November 3, 2007: Having coached 1,499 NHL games, including 4 straight Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders from 1980 to 1983, Al Arbour returns to coach his 1,500th game, at the request of Islanders coach Ted Nolan, At age 75, he became the oldest man ever to coach an NHL game. The Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–2 at the Nassau Coliseum, giving Arbour his 740th win.
Arbour played 17 seasons as a defenseman in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings as a rookie in 1954, won it again with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1961, and again with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1962. He was one of the veteran players the St. Louis Blues chose in the 1967 Expansion Draft to make the Stanley Cup Finals in the next 3 seasons. He coached the Blues until the Islanders hired him in 1973, after their awful first season.
In 1975, their 3rd season, he led them to the Playoffs, and to a series win over the regional rival New York Rangers. In 1978, he led them to win the President's Trophy, finishing 1st overall in the League during the regular season. In 1980, they won the Stanley Cup. And they did it again in 1981. And 1982. And 1983. They reached the Finals again in 1984, but lost.
Arbour remained in charge until 1986. He was hired back in 1988, and remained in charge until 1994, including a trip to the Conference Finals in 1993. The Islanders raised a banner to the rafters of the Nassau Coliseum, with the number of his wins as head coach of the team, 739, standing in for a uniform number.
The number of games he'd coached was 1,499, just short of a milestone. In 2007, he was invited to coach that milestone game, with NHL permission. The Islanders won, and the 739-win banner honoring him was brought down from the Nassau Coliseum rafters, and was replaced with one with the number 1500.
A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Arbour fell victim to Parkinson's disease and dementia, and died in 2015.
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November 3, 2007 was a Saturday. Actress Ever Anderson, daughter of actress Milla Jovovich and film director Paul W.S. Anderson, was born on this day.
Among the college football games played that day was a thriller at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Navy beat Notre Dame, 46-44. It is the Midshipmen's 1st win over the Fighting Irish in 44 years. In the previous 43 games, only 7 times did Navy come within 8 points of winning.
Baseball was out of season. There were 7 NBA games played that day:
* The New Jersey Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 93-88 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.
* The Orlando Magic beat the Washington Wizards, 94-82 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 121-111 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bulls, 78-72 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings, 123-102 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 89-80 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
* And the Utah Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors, 133-110 at the Delta Center (then the EnergySolutions Arena) in Salt Lake City. Al Harrington scored 38 points for the Warriors, to lead all scorers on the night, but it was in defeat.
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