Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 6/17/2007

Father's Day

6/17/1983:
Pitcher Bob Welch of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits the first home run of his career off Cincinnati ace Mario Soto, and it proves to be the only run of the night as L.A. wins, 1-0, at Dodger Stadium. .Each fastballing right-hander goes the distance. Welch hurling a six-hit shutout with four strikeouts and Sojo allowing just five hits while fanning eight. Unfortunately for Sojo, he gets careless with one pitch against his mound opponent in the sixth inning and it costs him the game. In 519 lifetime games encompassing 582 official at bats, Welch will hit just one more homer during his 17-year career.

Birthdays:
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch b. 1923
Maurice Stokes b. 1933
Bobby Bell b. 1940
Dan Jansen b. 1965
Venus Williams b. 1980

YOU’VE NEVER READ WILLIAM BOYD?

William Boyd was born in Africa, raised in Scotland, and lives in London. He’s one of England’s most celebrated living novelists, but much lesser known in the United States. If you’ve never read him, consider starting with Brazzaville Beach. It’s the story of a primatologist working in Africa who was driven to reevaluate her marriage and her work with chimpanzees. The depth and richness of Boyd’s writing and the way in which he mingles his storylines is “brilliant...thought-provoking and entertaining.” (The Washington Post Book World). Atta Boyd!

BRAZZAVILLE BEACH, by William Boyd (HarperPerennial, 1995)