Day, discussed the list of deceased Yankee greats on the scoreboard, and Berra said to Ford, "Boy, I hope I never see my name up there."