December 25, 1971: The NFL's Longest Game

December 25, 1971: For the 1st time, the NFL plays a game on Christmas Day. It turned out to be the longest game in the league's history.

The Kansas City Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. The Chiefs had been the defining team of the American Football League, winning the title in 1962, 1966 and 1969. From the AFL's founding in 1960 until the 1962 Championship Game, they were the Dallas Texans. That '62 title game, which they beat the Houston Oilers, went to 2 overtimes, becoming the longest game in pro football history.

The Dolphins had only been founded in 1966, and made the Playoffs for the 1st time in 1970. They were a team on the rise, and this would be their biggest challenge yet. Despite the game being in Kansas City in December, the weather was just fine by Miami standards: 62 degrees and partly cloudy at the 3:00 kickoff (4:00 Eastern Time).

The scoring began with Jan Stenerud kicking a field goal for the Chiefs. They went ahead 10-0 following an interception by Willie Lanier and a touchdown pass from Len Dawson to Ed Podolak. The Dolphins came back, with Larry Csonka running for a touchdown and Garo Yepremian kicking a field goal, making the score 10-10 at the half.

Dawson launched a 75-yard, 10-minute drive that ended with a Jim Otis touchdown, but the Dolphins came back with a Jim Kiick touchdown to make it 17-17. In the 4th quarter, Nick Buoniconti picked up a fumble, but Jim Lynch intercepted Griese to end that threat. Dawson then drove the Chiefs 91 yards, capped by a 3-yard run by Podolak, making it 24-17 Kansas City.

The Dolphins struck back, going 71 yards until Griese threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Marv Fleming, tying it 24-24 with 1:25 left in regulation. Podolak took the kickoff back 78 yards, but Stenerud missed a 32-yard field goal, and the game went to overtime.

At this point, overtime was still rare. There would not be a provision for it in the regular season until 1974. It had happened in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, with the Baltimore Colts beating the New York Giants. It had happened, as I said, in the 1962 AFL Championship Game. And it had happened in a Playoff for the NFL Western Division Championship in 1965, with the Green Bay Packers beating the Colts. This would be only the 4th time in pro football history that a game went beyond the standard 60 minutes.

Podolak returned the overtime kickoff to the 46-yard line, setting up a 42-yard field goal attempt by Stenerud. But the Dolphins blocked it. Later in the 5th quarter, Yepremian tried a field goal from 52 yards, but this was short. At the end of this 1st overtime period, Jake Scott intercepted a Dawson punt, but this came to nothing, and the teams traded punts.

Finally, Csonka -- on his 25th birthday -- broke off a 29-yard run, setting up a 37-yard field goal attempt by Yepremian, with 7:40 left in the 6th quarter -- 82 minutes and 40 seconds of play. The left-footed Armenian from Cyprus made the kick, it was good, and the Dolphins had won, 24-21.

Chiefs coach Hank Stram said, "I don't think any one player in a big game, a monumental game like that, had a day like Eddie Podolak had." Stram had a point: 17 rushes for 85 yards, 8 catches for 110 yards, 3 kickoff returns for a 154 yards, and 2 punt returns for 2 yards. That's 350 all-purpose yards, still a postseason record, and the 4th-highest total in NFL history. But for all he, and Hall-of-Famers like Len Dawson, Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, Curley Culp, Johnny Robinson and Jan Stenerud did, it wasn't enough.

In 1981, historian John Thorn left his comfort zone, baseball, and published Pro Football's 10 Greatest Games. He included this game.

This defeat meant that this was the last game the Chiefs would play at Municipal Stadium. They would not host the AFC Championship Game, and the next season, Arrowhead Stadium opened, and it remains the Chiefs' home to this day.

More than this, it was the end of one era, and the beginning of another. The Chiefs had played 8 postseason games in 9 years, winning 3 AFL Championships and Super Bowl IV. They would not play another Playoff game for 15 years, only that 1 for 19 years, and wouldn't win a Playoff game for 20 years.

The Dolphins hosted the Colts, another great team getting old, in the AFC Championship Game, and won, 21-0. They lost Super Bowl VI to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-3. But the following season, they went undefeated, 14-0, and won Super Bowl VII over the Washington Redskins, 14-7. They would win Super Bowl VIII as well.

In 2019, a poll ranked this game 18th on a list of the 100 Greatest Games of the NFL's 1st 100 years.

*

December 25, 1971 was a Saturday. Earlier in the day, the Dallas Cowboys had beaten the Minnesota Vikings, 20-12 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

The following day, December 26, the Baltimore Colts beat the Cleveland Browns, 20-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium; and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Washington Redskins, 24-20 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

There were 6 games played in the NHL. Since this day, the League has never played on Christmas Day again. In fact, traditionally, it has not played on December 24, or 25, and usually not on 26, either.

The New York Rangers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington. The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at the Boston Garden. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. 

The St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo Sabres played to a tie, 4-4 at the St. Louis Arena. And the Oakland-based California Golden Seals beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles, in Inglewood, California.

There were 7 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Golden State Warriors, 114-89 at Madison Square Garden. Walt Frazier scored 36 points.

The Boston Celtics beat the Cincinnati Royals, 99-94 at the Cincinnati Gardens. This was the end of a tradition: The last Christmas game in Cincinnati. The following season, the Royals moved, becoming the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

Also, the Baltimore Bullets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 117-114 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Buffalo Braves, 140-117 at the Alexander Coliseum in Atlanta. Walt Bellamy scored 40 points. The Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 120-118 in overtime at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the Pistons.

The Phoenix Suns beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 116-86 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Connie Hawkins scored 31 for the Suns. And the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-88 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 3 games played in the ABA. The Virginia Squires beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 133-126 at the Hampton Coliseum. The Memphis Pros beat the Carolina Cougars, 110-102 at the Mid-South Coliseum. And the Utah Stars beat the Indiana Pacers, 150-129 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

Pierre Trudeau, then the Prime Minister of Canada, became a father on this day, to Justin Trudeau, who would also go on to become Prime Minister. Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong, the English singer known as Dido, was also born.

November 1, 1970: The Ben Davidson Game

November 1, 1970: The Kansas City Chiefs lead the Oakland Raiders, 17-14, late in the last minute of the game at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, and Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson makes a long run and gets out of bounds, seemingly sealing the win.

But Raider defensive end Ben Davidson dives into him at full speed with his helmet, a late hit that would mean 15 yards and an automatic 1st down for the Chiefs. But Chief receiver Otis Taylor sees this, and punches Davidson. The referee calls offsetting penalties, nullifying the play entirely. Now, the Chiefs have to punt, and the Raiders end up tying the game on a field goal by 43-year-old kicker and backup quarterback George Blanda.

As a result of this 17-17 tie, the Raiders finish 8-4-2, and, in this first season after the AFL-NFL merger, became the 1st-ever Champions of the AFC Western Division. The Chiefs finish 7-5-2, and out of the Playoffs entirely. (Only 1 Wild Card per Conference then.) This may be the nastiest episode in the epic rivalry between the Chiefs and the Raiders.

After the season, the NFL changes its rules: A personal foul called after a play is completed will no longer affect the result of the play.

The man the New York Jets' Winston Hill described as "the Number 1 cheap-shot artist in the league," after breaking Joe Namath's cheekbone with a late hit in a 1967 game, Ben Davidson was a 3-time AFL All-Star, so he wasn't just a cheap-shot artist. He later became known for his appearances in commercials for Miller Lite beer. and died in 2012.

*

November 1, 1970 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:

* The 1st regular-season game between the New York Giants and the New York Jets was played. Despite having the home-field advantage in front of 63,903 fans at Shea Stadium, and being less than 2 years removed from their Super Bowl win, the Jets were defeated by the Giants, 22-10.

It was the 4th game of a 6-game winning streak for the Giants, who finished 9-5. The Jets, on the other hand, looked nothing like a recent champion, as this was the 5th game of a 6-game losing streak, and they finished 4-10.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Boston Patriots, 45-10 at Harvard Stadium in Boston. The following season, the Pats moved to suburban Foxborough, Massachusetts, and renamed themselves the New England Patriots.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Miami Dolphins, 35-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Colts went on to win the AFC Eastern Division, and then Super Bowl V. But the Dolphins recovered to win the AFC's lone Wild Card Playoff berth, and then won the next 3 AFC Championships, including Super Bowls VII and VIII.

This was the game where a fan ran onto the field, and got clobbered by Colts linebacker Mike Curtis.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Atlanta Falcons, 23-14 at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints, 30-17 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-17 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns, 27-10 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions, 30-17 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Oilers, 44-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Denver Broncos, 19-3 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers, 26-10 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 21-10 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

One game was played in the NBA: The Atlanta Hawks beat the expansion Cleveland Cavaliers, 131-107 at the Cleveland Arena. Lou Hudson scored 43 points for the Hawks.

There were 4 games played in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets beat the Virginia Squires, 121-109 at the Island Garden in West Hempstead, New York.

* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Miami Floridians, 112-109 at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa. To this day, the Tampa Bay region has not had a regular team in either the NBA or the ABA, with the sort-of exception of the 2020-21 season, when COVID restrictions forced the Toronto Raptors out of their home-base country of Canada, and they played their "home games" at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.

* The Pittsburgh Condors beat the Carolina Cougars, 112-97 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* And the Utah Stars beat their geographic rivals, the Denver Rockets, 117-111 at the Auditorium Arena in Denver.

And there were 5 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Minnesota North Stars, 5-0 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-4 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Montreal Canadiens, the St. Louis Blues, the California Golden Seals and the Vancouver Canucks were not scheduled.

September 25, 1965: Satchel Paige, MLB's Oldest Player

September 25, 1965: The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 5-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Lee Thomas and Tony Conigliaro hit home runs for the Red Sox, while Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-4.

Satchel Paige started the game for the A's. He went 3 innings, allowed no runs, 1 hit, no walks, striking out 1. It was the K.C. bullpen -- Diego Seguí, Don Mossi and John Wyatt -- who lost the game.

So why take Satch out so early? Well, he was 59 years old. He was the oldest player ever to appear in a Major League Baseball game.

His birth name, Leroy Robert Paige, was known. Less known was how he got his nickname: Either his feet were as big as suitcases, or "satchels," and "Satchelfoot" became "Satchel," or "Satch" for short; or his constant traveling, as the loose structure of the Negro Leagues meant that he was always in demand, led to him always carrying a satchel.

Not known for sure, for a long time, was his birthdate. His contemporary, Dizzy Dean, would tell differing stories about his date of birth, place of birth, and real name, most of them lies. But as to his date of birth, Paige simply kept them guessing. He would say things like, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you was?" And, "A goat ate the Bible that had my birth certificate. That goat lived to be 29 years old."

When Paige was finally brought to the major leagues in 1948, by Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, Veeck decided to find out for himself. He had heard Paige say he was born in Mobile, Alabama, a city which would later produce 2 other Hall-of-Famers, Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey. So Veeck went to Mobile, accepted the possibility that there might not be a birth record for a black child born in the early part of the 20th Century, and found one anyway: With the permission and accompaniment of members of the Paige family, he went to the Mobile County Board of Health, and found that Satch was born on July 7, 1906. That made him 42, the oldest rookie in major league history.

That didn't stop the speculation. One of his former Negro League teammates, Ted Radcliffe, known as "Double Duty" because he could catch and pitch, said he grew up with Paige in Mobile, and Paige was exactly 2 years older. Since Radcliffe's birthdate was established as July 7, 1902, that meant Paige was born on July 7, 1900, making him 48 when he reached the major leagues. (Radcliffe lived to be 103, stuck by his story to the end, and should be in the Hall of Fame.)

A few years after his debut, someone interviewed Paige's mother, and she said he was born in 1904, and she should know, right? Paige said, "She was in her nineties when she told the reporter that, and sometimes she tended to forget things." 

So people still wondered. Veeck said he'd seen the birth certificate, but he said a lot of things over the years, some of which were proven to be untrue.

Similarly, Archie Moore, Light Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1952 to 1962, was the subject of questions about his age. He said he was born on December 16, 1916, but his mother said it was 1913. Sonny Liston, Heavyweight Champion from 1962 to 1964, also faced questions about his age: He was officially 32 when Muhammad Ali dethroned him, but, as part of his poetic trash-talking, Ali, then still using his birth name, said, "You're 40 years old, if a day, and you don't belong in the ring with Cassius Clay!" Hispanic players, due to poor record-keeping, have also faced questions about their ages, including the Cuban pitchers Luis Tiant and Orlando "El Duque" Hernández.

Paige got around in the Negro Leagues and the Caribbean leagues. He debuted with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts in 1926, presumably as a teenager for a few weeks. Among his tenures: He played 4 seasons with the Birmingham Black Barons, 4 with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and 8 with the Kansas City Monarchs. Negro League records are incomplete, but he is known for sure to have at least 118 wins against 80 losses. How many games he won in all those "barnstorming" appearances, God only knows.

As a "rookie" in 1948, Paige helped the Indians win the World Series. He pitched for them in 1949 as well. He returned to the Negro Leagues in 1950, because Veeck sold the Indians, and the new owner didn't want him. Veeck bought the St. Louis Browns in 1951, and brought Paige in. In 1953, with the Browns, at age 47, Paige became the oldest player to appear in the All-Star Game. But Veeck sold the Browns after that season, and they became the Baltimore Orioles. Paige did not go with them, and went back to barnstorming.

In 1955, Veeck bought the Miami Marlins of the Class AAA International League, whose name would later be taken by a major league team. He signed Paige, who stayed through the 1958 season, at 52. He kept barnstorming -- apparently, he needed the money -- until 1961, when he signed with the Portland Beavers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.

In 1965, desperate for attendance, Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley, remembering that Paige had played longer in Kansas City than anywhere else, signed him to play one last major league game. Finley invited several Negro League veterans to be introduced before the game. If Finley wanted a big crowd, it didn't work: Only 9,289 fans came out.

Ironically, this last appearance may have delayed Satch's entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame. At the Hall's 1966 induction ceremony, Ted Williams told the crowd that Paige, catcher Josh Gibson, and other Negro League stars should be eligible for the Hall. The Hall's rules state that a player must be retired for 5 full seasons. Paige was the 1st Negro Leaguer elected, in 1971 -- 5 full seasons after his last appearance. (Gibson had died in 1947, of a brain tumor while still an active player, 3 months before Jackie Robinson made his debut. He was elected in 1972.)

In 1968, Paige reached out to all 20 teams then in MLB, to try and join one of them on the active roster, in order to reach the 158 days he still needed to qualify for the five-year minimum for the Players' Association pension. On August 12, Atlanta Braves owner Bill Bartholomay signed him as an adviser and an assistant trainer, and Paige qualified. With his struggle in mind, the following season, MLB and the Players' Association reduced the requirement from 5 to 4 years, and "grandfathered in" all players who had played up to 1959.

Paige died on June 8, 1982, a month before his presumed 76th birthday, of a heart attack at his home in Kansas City. He was married 3 times, and had 7 children, all with his 3rd wife. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 19th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. In 2022, ESPN ranked him 41st on their updated 100. In each case, he was the highest-ranking  among Negro League players. Statues of him stand in Cooperstown, New York, a block from the Hall of Fame; and in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.

Satch broke the record of Charley O'Leary, who was just short of turning 59 on September 30, 1934. He appeared as a pinch-hitter, singled and scored, making him the oldest player to get a hit and the oldest player to score a run. He was not then placed in the field. He had last played in the majors in 1913, his 21-year gap between appearances still an MLB record. But he had been a player-manager in the minors for a while, and had coached for the St. Louis Browns that season, activated for the season finale.

For a while, it was thought that Minnie Miñoso, brought out of retirement at 53 for the 1976 Chicago White Sox, as a publicity stunt by, you guessed it, team owner Bill Veeck, was the oldest player to get a hit. But later research found that O'Leary was older than previously thought. Miñoso made 1 more appearance, at 56 in 1980, making him a 5-decade player, but did not get a hit.

Jack Quinn, a pitcher, was the oldest player to appear regularly, last doing so at 50 with the 1933 Cincinnati Reds. He finished with a career record of 247-218. Julio Franco was the oldest position player to appear regularly, last doing so with the 2007 Atlanta Braves, at 49. In 2006, at 48, with the New York Mets, Franco became the oldest player to hit a home run.

In 2012, at 48, Jamie Moyer became the oldest pitcher to win a game, with the Colorado Rockies. Since the National League still didn't have the designated hitter, Moyer had to bat for himself, and also became the oldest player with an RBI.

The oldest players to appear at each position:

Pitcher: 59, Satchel Paige, 1965 Kansas City Athletics

Catcher: 54, Jim "Orator" O'Rourke, 1904 New York Giants

Third Base: 49, Jimmy Austin, 1929 St. Louis Browns

First Base: 48, Hughie Jennings, 1918 Detroit Tigers

Second Base: 48, Johnny Evers, 1929 Boston Braves

Right Field: 46, Sam Thompson, 1906 Detroit Tigers

Shortstop: 44, Omar Vizquel, 2012 Toronto Blue Jays

Left Field: 44, Ichiro Suzuki, 2018 Seattle Mariners

Center Field: 43, Ichiro Suzuki, 2017 Miami Marlins

*

September 25, 1965 was a Saturday. This was also the day that Barry McGuire's recording of "Eve of Destruction" became the Number 1 song in America. I have a separate entry for that event.

These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees were swept by the Chicago White Sox in a doubleheader, 3-1 2-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. In the opener, not only did future Yankee Tommy John outpitch Bill Stafford, he hit a home run, the 1st of 5 he hit in a long career. Roy White, who made his major league debut 18 days earlier, went 1-for-3. Bobby Murcer, who made his major league debut 17 days earlier, went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

In the nightcap, Gary Peters (6 2/3rds innings) and Hoyt Wilhelm combined on a 6-hit shutout. White and Murcer didn't play. Roger Maris was injured, and didn't play in either game. Over the 2 games, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-7 with a walk.

* The New York Mets split a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phils won the opener, and Mets won the nightcap, and both games ended 4-1. Dick Stuart and Clay Dalrymple hit home runs in the 1st game. Greg Goossen and Jim Hickman homered in the 2nd game.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the California Angels, 2-1 and 2-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-6 with 2 walks and an RBI over the 2 games. In the 2nd game, Milt Pappas pitched a 3-hit shutout. He pitched 1 more game for the Orioles, and was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Frank Robinson, in the greatest trade in Oriole history.

* The Minnesota Twins swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators, 5-0 and 5-3 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. In the opener, Jim "Mudcat" Grant allowed only 1 hit, a 3rd-inning double by Don Blasingame. Zoilo Versalles went 4-for-5 with a home run, on his way to winning the American League's Most Valuable Player award. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-7 with 2 walks over the doubleheader.

The next day, the Twins clinched their 1st Pennant in Minnesota, the franchise's 1st since 1933 -- as the previous (though not first) franchise to be known as the Washington Senators.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline did not play.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 0-for-2 with a walk, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4. Bill Mazeroski hit a home run. Willie Stargell got a hit as a pinch-hitter.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jim Maloney pitched a 2-hit shutout.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 7-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays hit his 50th home run of the season. He would finish with 52, and the National League's MVP, although the Dodgers would edge the Giants for the Pennant. Eddie Mathews hit what turned out to be his last home run for the Braves before they moved to Atlanta the next season. Hank Aaron did not hit a home run, going 1-for-5.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Notre Dame were upset by Number 6 Purdue, 25-21 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

* Number 2 Nebraska beat Air Force, 27-17 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Number 3 Texas beat Texas Tech, 33-7 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

* Number 4 Michigan beat the University of California, 10-7 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

* Number 5 Arkansas beat the University of Tulsa, 20-12 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

* Number 7 Louisiana State (LSU) beat Rice, 42-14 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 9 Syracuse were upset by the University of Miami, 24-0 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

* Number 10 Kentucky beat Mississippi, 16-7 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

* With the other service academies, Army beat Virginia Military Institute (VMI), 21-7 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Navy played Stanford to a tie, 7-7 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, Cailfornia.

* And in New Jersey, Princeton beat Rutgers, 32-6 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, Mercer County.

In New Jersey high school football, East Brunswick of Middlesex County, the school that would one day be my Alma Mater, lost away to Steinert, 13-12 at Steinert High School Football Field (the only name the facility has ever had) in Hamilton, Mercer County (the school is often called "Hamilton East").

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Manchester United, 4-2 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.

Also, Basketball Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen was born.

September 8, 1965: The 1st Man to Play All 9 Positions In an MLB Game

Bert Campaneris, after the A's moved to Oakland

September 8, 1965: Against the California Angels at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, Dagoberto "Bert" Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics becomes the first player to play all 9 positions in the same game, as part of a special promotion featuring the popular 23-year-old Cuban, whose main position is shortstop.

He began the game at shortstop and played, in order for the next 8 innings: 2nd base, 3rd base, left field, center field, right field, 1st base, pitcher (giving up a run on a hit and 2 walks) and catcher. With the game tied at 3-3 after 9 innings, manager Haywood Sullivan (later better known as the general manager of the Boston Red Sox) sent Rene Lachemann in to replace Campaneris, who was injured in a collision at the plate with Ed Kirkpatrick to end the top of the 9th.

The Angels scored 2 runs in the 13th inning, and defeated the A's 5-3. Attendance: 21,576, meaning there were about 13,000 empty seats, so the promotion didn't exactly work.

There appears to be no surviving footage of this game, but Campaneris survived the last 3 seasons in Kansas City, and the 1967-68 move to Oakland, to help the A's become a dynasty in the 1970s. He only batted .259 lifetime, but had 2,249 hits stole 649 bases, led the American League in stolen bases 6 times, made 6 All-Star Games, and reached the postseason 6 times: 5 straight AL Western Division titles with the A's, including 3 straight World Series in 1972, '73 and '74; and the 1979 AL West title with the California Angels. As of September 8, 2022, he is still alive.

Through the 2022 season, there have been 5 players to play all 9 positions in a major league game. No player has also managed to be a designated hitter in the same game, to make it 10.

*

September 8, 1965 was a Wednesday. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 6-5 at Yankee Stadium. Jim Bouton started, but the elbow he injured earlier in the year, which ended up ruining his career, left him in too much pain to pitch effectively. (He had not yet started using a knuckleball.) The Senators tied the game in the top of the 9th, but in the bottom of the 9th, Elston Howard singled home a rookie named Roy White with the winning run.

Mickey Mantle did not play. The Yankees got home runs by Archie Moore (no relation to the boxing champion of the same name) and Ray Barker. Rookie Bobby Murcer went 0-for-4. The Yankees had won the last 5 Pennants, and 29 of the last 44. But age and injuries caught up with them this season. By the time they won another Pennant in 1976, White would be the only one left from this team.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 11-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Reds knocked Carlton Willey out of the box in the 1st inning with 4 runs. Frank Robinson and Deron Johnson hit home runs for the Reds. Jim O'Toole went the distance for the win.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Tony Horton hit a home run, with Tony Conigliaro on base, in the top of the 10th inning. Conigliaro had homered earlier. Both Tonys would see their career come to sad ends, in Horton's case with the Indians. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.

* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Baltimore Orioles won the opener, 2-0. Steve Barber pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Hank Aguirre. Apparently, Barber's arm was neither sore nor a little stiff. (A reference to a line in Ball Four, the book by the aforementioned Jim Bouton.)

The Detroit Tigers won the nightcap, 5-0. Dave Wickersham pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Darold Knowles. Over the 2 games, Brooks Robinson went 0-for-6 with a walk, and Al Kaline went 2-for-6 with a walk.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Harmon Killebrew did not play. The Twins were about to win their 1st Pennant under that name, the franchise's 1st since they were "the old Washington Senators" in 1933.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Braves, 6-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Dick Stuart, the slugger who was so bad a fielder that even putting him at 1st base wasn't safe, to the point where he was nicknamed "Dr. Strangeglove" and "Stonefingers," hit a home run for the Phillies. Hank Aaron and Joe Torre hit them for the Braves.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at the 1st Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 12-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays hit 2 home runs, Willie McCovey 1.

* And the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers were not scheduled. They started a series in Los Angeles the next night, and Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game for the Dodgers.

July 13, 1963: Early Wynn's Struggle to Win 300

July 13, 1963: For a pitcher in baseball, winning 300 games in a career has long been considered a milestone, which is tantamount to election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. And no pitcher worked harder, or struggled more, to get there than Early Wynn.

Born in Alabama in 1920, a football injury led him to concentrate on baseball. In 1939, he made his major league debut, with the Washington Senators, pitching a complete game in his debut, but losing. He spent most of the 1940 and '41 seasons in the minor leagues, but the manpower drain of World War II forced the Senators to put him in their starting rotation. He remained with them through the 1948 season, except for missing the end of the 1944 season and all of 1945 in the U.S. Army's Tank Corps.

In 1949, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. He got there too late for their 1948 World Series win, but kept them in contention, and helped them win the American League Pennant in 1954. In 1958, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. In 1959, despite being 39 years old, he went 22-10, as the ace of a team that won the Pennant. He received the Cy Young Award, then a both-Leagues award.

He made the All-Star Game in 7 seasons. He won 17 or more games in a season 10 times, including 20 or more 3 times. He led the AL in wins in 1954 and 1959, in ERA in 1950, in strikeouts in 1957 and 1958. He struck out 2,334 batters in his career. But he also walked 1,755 batters, a record until Nolan Ryan surpassed it in 1981. His career ERA was 3.54.

As late as 1961, in limited action, he was 8-2, raising his career won-lost record to 292-227. That season, on August 11, Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves won his 300th game, only the 13th pitcher to do it, and the 1st since Lefty Grove in 1941. Spahn and Grove were now the only ones to have done it while playing their entire careers in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era.

Wynn wanted to become the next to do it. But age caught up with him. On July 24, 1962, he won his 297th. It took 3 more starts to win his 298th, on August 10. This was followed by 4 losses, until his won his 299th on September 8. He closed the season by losing his last 3, finishing at 7-15, with a career record of 299-242. He needed only 1 more. But the White Sox released him. He would be 43 before heading down to his next Spring Training.

He did go to the White Sox' camp, but failed to make the team. Several teams offered him one-game contracts, but he wanted a real contract. He got one from the Indians on June 21. His 1st game was that night -- against the White Sox. He gave a statement performance, going the distance, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk. But he didn't get any support, and lost, 2-0.

He started against the White Sox again on June 28, pitching 6 innings, and got no decision, though the Indians won. He started against the Boston Red Sox on the 4th of July. Again, he pitched 6 innings and got no decision, though the Indians won. He was used in the last 2 innings of a game against the Yankees on July 7, and didn't allow any runs, but the Indians couldn't come back and give him Number 300 that way. He wasn't pitching badly, but he wasn't getting that 300th win.

Indians manager George "Birdie" Tebbetts decided to start him in the 2nd game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics, at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, on July 13, with a full 5 days' rest. But Wynn struggled to sleep, due to gout-related pain. The A's won the opener, 6-5.

Wynn got the A's out 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 1st inning. In the 2nd, the Indians gave him a run, but he walked the bases loaded with 1 out, before getting out of the jam. In the 3rd, he allowed a leadoff single -- to the opposing pitcher, Moe Drabowsky, no less. But he got the next 3 men out. In the bottom of the 4th, he allowed a leadoff home run to George Alusik, tying the game. He got the next 3 men out.

Playing 3rd base for the A's that night, Ed Charles remembered, "His fastball, if it reached 80, that was stretching it. He was laboring, throwing nothing but bloopers and junk."

Wynn himself led off the top of the 5th, and got a hit. After Tito Francona flew out, Dick Howser singled. After Willie Kirkland popped up, Max Alvis walked to load the bases. Joe Adcock singled Wynn and Howser home. It was 3-1 Indians. John Romano walked, re-loading the bases. Al Luplow singled, scoring Adcock and Alvis. That made it 5-1 Indians.

But to start the bottom of the 5th, Wynn allowed 3 straight singles, to Ken Harrelson, Gino Cimoli and José Tartabull, loading the bases with nobody out. Future manager Tony La Russa pinch-ran for Cimoli. Wynn got Wayne Causey to pop up. But Jerry Lumpe hit a double, scoring Tartabull and La Russa. But Wynn's luck turned again: Lumpe was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a triple, and Alusik popped up. The Indians had closed to within 5-4.

But Wynn had now pitched 5 innings, the minimum necessary to get a win. Tebbetts took no chances, and took him out. "Jerry Walker relieved me ,and saved the game for me," Wynn later said. "He was my roommate, and pitched like a man possessed." Over the last 4 innings, he allowed 3 hits and 2 walks, but no runs. The Indians added a run in the 7th, and another in the 9th. They won, 7-4, and Wynn had his 300th win. The 7-appearance gap remains the longest ever between a pitcher's 299th and 300th wins.

Wynn made 15 more appearances, though only 1 more start, recording a loss and a save. He retired with a record of 300-244. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. He died in 1999. That year, The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and Early Wynn was listed at Number 100.

The Senators moved to become the Minnesota Twins in 1961, but the Washington Nationals, formerly the Montreal Expos, named Wynn to their Ring of Honor, honoring players for all D.C.-based teams, including the Negro Leagues' Homestead Grays. The Indians became the Cleveland Guardians in 2022, and, while still named the Indians, named Wynn to their team Hall of Fame. (The White Sox don't have one.) He usually wore Number 11 in Washington, and Number 24 in Cleveland and Chicago, but no team has ever retired his number.

As of July 13, 2022, there are 24 pitchers who have won 300 or more games. The most recent addition was Randy Johnson in 2009. Given the way pitchers have been used in the 21st Century, it seems unlikely that there will be another in the next few years. Roger Clemens, who won 354 -- more than anyone in the Lively Ball Era except Spahn and Greg Maddux -- is not in the Hall of Fame, due to never-proven accusations of steroid use. Every other pitcher with at least 300 wins is in the Hall of Fame.

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July 13, 1963 was a Saturday. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels were groundsharing until their Anaheim stadium could be built. Dean Chance outpitched Jim Bouton. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-2 at the Polo Grounds. Duke Snider went 1-for-4... as a home player in the Polo Grounds, with a Giants-style "NY" on his cap, against the Dodgers.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia (which had been Shibe Park until 1953). Willie Mays hit a home run.

* The Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Colts .45s, 3-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Vernon Law pitched a 6-hit shutout. Donn Clendenon hit 2 home runs. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-4 with the Pirates' other RBI. The Colt .45s became the Astros in 1965.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew, Rich Rollins and Earl Battey hit home runs. Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (which had been Sportsman's Park until 1953). Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Stan Musial, in his final season, appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* And the Chicago White Sox, the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds were not scheduled.

April 12, 1955: Kansas City Goes Major League

April 12, 1955: The Kansas City Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. It was the 1st home game for the A's after moving from Philadelphia. Their new hometown was back in the major leagues after 40 years.

Former President Harry S Truman, from nearby Independence, Missouri, threw out the ceremonial first ball. For the Tigers, Al Kaline went 2-for-4, and Red Wilson hit the ballpark's 1st major league home run. For the A's, Bill Wilson hit a home run, and Alex Kellner was the winning pitcher.

Previously, Kansas City had these major league teams in baseball: The Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association, a league which only played the 1884 season; the Kansas City Cowboys of the National League, a team which only played the 1886 season, with none of these teams have any official connection with the other; the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association, a team which only played the 1888 and 1889 seasons; and the Kansas City Packers of the Federal League, a league which only played the 1914 and 1915 seasons. And, in football, the Kansas City Blues entered the NFL in 1924, became the Kansas City Cowboys in 1925, and folded after the 1926 season.

The Kansas City Blues won 10 American Association Pennants: 1888, 1890, 1898, 1901, 1918, 1923, 1929, 1938, 1952 and 1953. The Kansas City Monarchs won 11 Negro League Pennants: 1923, 12 1924, 1925, 1929, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946 and 1953.

Both teams played at Muehlebach Field, built in 1923 by, and named for, George E. Muehlebach, who owned the Blues and a number of other Kansas City businesses, including Muehlebach Beer and the Muehlebach Hotel. The previous Kansas City ballpark, Association Park, was owned by a railroad, which decided to build a new line through it, creating the need for a new ballpark.

In 1937, the New York Yankees bought the Blues, made them their top farm team, and renamed the ballpark Ruppert Stadium, in honor of team owner Jacob Ruppert. Ruppert died in 1939, and the ballpark was renamed Blues Stadium in 1943.

Knowing that the Philadelphia Athletics had been purchased by Arnold Johnson, and were being moved to Kansas City for the 1955 season, the city added an upper deck to Blues Stadium, and renamed it Kansas City Municipal Stadium. It now seated 35,020 people. When the American Football's League's Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963, the addition of football bleachers raised seating capacity to 51,000.

When Johnson died in 1960, the A's were bought by Charles O. Finley. He wanted a bigger ballpark, and when the city wouldn't build him one, he flirted with moving the A's to Dallas and Louisville, before finally moving to Oakland, California for the 1968 season. Kansas City then got an expansion team, and the Royals played there from 1969 to 1972.

Unusual for that era, instead of building one stadium for both baseball and football, Kansas City built a stadium for each. Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972, Royals Stadium opened in 1973, and the complex was named the Harry S Truman Sports Complex. Missouri's favorite son had died the day after Christmas, 1972.

When the Royals' original owner, pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman, died in 1993, the stadium was renamed Kauffman Stadium for him. Despite a major renovation in 2009, the Royals are looking to build a new stadium, downtown. (UPDATE: In 2024, the Royals released plans for a new stadium, tentatively set to open in 2028.) The Chiefs renovated Arrowhead Stadium at the same time, and have no plans to replace it.

The Chiefs won the AFL Championship in 1966 and 1969, losing Super Bowl I but winning Super Bowl IV. The Royals won the World Series in 1985 and 2015, having lost it in 1980 and 2014. The Chiefs have since won Super Bowl LIV, while losing Super Bowl LV. (UPDATE: They have since won Super Bowls LVII and LVIII.)

In soccer, the Kansas City Spurs won the 1969 North American Soccer League title, playing home games at Municipal Stadium. But they only lasted 1 more season. The Kansas City Wizards won the 2000 MLS Cup. In 2010, they rebranded as Sporting Kansas City, and moved from Arrowhead to a new stadium in nearby Kansas City, Kansas. They won the MLS Cup again in 2013.

A women's team, FC Kansas City, only lasted from 2013 to 2017, but won the National Women's Soccer League title in 2014 and 2015. In 2021, they were replaced by the Kansas City Current.

The area has been less successful in the indoor sports. In 1972, the NBA's Cincinnati Royals moved in, but, since the baseball team was already called the Royals, they became the Kansas City Kings. In 1974, they moved from the Municipal Auditorium to the new Kemper Arena. That same year, the NHL placed an expansion team there, the Kansas City Scouts.

The Scouts were lousy, and moved after 2 seasons. The Kings won a Division title in 1979 and reached the Western Conference Finals in 1981, but never drew well, and moved to Sacramento in 1985. In 2018, the Kemper Arena was downsized and rebranded as the Hy-Vee Arena. In 2007, the Sprint Center opened downtown, but it has failed to attract and NBA, WNBA or NHL team.

No matter: Kansas City still has MLB and the NFL, the 2 sports that mark a city and its metropolitan area as "major league." And while the A's left, the Royals and the Chiefs aren't going anywhere.

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April 12, 1955 was a Tuesday. This was also the day on which Dr. Jonas Salk announced that the vaccine he had been testing against polio was effective and safe. I have a separate entry for that event

These other baseball games were played:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Ted Williams did not play that day.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 14-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. For the Cubs, Randy Jackson hit a home run, and Ernie Banks went 2-for-4 with an RBI. For the Cards, Ken Boyer hit a home run, and Stan Musial went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Redlegs, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. It was the 2nd of 5 seasons when, in the wake of anti-Communist hysteria, the Cincinnati team was known as the Redlegs, not the Reds. Warren Spahn was the winning pitcher, future World Series-winning manager Chuck Tanner hit a home run on the 1st pitch he ever sees in the major leagues, and Hank Aaron went 1-for-4, the hit an RBI triple.

The next day, April 13:

* The New York Yankees and the Washington Senators opened the season at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won, 19-1.

* The New York Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies opened the season at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phillies won, 4-2.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates opened the season at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers won, 6-1. Nobody knew it yet, but the "Next Year" that their fans had long waited for had finally come.

Football was out of season. The NBA season had ended 2 days earlier, when the Syracuse Nationals beat the Fort Wayne Pistons in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played at the Montreal Forum that night, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3. But the Wings would win the Cup in Game 7 in Detroit, 2 nights later.