September 4, 2006: Steve Irwin dies in a freak accident. He was only 44 years old.
Stephen Robert Irwin was born on February 22, 1962 in Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria, outside Melbourne. His father Bob founded the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, now known as Australia Zoo. So Steve grew up around crocodiles, snakes and other reptiles, and learned how to handle them properly. Those of you who know Steve for his TV show The Crocodile Hunter, stop laughing.
Actually, don't stop laughing: Steve knew that much of what he did seemed silly to people. But it also raised awareness of the needs of wildlife, in his own country and all over the world. He became the most famous Australian alive, surpassing Paul Hogan, the actor best known for the Crocodile Dundee movies. (No, as long as Steve was alive, he was still ahead of Hugh Jackman.)
In 2000, Steve made a commercial for Federal Express, in which he was bitten by a snake, but, "No worries, mate: Luckily, we've had the anti-venom sent from America by FedEx! In my line of work, if you're not absolutely sure, you're absolutely dead!" Then somebody whispered in his ear, and he dropped his catchphrase: "Aw, crikey! It appears we've used a different courier, who hasn't arrived yet! It's okay bec-- " And then he keeled over, pretending to be dead.
That commercial was the first time I ever saw Steve. I didn't know he was a real guy who really did this sort of thing. I thought he was an actor doing a parody of nature shows. And no one who saw it had any idea that he would die on the job -- and from a creature considered far less dangerous than venomous snakes.
He was an avid sports fan, supporting Australia's highly successful cricket and rugby union teams; the Essendon Bombers, an Australian Rules football team in Melbourne; and the Brisbane Broncos, a rugby league team in Brisbane, the capital of the State of Queensland. (Australia Zoo is less than 50 miles north of Brisbane.)
In 1992, he married Terri Raines, a veterinarian from Eugene, Oregon, whom he met the year before, when she was touring wildlife preserves all over the world. They had a daughter, Bindi, and a son, Robert.
Sadly, Steve would not live to see Bindi get married and present him with his 1st grandchild. On September 4, 2006, while filming a documentary off Batt Reef near Port Douglas, Queensland, with Philippe Cousteau Jr., grandson of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, Steve was pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray. He bled out, and there was nothing anyone could do.
Today, Terri, Bindi and Robert run Australia Zoo, while Steve is remembered fondly all over the world.
In 2019, the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History did an episode with "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist playing Steve, and "Nice" Peter Shukoff playing Jacques Cousteau. It was one of their funnier episodes.
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September 4, 2006 was a Monday. The NFL season started 6 days later, so there was no Monday Night Football game on this day. These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 12-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Jorge Posada and Robinson Canó hit home runs. Derek Jeter goes 3-for-6. Chien-Ming Wang started, but it is T.J. Beam who becomes the winning pitcher.
* The New York Mets lose to the Atlanta Braves, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. Chuck James pitches 8 innings of 1-hit shutout ball. Macay McBride finished the 1-hit shutout.
* The Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carlos Peña hits a home run to win it in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Chase Utley hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 2-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-5 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Shea Hillenbrand won it with a home run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-5 at Petco Park in San Diego.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 1-0 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Jered Weaver pitches 7 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers finish a 7-hit shutout.
* And the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the McAfee Coliseum).
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