Sports Fact of the Day 9/4-9/11/2008

Sept. 4:
9/4/1983:
Sixteen-year-old amateur and National Junior 18-and-under champion Aaron Krickstein rallies from a two-set deficit and then 2-4 in the final set to defeat 15th-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis on the grandstand court at the U.S. Open. After a skittish start, Krickstein forces a fifth set with unflinching ground strokes, and when Gerulaitis breaks himself with double faults while serving at 4-2 and 4-1ll, the up-and-comer from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, seizes his chance and closes out the match.

Birthdays:
Dawn Fraser b. 1937
Ray Floyd b. 1942
Tom Watson b. 1949
John Vanbiesbrouck b. 1963
Mike Piazza b. 1968

1972:
In an unprecedented achievement, the United States swimming sensation Mark Spitz won his seventh gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany.

"His life could change overnight. He might not follow Johnny Weismuller into Tarzan's tree, but his slender, walnut-brown good looks, enhanced by emerald-green eyes and a devillish mustache, would put his box-office appeal up there with Jean-Claude Killy or Peggy Fleming any day." -Jerry Kirshenbaum, September 4, 1972

Packers Fact:
The Plackers closed the 2000 season by beating all four of their NFC Central Division opponents in succession. Despite the strong finish (and a 9-7 record), Green Bay narrowly missed the playoffs that year.

Sept. 5:
9/5/1960:
Lee Calhoun of Gary, Indiana, repeats his Olympic gold medal performance in the 1956 Melbourne Games by capturing the 110-meter high hurdles in Rome, leading a clean sweep of the top three spots by Americans. Calhoun and Willie May of Chicago, teammates at North Carolina College, battle stride for stride, both finishing in 13.2 seconds, but Calhoun gets his head over the finish line first as a photo later attests. Hayes Jones of Pontiac, Michigan, earns a bronze medal for finishing third.

Birthdays:
Gene Bearden b. 1920
Bill Mazeroski b. 1936
John Ferguson b. 1938
Willie Gault b. 1960
Dennis Scott b. 1968

1993:
Clocked in a time of 3:44.39, the Algerian mile runner Nourrendine Morceli set a new world record.

"What's most astounding is that Morceli has done what he has without the goad of real rival. "Most great milers through the ages have had someone at least in the neighborhood," says Craig Masback, head of USA Track and Field. "Ryun had Keino. Ovett and Coe had each other, and Cram had Aouita. Morceli is all by himself." -Richard O'Brien, September 13, 1993

Packers Fact:
Prior to the 1967 season, the Packers installed heating coils underneath the Lambeau Field turf. They were not functioning, however, on the day that Green Bay beat Dallas in the "Ice Bowl" for the NFL championship that year.

Sept. 6:
9/6/2002:
The longest winning streak in major league baseball in 67 years (1935 Cubs) and the longest in American League history (20 games by the Oakland A's) is snapped at the Metrodome as Brad Radke pitches a six-hit 6-0 shutout for the Minnesota Twins. The A's had won so many games with late-inning heroics during their streak that it had almost become routine, but there would be non reprieve tonight. Corey Koskie goes three for three witha double and a homer to lead the Minnesota attack, and Radke is in command throughouth. These two clubs will meet in the postseason next month and the Twins will knock off Oakland again, three games to two.

Birthdays:
Hal Jeffcoat b. 1924
Dow Finsterwald b. 1929
Ron Boone b. 1946
Kevin Willis b. 1962
Tim Henman b. 1974

1986:
The N. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners blasted the No. 3-ranked UCLA Bruins, 38-3, in a football game played in California.

"Californians played Tokyo to Oklahoma's Godzilla, giving up 14 yards rushing to every one of their own [and] banging their noses into the plate-glass realization that their national ranking was either a bogus No. 3 of Oklahoma is one humongous No. 1. Now UCLA. Now you don't." -Rick Reilly, September 15, 1986

Packers Fact:
Entering 2006, Sterling Sharpe, who had 55 catches in 1988, held the Packers' record for receptions in his rookie season.

Sept. 7:
9/7/1974:
Tennessee quarterback Condredge Holloway electrifies the home crowd at Neyland Stadium with a 74-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan on the second play of the game against UCLA, but Bruins QB John Sciarra will lead his team back for a 17-17 tie. Sciarra passes for 212 yards and rushes for 154 more, pacing UCLA to a 17-10 lead, but Holloway, sidelined for two quarters with a shoulder injury, gallantly returnsn to the lineup and scores with three minutes left to forge the deadlock. UCLA has a chance to win it with 14 seconds left, but Brett White misses a 40-yard field goal attempt and the game ends in a tie.

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

Sept. 8:
9/8/1990:
Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cougars to a 28-21 upset of top-ranked Miami at Provo, Utah. Detmer (38-54) finds Matt Bellini, Andy Boyce and Mike Salido for TD passes, overcoming five BYU possessions that ended with turnovers. The Cougars rally from behind three times before taking the lead for good late in the third quarter. Detmer's superlative performance helps him win the Heisman Trophy at season's end.

Birthdays:
Lem Barney b. 1945
Rogie Vachon b. 1945
Maurice Cheeks b. 1956
Latrell Sprewell b. 1970
Amani Toomer b. 1974

1974:
Infamous daredevil Evil Knievel was forced in mid-flight to abort an attempted rocket jump.

"Staring down from the lip of the Snake River Canyon into the boiling green water below, one suddenly grasps the enormity of the whole operation-the absurdity, theh arrogance, the awful, febrile, frightening, heroic lunacy of it." -Robert F. Jones, September 2, 1974

Packers Fact:
Vince Lombardi was carried off the field by his players after both his first (a 9-6 victory over Chicago) and last (1 33-14 victory over Oakland in Super Bowl II) games as the club's coach.

Sept. 9:
9/9/2004:
Sporting the worst record in the American League entering play, the Kansas City Royals explode for a 26-5 rout of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in the first game of a doubleheader. Joe Randa has six hits in the onslaught and Angel Berroa has four hits and five RBIs. Kansas City scores 11 runs in the third inning and amasses 26 hits in the game. The nightcap of the twin bill is a completely different story-the Royals are shut out, 8-0!

Birthdays:
Bobby Baun b. 1936
Joe Theismann b. 1949
"Thunder Dan" Majerle b. 1965
Mike kHampton b. 1972
Shane Battier b. 1978

1992:
Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers became the 17th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits.

"In this age of greed, self-interest and crowded disabled lists, Yount has been a tough, durable player who hits righthanders and lefthanders equally well, runs the bases with intelligence, never ducks a pitcher or creates controversy. He's as pure a player as there has been in the last 20 years." -Tim Kurkjian, September 21, 1992

Packers Fact:
End Billy Howton caught 53 passes in his rookie season of 1952. That stood as a club rookie record for 36 years.

Sept. 10:
9/10/1927:
The French Davis Cup team, affectionately known as "the Four Musketeers," wrests the hallowed trophy from the United States with a pair of singles victories on the last day of play at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia. Rene Lacoste beats Big Bill Tilden in four sets and Henri Cochet does the same to Little Bill Johnston to end America's seven-year stranglehold on the Cup. The younger Frenchmen prevail over their older U.S. rivals despite the hoots and hollers of an overflow partisan gallery. France will hold the Cup for six years before being beaten by England in 1933.

Birthdays:
Arnold Palmer b. 1929
Roger Maris b. 1934
Bob Lanier b. 1948
Randy Johnson b. 1963
Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten b. 1976

1976:
The United States distance runner Frank Shorter won the gold medal in the marathon at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany.

"The long-distance runners' loneliness has been romanticized as a form of heroic sacrifice, [yet] it is hardly uncommon for competitors to be lonely: Who is more alone than a goalie, or a pitcher on the mound, or a golfer standing over a 10-foot birdie putt?" -Frank Deford, May 24, 1976

Packers Fact:
Equipment man Dad Braisher designed the famous "G" on the Packers' helmets (at Vince Lombardi's request) in 1961.

Sept. 11:
9/11/1999:
The Baylor Bears, leading 24-21 with 20 seconds left and needing only to take a knee and run out the clock against a UNLV team with no time-outs left, get greedy and it costs them the ball game. With the ball on the UNLV 8-yard line, Baylor running back Darrel Bush takes the handoff and tries to score another touchdown, but he's stripped of the ball at the goal line and Kevin Thomas of the Runnin' Rebels returns the fumble 100 yards for a 27-24 UNLV win before a disbelieving crowd in Waco, Texas.

Birthdays:
Paul "Bear" Bryant b. 1913
Tom Landry b. 1924
Franz Beckenbauer b. 1945
Marty Liquori b. 1949
Ellis Burks b. 1964

1983:
Jimmy Connors needed just four sets to beat Ivan Lendl and win his fifth U.S. Open tennis championship.

"Never, it seems, has a tournamentn been so right for a player as the U.S. Open is for Jimmy Connors. And when he won his fifth one, it was all the more appropriate that Flushing Meadows should turn out to be his 100th tournament title. No other pro has ever achieved triple figures." -Frank Deford, September 19, 1983

Packers Fact:
Gerry Ellis caught more passes during his first NFL season than any other rookie running back in Packers' history. He had 48 receptions in 1980.