Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 9/12/2008

9/12/2000:
Los Angeles Dodgers pinch hitter extraordinaire Dave Hansen sets a major league record with his seventh pinch homer of the season in a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hansen connects off Curt Schilling to break the record held by Johnny Frederick of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sixty-eight years ago on this date, Frederick set the long-standing mark with a ninth-inning walk-off homer against future Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes at Ebbets Field.

Birthdays:
Jesse Owens b. 1913
Albie Pearson b. 1934
Vernon Maxwell b. 1965
Ki-Jana Carter b. 1973
Yao Ming b. 1980

1979:
The Indiana Pacers cut Ann Meyers, the first woman player to sign with an NBA team.

"At a time when the NBA's image has slipped, the signing of Meyers is the type of hokey move that will hardly add needed luster. As Red Auerbach, that sage of the Celtics, says, "I know Annie and she's a nice girl, but this is reminiscent of Bill Veeck signing that midget." -Myra Gelband, September 17, 1979

Packers Fact:
Vince Lombardi's lone head-coaching job before the Packers was at St. Cecilia's High School in New Jersey.

IS KNOWLEDGE POWER?

To fill in the gaps of his education, A. J. Jacobs decided to read the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 32 volumes. It took him a year, but by the end he had a book about his life during that time, arranged alphabetically, full of intriguing trivia and such adventures as Mensa meetings, a visit with Alex Trebek, and being avoided by guests at cocktail parties. It isn’t easy being a know-it-all, but it can be pretty funny.

THE KNOW-IT-ALL: ONE MAN’S HUMBLE QUEST TO BECOME THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, by A. J. Jacobs (Simon & Schuster, 2004)