December 23, 1978: Arsenal's Lampoon Christmas Vacation

Liam Brady, after scoring that goal

December 23, 1978: A North London Derby is played at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club host their arch-rivals, Arsenal FC.

Arsenal were by far the more historically successful team, while Tottenham -- or "Spurs" -- were the team whose fans had a chip on their shoulders. I've often compared the relationship to that between New York's baseball teams, but that's a bit unfair -- to the Mets. The Mets began play in 1962, a year after Spurs won their most recent Football League title. They've won the FA Cup (England's national soccer tournament) 6 times since then, but the last of those was in 1991, and they haven't even reached a Final since.

A foolish backpass by Spurs' John Pratt fell into the path of Alan Sunderland, allowing him to score, just 43 seconds into the game. Spurs never got going, even their much-heralded midfielder Glenn Hoddle making the kind of mistakes that had John Motson, calling the game for Match of the Day on the BBC, saying, "Oh, dear me!" In the 38th minute, Sunderland scored again.

This Arsenal team was known as the Irish Connection.  Midfielder Liam Brady and forward Frank Sfapleton had grown up together in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland. Manager Terry Neill was from Belfast, Northern Ireland, as were right back and team Captain Pat Rice, the last holdover from Arsenal’s team that won "The Double," both the Football League and the FA Cup, in 1971; left back Sammy Nelson, a reserve on that 1971 team; and goalkeeper Pat Jennings, once a star for Spurs, but they let him go, and Arsenal picked him up for free.

Just after the hour, Brady picked up the ball, dribbled down the touch line with the most famous left foot in Arsenal history, got nearly to the corner, and sent a hellacious cross into the box. Stapleton was waiting, threw himself forward, and sent a diving header into the net.

It was 3-0 to The Arsenal. With Christmas just 2 days away, the 5,000 or so Arsenal fans in White Hart Lane began to sing:

Jingle bells, jingle bells

jingle all the way!

Oh, what fun it is to see

The Arsenal win away!

Just 4 minutes later, there was a scramble on front of Spurs' net. Brady began one of the most fondly-remembered sequences in Arsenal history, sliding in to steal the ball cleanly, then dribbling while looking for a shot, finding one, and sending it curling in. 4-0. Motson said, "Look at that! Oh, look at that! What a goal by Brady!" Brady ran over to celebrate in front of a group of Spurs fans, and there was nothing he could do, for it was 4-0 to The Arsenal.

Sunderland really wanted a 3rd goal. He had several attempts that came to nothing. Only 1 Arsenal player had ever scored a "hat trick" against Spurs: Ted Drake, in 1934. (Only 1 Tottenham player has ever done it against Arsenal: Terry Dyson in 1961.) Finally, in the 82nd minute, he got a breakaway, and got his 3rd. In stoppage time, Stapleton got the ball and got loose, and launched a shot that hit the corner of the goal. Motson said, "Well! That could have been six!" Instead, it ended Tottenham 0-5 Arsenal.

The BBC's postgame graphic

(UPDATE: In 2025, Eberechi Eze became the 3rd Arsenal player to score a hat trick against Tottenham.)

Arsenal fans who were there claimed that, on the way out, Spurs hooligans were assaulting anyone they saw wearing red, even if they hadn't been to the game. But Arsenal were on their way to a Merry Christmas (or, as they would say in England, a Happy Christmas) and that season's FA Cup; while Spurs were on their way to another trophyless season.

Soon, Spurs signed 2 superstars from Argentina's recent World Cup win: Osvaldo "Ossie" Ardiles and Ricardo "Ricky" Villa. This later led to a joke among Arsenal fans: Alan Sunderland never played for Sunderland, Ricky Villa never played for Aston Villa, and Danny Shittu never played for Tottenham. (A few years earlier, Tottenham had a player named Mike England, but he was from Wales, and played his international football for Wales. In the 2000s and 2010s, there was a player named Stephen Ireland who played his international football for the Republic of Ireland.)

*

December 23, 1978 was a Saturday. Venezuelan baseball player Víctor Martínez and Canadian actress-model Estella Warren were born.

Baseball was out of season. Although NFL Playoff games are usually played on Saturdays, it didn't happen this time. There were 3 college football bowl games played that day:

* Number 14 Texas beat Number 13 Maryland, 42-0 in the Sun Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in El Paso, Texas.

* Number 16 Pittsburgh lost to North Carolina State, 30-17 in the Tangerine Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Orlando.

* And Number 18 Missouri beat Louisiana State (LSU), 20-15 in the Liberty Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Memphis.

There were 6 games played in the NBA that day:

* New York Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets, 129-107 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-91 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Saints, 127-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons, 130-126 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-117 in overtime at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Bullets, 114-109 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 9-4 at the Nassau Coliseum. Bryan Trottier scored 5 goals and 3 assists.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4 at the Boston Garden.

* The Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals played to a tie, 2-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-1 at the Checkerdome, as the St. Louis Arena was then known.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* And the Atlanta Flames and the Colorado Rockies were not scheduled.

And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The New England Whalers beat the Birmingham Bulls, 4-3 at the Springfield Civic Center (now the MassMutual Center) in Springfield, Massachusetts, where they were playing during repairs on the Hartford Civic Center. And the Cincinnati Stingers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-2 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center).

October 1, 2022: The Kanjuruhan Stadium Disaster

October 1, 2022: A crush of fans kills 131 people after a soccer game at the Kanjuruan Stadium in Malang Regency, on the island of Java, in Indonesia.

Stadion Kanjuruhan opened in 2004. It seats 42,449 fans, and is 545 miles east of the national capital of Jakarta. It is the home field of Arema, a team in Indonesia's Liga 1, named for a legendary knight in the kingdom that ruled present-day Indonesia in the Middle Ages. Founded in 1987, and nicknamed "the Mad Lions," they have won the top league if Indonesian soccer in 1993 and 2010, and the Piala Indonesia (that country's version of the FA Cup) in 2005 and 2006.

On October 1, 2022, Arema were scheduled to play a Liga 1 match against Persebaya Surabaya. A much older team, founded in 1927, it is based in Surabaya, 482 miles east of Jakarta. Nicknamed "the Green Crocodiles," Persebaya have won top-league titles in 1951, 1952, 1978, 1988, 1997 and 2004; and the Cup in 1990. When they play Arema, 85 miles to the south, it is a rivalry known as the Super East Java Derby.

Unfortunately, as with most countries where soccer is the top sport, Indonesia has a history of hooliganism. Riot police have to be deployed at some matches. In 2018, a game at Kanjuruhan between Arema and Persib Bandung resulted in a fan's death after the police dispersed the crowd with tear gas. A riot squad was prepared for action on the day of the October 1, 2022 match -- or so they thought.

The game itself, and the leadup to it, had no reports of violent conduct. And the game itself was unremarkable, aside from the fact that Arema had lost at home to Persebaya for the 1st time, 3-2. But after the game, 4 fans got onto the field, hoping to take pictures with some Arema players.

Had the police simply allowed this peaceful action to happen, there would have been nothing for anyone outside Indonesia to care about. Unfortunately, as police sometimes do, they overreacted, chasing the fans, pulling their shirts off, and beating them.

This caused about 3,000 fans to come to their aid, and fight the police. This caused the police to unleash the tear gas, and fans all ran to Gates 12, 13 and 14. This led to a crowd crush, asphyxiating fans. The injury toll has been reported as 547, with 131 deaths.

This makes it either the 2nd-worst, or 3rd-worst, sports-related disaster in human history, depending on whose version of the 1982 Luzhniki Stadium Disaster you believe: If it's the 66 that the Russian government has since said it was, then the Kanjuruhan Stadium Disaster is the 2nd-worst, trailing only the 1964 Estadio Nacional Disaster in Peru, with 328, and easily surpassing the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium Disaster at 97; if it's the 340 that some speculated at the time, then it's Luzhniki 1st, Estadio Nacional 2nd, Kanjuruhan 3rd.

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia told the Football Association of Indonesia (in their language, Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia or PSSI) to suspend all Liga 1 matches until an "evaluation of improvement of security procedures" was completed. The PSSI did so, and also banned Arema from hosting matches for the rest of the season: All home matches to follow would be rescheduled for neutral sites. Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa of East Java announced that his government would financially compensate the victims' relatives.

Listyo Sigit Prabowo, the head of the national police, removed Ferli Hidayat, the Head of Police of Malang, from his post. The policemen shown assaulting fans were also criminally charged.

*

October 1, 2022 was a Saturday. In England, a North London Derby was played at the Emirates Stadium. Hosts Arsenal beat arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur, 3-1.

In America, the NBA and the NHL were in the preseason. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-0 at Yankee Stadium. Giancarlo Stanton and Kyle Higashioka hit home runs, in support of Nestor Cortés. Aaron Judge, with 61 home runs on the season, went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Truist Park in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia.

* A doubleheader was split at Nationals Park in Washington. The Washington Nationals won the opener, 13-4. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 8-2.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It took 5 Toronto pitchers to pitch a 5-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Guardians, 7-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 13-3 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-4 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-1 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

And there were college football games, including the following:

* Number 1 Georgia beat Missouri, 26-22 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.

* Number 2 Alabama beat Number 20 Arkansas, 49-26 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

* Number 3 Ohio State beat Rutgers, 49-10 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

* Number 4 Michigan beat Iowa, 27-14 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. 

* Number 5 Clemson beat Number 10 North Carolina State, 30-20 at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 6 Southern California (USC) beat Arizona State, 42-25 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 7 Kentucky were upset by Number 14 Mississippi, 22-19 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

* Number 9 Oklahoma State beat Number 16 Baylor, 36-25 at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas.

* Number 11 Penn State beat Northwestern, 17-7 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

* Number 17 Texas A&M were upset by Mississippi State, 42-24 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.

* Number 18 Oklahoma were not only upset, but annihilated, by Texas Christian (TCU), 55-24 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

* Number 21 Minnesota lost to Purdue, 20-10 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* Number 22 Wake Forest beat Number 23 Florida State, 31-21 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

* Number 24 Pittsburgh lost to Georgia Tech, 26-21 at Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) in Pittsburgh.

* In a battle of service academies, Air Force beat Navy, 13-10 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Army lost to Georgia State, 31-14 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

* And Notre Dame had a bye week.

September 26, 2021: Justin Tucker Kicks a 66-Yard Field Goal

September 26, 2021: Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens sets a new NFL record, kicking a 66-yard field goal. It is the final play of a 19-17 Ravens win over the Detroit Lions, at Ford Field in Detroit.

It broke the record of 64 yards, by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos in 2013. That broke the record of 63 yards, which had been done 3 times by that point. The 1st time was by Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints in 1970. That field goal, like Tucker's was the last and winning play in a 19-17 win over the Lions, albeit in New Orleans instead of Detroit.

Tucker kicked another last-play field goal later in the season, a mere 36 yards, to beat the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. He was selected to his 5th Pro Bowl that season.

*

September 26, 2021 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Atlanta Falcons, 17-14 at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Denver Broncos, 26-0 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the New England Patriots, 28-13 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-10 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Browns beat the Chicago Bears, 26-6 at FirstEnergy Stadium (now named Huntington Bank Field) in Cleveland.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the team then known as the Washington Football Team, 43-21 at the original Highmark Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts, 25-16 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 31-19 at TIAA Bank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Seattle Seahawks, 30-17 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-24 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Las Vegas Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-28 at Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Daniel Carlson kicked a 22-yard field goal as time ran out in overtime.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34-24 at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers, 30-28 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Santa Clara, San Francisco.

(There was a game played the preceding Thursday: The Carolina Panthers beat the Houston Texans, 24-9 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston. And, the next night, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 41-21 at AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.)

And these Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Fenway Park. The Yankees scored 4 runs in the top of the 8th inning, including a home run by Giancarlo Stanton. Chad Green was the winning pitcher, in relief of Jordan Montgomery. But the Red Sox would beat the Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-4 at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Five Pirate pitchers combined on a 6-hit shutout.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-4 at Camden Yards.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat their cross-State rivals, the Miami Marlins, 3-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals, 9-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Five Dodger pitchers combined on a 7-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-1 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the RingCentral Coliseum).

And in a North London Derby in English soccer, Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur, 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Goals were scored by Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Bukayo Saka, who apparently only needs 2 names to score, instead of 3.

September 10, 1955: "Gunsmoke" Premieres

Back, left to right: Glenn Strange, Ken Curtis, Buck Taylor and Milburn Stone.

Front: James Arness and Amanda Blake.

September 10, 1955: Gunsmoke premieres. Outlasting every other classic TV Western, it becomes the longest-running fiction show in CBS' history.

It began as a radio show, with William Conrad -- later to star in Cannon, Nero Wolfe and Jake & the Fatman -- as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal for Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870s. (The city was, and remains, real; the character was fictional.) But he was too fat to play the character on TV. So was Raymond Burr, who was also considered, and ended up starring for 9 seasons as the titular lawyer on Perry Mason, and 8 seasons as the titular police commissioner on Ironside.

James Arness, 6-foot-7, solidly built, and looking like someone no desperado would want to mess with, played Dillon on TV for 20 years. Over that time, many men did mess with Dillon: He was shot at 56 times, knocked unconscious 29 times, stabbed 3 times, and poisoned once -- but survived, every time.

The show also starred Amanda Blake as Kathleen Russell, a.k.a. "Miss Kitty," proprietor of the Long Branch Saloon. For those of you who criticize modern entertainment as "woke," know this: No guns were allowed inside the Long Branch. If you wanted to get in, you had to turn your guns over at the door. It was the law. Matt and Kitty were big believers in gun control, "pardner."

But it was more than that: The Saloon was also real, and had that exact rule. As it turned out, the real Dodge City never had more than 2 murders a year. In this way, the "Wild West" was not as wild as we've been led to believe.

Matt and Kitty were clearly fond of each other, but they were never shown getting romantic with each other, and never got married. From the 1950s onward, fans of the show, including those of us who only know it in reruns, have been sure they were fooling around with each other, but this has never been canon.

Dillon had 2 other close allies. Milburn Stone, an actual Kansas native, played Galen Adams, the town doctor, always addressed as "Doc." And Dennis Weaver played Chester B. Goode, who walked with a limp and always said, "Yes, sir, Mr. Dillon!" (Chuck Berry's character Johnny B. Goode was almost certainly named after him.) Chester was never an official Deputy Sheriff, but helped Dillon out as if he were. Weaver left the show in 1964, and was replaced by Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen, a character that debuted 2 years earlier, and did eventually become an official Deputy.

Burt Rumsey played Sam Noonan, the bartender at the Long Branch, until 1959, when Glenn Strange took over the role. From 1962 to 1965, a young Burt Reynolds played a blacksmith named Quint Asper. From 1967 onward, Buck Taylor played Newly Smith, a gunsmith who becomes a Deputy Marshal.

Glenn Strange died in 1973, while the show was still on the air, but he was already 74 years old. As had happened with many other CBS shows in the 1970s, Gunsmoke was canceled without warning, in 1975. The cast learned about it in the trade papers, not through face-to-face meetings, phone calls, or even mail. The last episode aired on March 31, 13 days after M*A*S*H killed off Henry Blake, also on CBS. Milburn Stone died in 1980.

In 1987, CBS aired a reunion movie, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, with James Arness, Amanda Blake and Buck Taylor reprising their roles. Ken Curtis thought the network was lowballing him on pay for it, and refused to participate. Dennis Weaver also did not appear. No mention was made of the characters of Doc, Chester, Festus or Sam.

Amanda Blake died in 1989, and did not appear in the next reunion movie, the following year: Gunsmoke: The Last Apache. There would be 3 more made-for-TV movies, with Arness the only main character returning: Gunsmoke: To the Last Man, in 1992; Gunsmoke: The Long Ride, in 1993; and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice, in 1994.

Dennis Weaver, who went on to star in McCloud, died in 2006; Arness, in 2011; and Burt Reynolds, in 2018. Taylor is the only one of these castmembers mentioned who is still alive as of September 10, 2022, age 84.

Arness' younger brother was Peter Graves, who was 6-foot-4, took his mother's family name so he wouldn't be seen as riding his brother's success, and went on to star on Mission: Impossible as IMF team leader Jim Phelps. (The family name is "Aurness.") In spite of their long and successful careers, the brothers never acted together.

I'd like to believe that Jim Phelps is Marshal Dillon's great-grandson. It would make sense, since Dillon and Phelps were both government agents. But that relationship is not canon, either. 

*

September 10, 1955 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 9-8 at Yankee Stadium. Bob Kennedy went 4-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Elston Howard hit a home run for the Yankees, while Mickey Mantle went 1-for-5, and Yogi Berra went 2-for-3.

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Redlegs, 4-3 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. (From 1954 to 1958, the Reds bowed to the stupidity of Red-baiting, and called themselves the Redlegs.) Willie Mays went 0-for-4.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs got rained out after 6 innings, with the game tied 3-3 at Wrigley Field. Jackie Robinson went 0-for-3. Ernie Banks went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-7 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ralph Kiner, playing out the string with the Indians, hit the 369th home run of his career. It turned out to be his last. I remember watching a Mets broadcast, and a player (I don't remember who) hit his 1st major league home run, and Tim McCarver, broadcasting with Kiner, said he didn't remember his first: "You'd think I would, since I didn't hit that many!" Kiner said, "I remember my first. I don't remember my last, because, at the time, I didn't think it would be my last!"

Norm Zauchin hit one for the Red Sox, while Ted Williams went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Al Kaline went 1-for-4. Brooks Robinson, then a rookie, did not play for the Orioles.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 8-6 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 13-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Eddie Mathews hit 2 home runs. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4. Roberto Clemente, then a rookie, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis, in a game shortened to 6 innings due to rain. Stan Musial went 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs. Tom Poholsky outpitched Robin Roberts.

Although it was a Saturday, there were no college football games that year until the following weekend. In English soccer, there was a North London Derby, and Tottenham Hotspur, playing at home at White Hart Lane, beat Arsenal, 3-1.

August 30, 1997: The 1st WNBA Championship

Left to right: Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, Sheryl Swoopes

August 30, 1997: The 1st WNBA Championship is awarded. Instead of a series, as it is today, it is a single game, at the Compaq Center -- formerly The Summit -- in Houston, and the Houston Comets beat the New York Liberty, 65-51.

Despite having such stars as Rebecca Lobo, Teresa Weatherspoon, Kym Hampton and Rutgers graduate Sue Wicks, the Libs couldn't keep up with Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper -- "Swoopes to the Hoop" and "Coop to the Hoop." Cooper led all scorers with 25 points, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Under head coach Van Chancellor, the Rockets won the WNBA's 1st 4 Championships. In comparison, Houston's other teams combined have won 5: The Rockets 2, MLS' Dynamo 2, the Astros 1, the Texans none and the Oilers none. (This does not count the AFL Championships won by the Oilers in 1960 and '61, or the WHA Championships won by the Aeros in 1974 and '75, as those were not World Championships.) In contrast, the Liberty have gone 0-for-4 in Finals. But the Liberty are still in business, while the Comets folded in 2008.

When the Rockets and the Comets left The Summit for the Toyota Center in 2003, Dr. Joel Osteen bought the old arena, and turned it into Lakewood Church Central Campus, the base of his “megachurch.” He will never recover from the knowledge that the most popular person ever to speak in that building is a black Muslim immigrant whose first language was not English, Hakeem Olajuwon.

The WNBA title roll: The Comets 4, the Minnesota Lynx 4, the Seattle Storm 4, the Los Angeles Sparks 3, the Detroit Shock 3 (they moved in 2009, are now the Dallas Wings, and haven't won another), the Phoenix Mercury 3, the Sacramento Monarchs 1 (they folded in 2009), the Indiana Fever 1, the Washington Mystics 1, and the Chicago Sky 1.

*

August 30, 1997 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Montreal Expos, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. It was foreshadowing for darker things for the Yankees: Pedro Martínez outpitched David Wells.

* The New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles, 13-6 at Camden Yards. Bernard Gilkey hit a home run in support of Brian Bohanon. Cal Ripken went 0-for-2 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, 15-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-4 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Matt Beech went 7 2/3rds innings, and Ricky Bottalico finished the 8-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros, 9-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat their cross-State rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 16-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Mark McGwire was making his 1st serious run at the home run record. He didn't hit any. The Royals hit 5: Dean Palmer, Chili Davis, Jermaine Dye, Jeff King and Shane Halter.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Texas Rangers, 4-1 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-3.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 7-3 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. J.T. Snow hit 2 home runs. Barry Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk.

This was also the opening weekend of the college football season. Some notable games from the day:

* Number 2 Florida beat Southern Mississippi, 21-6 at Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. (Penn State began the season ranked Number 1, but did not open their season until the following Saturday.)

* Number 5 Tennessee beat Texas Tech, 52-17 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

* Number 6 Nebraska beat the University of Akron, 59-14 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 13 Syracuse was upset by North Carolina State, 32-31 in overtime at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The Carrier Dome was recently renamed the JMA Wireless Dome.

* Number 14 Miami beat Baylor, 45-14 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

* Number 16 Alabama beat the University of Houston, 42-17 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

* In a cross-State rivalry, West Virginia beat Marshall, 42-31 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.

* In another, Kentucky beat Louisville, 38-24 at Commonwealth Stadium (now Kroger Field) in Lexington, Kentucky.

* In another, Utah State beat Utah, 21-14 at Rice Stadium (now Rice-Eccles Stadium) in Salt Lake City.

* The University of Mississippi, a.k.a. Ole Miss, beat Central Florida, 24-23 in overtime at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in oxford, Mississippi. This was the only other game that went to overtime that day.

* And in a game I actually attended, Michael Vick led Virginia Tech to a 59-19 win over Rutgers, 59-19 at the new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Also on that day, there was a North London Derby at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur played to a 0-0 draw.

July 3, 2001: Arsenal sign Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell with the FA Cup (in his right hand)

and the Premier League trophy (in his left)

July 3, 2001: Arsenal Football Club sign Sol Campbell. The centreback had been Captain of their North London arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., and had led "Spurs" to the 1999 League Cup. But, his contract having run out, he was not given any assurances by team management that they would bring in new talent to improve the team.

In contrast, Arsenal offered the 26-year-old East Londoner the chance to stay in London, and play Champions League games. After he had rejected all overtures by Spurs, and from European giants FC Barcelona, Internazionale Milano and Bayern Munich, Campbell signed with Arsenal. Spurs' Captain was now the rock of Arsenal's defense, ready to replace the aging team Captain, Tony Adams.

Tottenham fans were livid, turning as red as their rivals' shirts. Not with embarrassment, as they should have, but with rage.

Result? In his 1st season with Arsenal, they won the Premier League and the FA Cup -- the Double. 2nd season? The FA Cup again. 3rd season? An unbeaten League season, clinching the title at, of all places, Spurs' White Hart Lane. 4th season? Another FA Cup. 5th season? Arsenal reached the Champions League Final, and Sol scored in the game, although Arsenal lost.

He then left Arsenal, signing with Hampshire team Portsmouth FC. In 2008, Portsmouth made an unlikely run to win the FA Cup, with Campbell as Captain.

To this day, Spurs fans sing about Sol being "Judas," and that's one of the more printable things they say. But he says he has no regrets.

Since he made the North London switch, Spurs have won just 1 major trophy, and that's if you consider the League Cup to be a "major trophy," doing so in 2008, meaning that Campbell still outdid them that season by leading Portsmouth to the FA Cup.

*

July 3, 2001 was a Tuesday. Folarin Balogun, a Brooklyn native of Nigerian descent who has played for Arsenal, AS Monaco, and the U.S. National Team, was born on this day. 

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 10-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hit home runs. Randy Keisler started, but only went 4 innings, so Ramiro Mendoza became the winning pitcher. Cal Ripken, in his final season, went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Kerry Wood had a 5-hit shutout going through 6 1/3rd innings, but had thrown 110 pitches and already had a history of injury. Kyle Farnsworth and Tom Gordon went the rest of the way, without allowing another hit. Sammy Sosa and Ron Coomer hit home runs for the Cubs.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Montreal Expos, 7-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Ryan Dempster pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 14-7 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tom Glavine started for the Braves, but didn't get past the 3rd inning. Still, the Phils blew a 5-1 lead. Chipper Jones hit 2 home runs, and the Braves scored 8 runs in the 7th inning. Bobby Abreu homered for the Phillies.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 8-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Jamey Wright pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball. For some reason, Brewer manager Davey Lopes decided he needed 3 pitchers to finish the 9th inning, and Wright wasn't one of them. Mark McGwire went 0-for-3 with a walk for the Cardinals.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 8-4 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. "Rookie" sensation Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base.

* The Houston Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-5 at Enron Field (soon to be renamed Minute Maid Park, now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-5 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk. In his final season, Tony Gwynn appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with 2 walks, 1 of them intentional.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Anaheim Angels, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).

April 8, 2001: The End of Tottenham's "The Year Ends In One" Myth

Left to right: Ray Parlour, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry

April 8, 2001: North London soccer rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur face each other in an FA Cup Semifinal. As always, FA Cup Semifinals are held on neutral ground. This time, though, it was not in London, as the old Wembley Stadium was being torn down so it could be replaced by the new one, but at the largest stadium in England's Premier League: Old Trafford, the 75,000-seat home of Manchester United.

"Spurs" fans were excited, because "The year ends in one":

* 1901: Tottenham won the FA Cup, as members of the Southern League. They remain the only team from outside the Football League to ever win it. (Since the Football League then had only 2 Divisions, this was like a team from the Third Division winning it. No other team lower than the 2nd division has won it.)

* 1911: They won nothing, finishing 15th in the League.

* 1921: They won the FA Cup, and finished a respectable 6th in the League.

* 1931: They won nothing. They did finish 3rd in the League, but were 10 points behind winners Everton.

* 1941: England's Football Association suspended most competitions for the duration of World War II.

* 1951: They won the Football League.

* 1961: They won the Football League and the FA Cup, the 1st time "The Double" had been won since Birmingham team Aston Villa did it in 1897.

* 1971: They won the Football League Cup, which they consider to be a major trophy, and finished a decent 3rd in the League, albeit 13 points behind Arsenal, who clinched the title at Spurs' White Hart Lane, a game which had to be postponed beyond the final weekend due to both teams' cup runs.

* 1981: They won the FA Cup, although they only finished 10th in the League.

* 1991: They won the FA Cup, beating Arsenal in the Semifinal, although they only finished 10th in the League.

So Spurs fans figured it was their year.

 
It wasn't: Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute, Spurs bottled it, and the "Gunners" won on goals by Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, who went on to develop a specialty of scoring against Spurs. Turned out, though, it was Liverpool's year, as they beat upset-minded neighbors Tranmere Rovers in the Quarterfinal and Wycombe Wanderers in the Semifinal, before beating Arsenal in the Final. They also won the League Cup and the UEFA Cup. Or, maybe it was Manchester United's year, as they won the League title, for the 3rd season in a row, and the 7th time in the last 9 seasons.

Oh yeah: Spurs finished only 12th in the rebranded Premier League. Things got worse for them: In the off-season, due to their poor treatment of him, their Captain, centreback Sol Campbell, left them -- and signed with Arsenal. In his 1st year with them, Arsenal won The Double. In the 2nd, they won another Cup. In the 3rd, they won the League, going unbeaten, and clinching at White Hart Lane again. In the 4th, they won another Cup. In the 5th, they reached the Final of the UEFA Champions League.

Since winning the Cup in 1991, Spurs have reached the Cup Semifinal 8 times, and lost all 8: In 1993 (losing to Arsenal), 1995, 1999, 2001 (losing to Arsenal), 2010 (losing to an already-relegated Portsmouth team), 2012, 2017 and 2018.
 
Spurs had a strong team in 2011, a year that ended in one, and their fans brought the slogan back. But the team won nothing, finishing only 5th, and missing out on qualification for the Champions League, though they did qualify for the Europa League.

In 2021, they got to the Final of the League Cup, but lost to the team that ran away with the League title, Manchester City. They finished 7th in the League.

*

April 8, 2001 was a Saturday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 16-5 at Yankee Stadium. Roger Clemens was shaky, but got the win, while Steve Parris didn't get out of the 2nd inning for the Jays. Jorge Posada hit a home run. Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez and Chuck Knoblauch each had 3 hits; while Posada and Martinez each had 4 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost Montreal Expos, 5-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Chris Peters outpitched Al Leiter.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Pedro Martinez pitched 8 innings, allowing 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 16. Derek Lowe completed the 4-hit shutout.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-1 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. This was the major league debut of CC Sabathia, and he went 5 innings, going 5 2/3rds innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 3. Ellis Burks and Russell Branyan hit home runs. Starting his last season, Cal Ripken went 0-for-2 with a walk.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Jeff Weaver outpitched David Wells, so I don't like this result. Let's move on:

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-4 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Ken Griffey Jr. appeared as a pinch-hitter, and struck out.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 15-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-4 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-5.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 9-3 at Enron Field (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 11-3 at Coors Field in Denver. Tony Gwynn, in his final season, did not play.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-4 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Barry Bonds went 0-for-5.

* And the Anaheim Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 6-4 at the Network Associates Coliseum (as the Oakland Coliseum was then known).

Football was out of season. There were 7 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat, 81-76 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Indiana Pacers, 108-83 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls, 100-88 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto. Vince Carter scored 33 points.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 104-99 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Shaquille O'Neal scored 34 points.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors, 84-76 at The Arena in Oakland (as the Oakland Coliseum Arena was then known).

* The Sacramento Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 98-89 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 101-88 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

It was the last day of the NHL's regular season, and 6 games were played:

* The Washington Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-4 at the Raleigh Sports & Entertainment Arena (now the Lenovo Center).

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Tyler Wright scored the winning goal with 2:19 left in overtime.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild, 4-2 at the Xcel Energy Center (now the Grand Casino Arena) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-1 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center).

April 8, 1911: The Banner Mine Disaster

April 8, 1911: The Banner Mine Disaster kills 128 people in a coal mine explosion near Littleton, Alabama.

The exact cause of the early-morning blast is unknown. It is likely that an accidental spark ignited gas in the air, which directly killed 7 men and knocked out a ventilation fan. Without the fan, levels of "blackdamp" rose in the mine. Another 121 miners suffocated. About 40 other workers were able to dig their way through rubble and escape.

The Banner Mine was run by Pratt Consolidated Coal Company, then owned by Tennessee Coal & Iron. Seventy-two of the casualties were black convicts leased from the State and from Jefferson County.

The explosion brought enough attention to horrific mine conditions for new Governor Emmet O'Neal to push a mine safety bill through the legislature.

*

April 8, 1911 was a Saturday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. Professional basketball barely existed. The Ottawa Senators had wrapped up the Stanley Cup on March 16, beating the Port Arthur Bearcats.

In English soccer, while this was not yet a North London Derby, the team then known as Woolwich Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur, 2-0 at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, South-East London.

April 7, 1928: The Lester Patrick Game

April 7, 1928: Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals is played at the Montreal Forum, between the host Montreal Maroons and the New York Rangers. The Maroons had won the Cup in only their 2nd season, 1926. Now, the Rangers stood to do the same.

Except the Maroons won Game 1, 2-0. And on this night, in the 2nd period of Game 2, with the game still 0-0, Ranger goaltender Lorne Chabot had to leave the game after being struck in the eye with a puck. While the rules of the time allowed a team to use an emergency goalie, the opposing team has to consent to the affected team's choice. Alex Connell of the Ottawa Senators was in attendance. So was Hugh McCormick of the Montreal Victorias, an amateur team that, in the pre-professional era, had won the Stanley Cup in 1895, 1897, 1898 and 1899. But the Maroons refused to allow either to be used.

Lester Patrick, the Rangers' head coach and general manager, had once been one of the best players in hockey. A defenseman, he had helped the Montreal Wanderers win the Stanley Cup in 1906 and 1907. So had Art Ross, who would be the first coach and GM of the Boston Bruins. Patrick and Ross would both be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as players, despite their greatest contributions being as executives.

Lester and his brother Frank Patrick became executives, building the arenas in the 2 main cities of British Columbia: The largest city, Vancouver; and the capital city, Victoria. In 1925, Lester coached the Victoria Cougars to win the Cup -- the last non-NHL team to do it. In 1926, he was hired as the Rangers' 1st head coach and general manager.

He was 44 years old, had played just 1 game in the last 2 years, and had only played in goal once in his life. But he stepped up, put on the gear, including a Rangers jersey with Number 16 on the back, and took his place in the Ranger goal.

He allowed just 1 goal, in a game the Rangers won, 7:05 into overtime, on a goal by Frank Boucher, 2-1.

Chabot was ready to go for Game 3, and the Rangers won it, 2-0. They won Game 4, 1-0. And they won Game 5, 2-1, with Boucher scoring both goals.

Led by Patrick, the Rangers would win the Cup again in 1933. In 1940, with Patrick still the GM but Boucher having replaced him as head coach, they won it again. He was head coach from 1926 to 1939, and general manager from 1926 to 1946. In 1947, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. He died in 1960, at the age of 76. Not until 1994 would the Rangers win the Cup without both Patrick and Boucher being directly involved.

Oddly, given that he is the most important person in Ranger history, the Rangers have not retired a number for Patrick. You say he only wore 16 for 1 night? Well, the Knicks retired a number for Red Holzman, the coach who led them to the 1970 and 1973 NBA Championships, and he never played for them. (He did, however, play for the Rochester Royals as they beat the Knicks in the 1951 NBA Finals.) They hung a banner bearing the number 613, for the number of games he won as Knick head coach. So why not retire a number for Patrick?

*

April 7, 1928 was a Saturday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. Professional basketball existed on what was basically a minor-league level.

There were scores in English soccer. Among them was a North London Derby: Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal, 2-0 at White Hart Lane.