Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 6/14/2007

6/14/1979:
Lon Hinkle shoots a 70 to grab a share of the first-round lead at the U.S. Open at Inverness in Toledo and creates a mild tempest by ingeniously creating a different way to play the 528-yard, par-5 dogleg eighth hole. Instead of driving down the fairway, Hinkle hits his ball onto the adjoining 17th fairway and effectively shortens his path to the eighth green by 50 yards. He scores a birdie on the hole, and several other golfers follow suit, only to have the USGA respond by planting a spruce tree overnight directly in the path of the would-be shortcut. After the laughter subsides, Hale Irwin will win the tournament and Hinkle will drop well out of contention.

Birthdays:
Don Newcombe b. 1926
Pat Head Summitt b. 1952
Eric Heiden b. 1958
Sam Perkins b. 1961
Steffi Graf b. 1969

HISTORIES

“Quite simply, this is one of the greatest, most riveting books of war letters I have ever read.”—Stephen E. Ambrose

Andrew Carroll founded the Legacy Project to ensure that Americans’ experiences of war are not forgotten. Some 200 of the more than 50,000 he collected are excerpted here. Some are 150 years old, others are from the 1990s. Their authors are soldiers, nurses, journalists, and more. Some are from famous writers (Clara Barton, General MacArthur), others from ordinary people. All of the letters—as well as the stories behind them—are exceptionally moving.

WAR LETTERS: EXTRAORDINARY CORRESPONDENCE FROM AMERICAN WARS, by Andrew Carroll (Scribner, 2002)