August 11, 2022: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announces that the league has retired uniform Number 6 for all teams, in memory of Bill Russell, who died 11 days earlier, at the age of 88.
Russell had led the University of San Francisco to the National Championship in 1955 and 1956; the U.S. Olympic Team to the Gold Medal in Melbourne, Australia in 1956; and the Boston Celtics to the NBA Championship in 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969.
That was 11 titles in 13 seasons, a total matched in all of North American major league sports only by Henri Richard of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. Yogi Berra leads Major League Baseball with 10 World Series wins. Tom Brady has won 7 Super Bowls, but he cheats, so the real record is 6, shared by Fuzzy Thurston, Forrest Gregg and Herb Adderley.
In addition, Russell was player-coach for his last 3 seasons, 1966 to 1969. That made him the NBA's 1st black head coach, and the 1st black head coach to win a league title.
He was named to the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. The Celtics had retired his Number 6, and the City of Boston dedicated a statue of him outside City Hall.
Since most NBA players wear numbers ending with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, retiring 6 league-wide was not a problem. The Orlando Magic and the Sacramento Kings had each retired the number for their fans, as their "Sixth Man." It had also been retired by the Philadelphia 76ers, for Julius "Dr. J" Erving; the Phoenix Suns, for Walter Davis; and the San Antonio Spurs, for Avery Johnson.
Russell joined Jackie Robinson, whose Number 42 was retired for all of professional baseball; and Wayne Gretzky, whose Number 99 was retired for all of professional hockey. No other NHL players were wearing 99, anyway. But, as with 42 in baseball, all players who were already wearing 6 at the time of the announcement were allowed to continue wearing it for the rest of their careers.
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August 11, 2022 was a Thursday. The only sport in season was baseball, and these games were played:
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Miami Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. How many Marlin pitchers does it take to pitch a 7-hit shutout? Apparently, 4: Edward Cabrera (5 2/3rds innings), Steve Okert (1 1/3rd), Dylan Floro (2/3rds) and Tanner Scot (1 1/3rd).
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
* The Cleveland Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Oscar Gonzalez singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Houston Astros beat their cross-State rivals, the Texas Rangers, 7-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-6 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
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