Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 9/7/2007

9/7/1924:
A key game between the Giants and Dodgers on a Sunday afternoon at Ebbets Field attracts a massive walk-up crowd, and, with not enough police on hand, things get quickly out of control. After the park is jammed to capacity with fans lined up along both foul lines and into the outfield sector, hundreds of late arrivals with reserved seat tickets crash through a locked gate in left field, further adding to the bedlam. Several plays are compromised by the close proximity of the spectators, but Travis Jackson's two-run single caps a five-run eighth to carry the day for the Giants, who win 8-7 today and will go on to win their fourth straight National League pennant.

Birthdays:
Al McGuire b. 1928
Clyde Lovellette b. 1929
Orland Kurtenbach b. 1936
Jason Isringhausen b. 1972
Antonio McDyess b. 1974

Paris, Arkansas, is a small town, but Thomason makes it grand with a memorable cast of townspeople dealing with some sticky situations. Thomason created the hit television show Designing Women, whose wisecracking Southern smarties have a lot in common with her Parisians. “Poignant, welcoming and warmly funny, this is an irresistible page-turner,” raves Publishers Weekly.

LIBERATING PARIS, by Linda Bloodworth Thomason (Harper Paperbacks, 2005)