Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 8/22/2007

8/22/1957:
Floyd Patterson retains his heavyweight crown by knocking out Olympic champion Pete Rademacher of Yakima, Washington. Rademacher becomes the first boxer ever to win an Olympic gold medal and then make his professional debut in a title bout. To capitalize on Rademacher's box office appeal, the fight is staged at Sicks' Stadium in Seattle, where over 16,000 fans watch Patterson score seven knockdowns before ending matters at 2:57 of the sixth round.

Birthdays:
Carl Yastrzemski b. 1939
Bill Parcells b. 1941
Diana Nyad b. 1949
Paul Molitor b. 1956
Mats Wilander b. 1964

BROWSING PLEASURES

For the literate coffee table, may we recommend John Hodgman’s quirky miscellany? Hodgman is a writer at The New Yorker, so he’s a pretty clever guy. His heir to Poor Richard’s Almanack promises hours of browsing pleasure on topics wide and weird, including hobos, haircuts, and presidential arcana. It’s a vaudeville show in a book. Not to be missed.

THE AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE, by John Hodgman (Dutton Adult, 2005)