Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 10/27/2007

10/27/1986:
After staging one of baseball's most miraculous rallies to survive imminent defeat in Game 6 of the World Series, the New York Mets beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 to capture their first world championship since the "miracle" of 1969. Series MVP Ray Knight cracks a leadoff homer in the seventh inning to spark an 8-5 victory for the Mets at Shea Stadium.

Birthdays:
Ralph Kiner b. 1922
Patty Sheehan b. 1956
John Kasey b. 1969
Brad Radke b. 1972
Peerless Price b. 1976

QUIRKY HISTORIES

America prides itself on being a class-free society, but don’t kid yourself. Snobbery is as rampant here as it is anywhere else and may just be part of the human condition. College professor and acclaimed essayist Joseph Epstein is fascinated by the subject, and you will be too when you look at it through his eyes. His writing is crisp and straightforward, and his observations witty and true. A sparkling social history.

SNOBBERY: THE AMERICAN VERSION, by Joseph Epstein (Mariner Books, 2003)