Sports Fact of the Day 7/21-7/30/2008

July 21:
7/21/1952:
American Lindy Remiginon of Manhattan College in New York City captures the gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. The race is the closest in Olympic history, with all six contestants in the final heat finishing within a tenth-of-a-second margin. It takes very close scrutiny by the judges of a photo finish to determine that Remigino barely edged Herb McKenley of Jamaica, BWI, by the angle of his body as they simultaneously crossed the finish line.

Birthdays:
Gene Littler b. 1930
Gene Fullmer b. 1931
Dave Henderson b. 1958
David Carr b. 1979
C.C. sabathia b. 1980

1987:
Lady's Secret, a 4-year-old filly, won at Monmouth Park to become the top female money winner in horse racing history.

"A little bundle of energy who barely clears 15 hands and doesn't weigh more than 800 pounds, she looks dainty and feminine and delicate-and a whole bunch of other words commonly used in women'sn intimate-apparel ads." -Demmie Stathoplos, October 13, 1986

Packers Fact:
End Billy Howton was just a rookie when he posted the first 200-yard receiving game by a player other than Don Hutson in Packers' history. Howton had an even 200 yards in a loss to the Rams in 1952.

July 22:
7/22/1986:
After a bench-clearing brawl in the 10th inning, Howard Johnson hits a three-run homer in the 14th to give the New York Mets a wild 6-3 victory over the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. A hard slide by Cincinnati outfielder Eric Davis into Mets third baseman Ray Knight touched off the melee, which resulted in several ejections. Earlier, Darryl Strawberry of the Mets and Reds coach Billy DeMars had also been ejected in separate incidents. Five Mets relievers combine for nine shutout innings, with Roger McDowell earning the victory in the five-hour tussle.

Birthdays:
Ron Turcotte b. 1941
Sparky Lyle b. 1944
Lesse Viren b. 1949
Tim Brown b. 1966
Keyshawn Johnson b. 1972

1963:
Heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston retained his title with a first-round knockout of Floyd Patterson in a bout in Las Vegas.

"Liston simply bullied and bashed Patterson into the canvas like a street-corner tough smacking down a dreamy schoolboy. To Liston, Floyd was not an opponent; he was an annoyance-and, with crushing finality, the annoyance was brushed aside." -Robert H. Boyle, July 29, 1963

Packers Fact:
In 1985, the Packers sent their first- and second-round draft picks to Buffalo to move up to number seven in the first round. Tackle Ken Ruettgers was the long-time starter they chose with that pick. They also received a fourth-rounder in 1986, which they used to pick future Pro Bowl linebacker Tim Harris.

July 23:
Angels manager Lefty Phillips, discouraged by the lack of production from his highly touted young players, admitted to reporters covering the team: "Our phenoms ain't phenomenating."

Birthdays:
Pee Wee Reese b. 1918
Don Drysdale b. 1936
Gary Payton b. 1968
Nomar Garciaparra b. 1973
Terry Glenn b. 1974

1989:
American bicycle racer Greg LeMond overcame a 50-second deficit on the final day and won the Tour de France for a second time.

"LeMond rode all out, all the way, gaining precious seconds with each kilometer. So totally was he within himself that he had asked his support crew not to give him his splits during the final leg; LeMond would simply push himself to the limit." -Franz Lida, July 31, 1989

Packers Fact:
The Packers' offensive line allowed a club-record-low 14 sacks in 2004.

July 24:
7/24/1983:
Detroit center fielder Chet Lemon makes an extraordinary game-saving catch, robbing Rod Carew of a two-run homer on a leaping grab and bringing the ball back after it had actually left the ballfield to end the game, enabling the Tigers to edge California, 4-3, in 12 innings at Anaheim Stadium. Shortstop Alan Trammell goes five for five for Detroit and catcher Lance Parrish belts a solo homer in the 12th inning to provide the winning margin, which Lemon preserves with his circus catch, going up and over the left center-field fence.

Birthdays:
Walt Bellamy b. 1939
Julie Krone b. 1963
Karl Malone b. 1963
Barry Bonds b. 1964
Brian Blades b. 1965

1987:
Boris Becker of West Germany outlasted John McEnroe of the United States in an epic five-set Davis Cup tennis match that lasted 6 hours and 38 minutes.

"McEnroe looked as tightly strung as a racket. He flapped along the baseline, a quivering mass of tics and twitches. Sensing he would need an edge against the younger, better-conditioned Becker, he played as busy a game between points as he did during them." -Franz Lidz, August 3, 1987

Packers Fact:
The Packers obtained cornerback Mossy Cade just days before the 1985 opener in exchange for their top pick (and one other) in the 1986 draft.

July 25:
7/25/1976:
At age 22, U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate wins the Canadian Open at Windsor, Ontario, shooting a final-round, course-record 63 at the Essex Golf Club. Somewhat overshadowed on Canada's sporting landscape by the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Pate shoots all four rounds in the 60s over the par-70 layout, beating Jack Nicklaus by two strokes. It's the fourth runner-up finish at the Canadian Open for the Golden Bear; he has yet to win here, and he never will.

Birthdays:
Whitey Lockman b. 1926
Nate Thurmond b. 1941
Walter Payton b. 1954
Doug Drabek b. 1962
Billy Wagner b. 1971

1990:
Television comedian Roseanne Barr sang The Star-Spangled Banner before a Padres baseball game in San Diego. When she finished singing the national anthem, Roseanne scratched her crotch and spit.

"She said she was merely parodying baseball players, but not many seemed to think her imitation was funny. A Padres executive said it was the most embarrassing moment in the club's 22-years-and that's saying something given theh bizarre history of this franchise." -Tim Kurkjian, August 6, 1990

Packers Fact:
In the earliest days of the Packers' franchise, team manager and publicist George Calhoun would pass his hat at Hagemeister Park to help raise money for the team.

July 26:
7/26/1928:
Yankee outfielder Bob Meusel hits for the cycle for the third time in his career, a major league record (later tied by Babe Herman), while the Bronx Bombers are setting a record of their own (since broken)-11 runds scored in one extra inning, the 12th-as they rout Detroit, 12-1, at Navin Field in the opener of a doubleheader. Not to be outdone, the Tigers earn a split in the nightcap, 13-10, as Harry Heilmann explodes for eight RBIs, helped by a bases-loaded triple and a grand-slam homer.

Birthdays:
Bob Waterfield b. 1920
Hoy Wilhelm b. 1923
Tommy McDonald b. 1934
Bob Lilly b. 1939
Dorothy Hamill b. 1956

1992:
The American swimmer Pable Morales, 27, came out of retirement and won a gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

"In a sport traditionally populated by the young and confident, by teenage boys and by young girls putting down favorite teddy bears to set world records, he was a different sort of figure. The bruises of love and failure and endurance were worn with dignity." -Leigh Montville, August 3, 1992

Packers Fact:
The Packers drafted future starting linebacker Tony Bennett with the first-round pick in 1990, which they obtained from Cleveland on Draft Day in 1989.

July 27:
7/27/1976:
Russian weight lifter Vasily Alexeyev wins his second consecutive Olympic gold medal with a combined lift of 968 pounds, including a new world record of 561 in the clean and jerk at the Games in Montreal. The 344-pound mining engineer from the Soviet Union breaks his own Olympic record from the '72 Games in Munich with his combined score and also establishes a new Olympic record of 407 pounds in the snatch portion of the event.

Birthdays:
Leo Durocher b. 1905
Mack Calvin b. 1947
Peggy Fleming b. 1948
Shea Hillenbrand b. 1975
Alex Rodriguez b. 1975

July 28:
7/28/1963:
Lou Brock has two homeres and a triple for the Cubs, helping them rout St. Louis, 16-11, and sweep a doubleheader at Wrigley Field. While unseeing eyes in the Cubs front office don't realize what an unpolished gem they've got on their ball club, the Cardinals are duly impressed and next summer they'll snooker the Cubs into trading Brock to St. Louis. To get the future Hall of Famer, 3,000-hit man and base-stealing champion, the Cards will give up veteran pitchers Ernic Broglio (who will win only seven games for the Cubs), Bobby Shantz (who will win none) and reserve outfielder Doug Clemens. With the two franchises being archrivals to begin with, this fateful transaction continues to haunt Cubs fans to this day.

Birthdays:
Barry Ashbee b. 1939
Bill Bradley b. 1943
Vida Blue b. 1949
Doug Collins b. 1951
Manu Ginobill b. 1977

1985:
Professional golfer Pat Bradley won the Du Maurier Classic and captured the third major championship of her career.

"Pat Bradley is the best-kept secret on the women's pro golf tour. Nancy Lopez has the smile, Jan Stephenson the negligee, JoAnne Carner the nickname-Big Momma. All Bradley does is drive it down the middle, knock it on the green, hole the putt and on to the next tee." -Sandy Keenan, February 25, 1985

Packers Fact:
In 1959, Packers team president Dominic Olejniczak phoned George Halas to ask what he knew about Giants' assistant Vince Lombardi. Halas admitted the Bears would be in trouble if Green Bay hired Lombardi.

July 29:
7/29/1984:
American swimmers Nancy Hogshead of Jacksonville, Florida, and Carrie Steinseifer of Saratoga, California, combine for the first dead heat in Olympic swimming history when not even an exhaustive photographic review of their race can separate them. In the finals of the 100-meter freestyle at the Los Angeles Games, they each finish in 55.92 seconds and both receive gold medals.

Birthdays:
Arnie Ferrin b. 1925
Ted Lindsay b. 1925
Don Carter b. 1926
Flo Hyman b. 1954
Dirk Graham b. 1959

1976:
Cuban runner Alberto Juantorena won the 400-meter race at the Montreal Summer Games, becoming the first runner ever to win both the 400- and 800-meters at one Olympics.

"He blew the field away...head tilted, mouth agape, chugging at spectacular speed while the other runners prayed for him to flag. It never happened. El caballo, they called him, because only a horse ran with that kind of power, and the Horse hasn't flagged yet." -S.I. Price, May 15, 1995

Packers Fact:
In 1991, the Packers swapped first-round picks with Philadelphia (and obtained an extra pick that was used to help obtain Brett Favre in 1992). Green Bay choose cornerback Vinnie Clark with the 19th selection that year.

July 30:
7/30/1977:
Middleweight champion Carlos Monzon of Argentina successfully defends his title for the 14th and final time with a 15-round unanimous decision over Colombian challenger Rodrigo Valdez in Monte Carlo. Monzon is in command from the start, opening up a cut around Valdez's left eye early in the fight and continuing to press an unrelenting facial assault thereafter. It's Monzon's 82nd straight victory-his last loss was in 1964. He'll soon retire with a record of 89-3-9.

Birthdays
Jim Mandich b. 1948
Billy Paultz b. 1948
Bill Cartwright b. 1957
Daley Thompson b. 1958
Chris Mullin b. 1963

1992:
American swimmer Janet Evans, who had considered retiring after the 1988 Olympic Games, returned to the sport and won the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

"No longer the 17-year-old water sprite of Seoul, where she got three gold medals, she is now a young woman. She cannot swim as fast as she once did. Simple fact. 'I've swum for my country. I've swum for my coaches and my schools,' she says. 'I decided this time I was going to swim for me.'" -Leigh Montville, August 10, 1992

Packers Fact:
Fullback Jim Taylor's two biggest seasons came for the Packers' NFL championship club in 1961 (1,307 rushing yards) and 1962 (1,474).