Sports Fact of the Day 12/4-12/6/2008

Dec. 4:
12/4/1956:
Pat McCormick, 26, repeats her 1952 Olympic gold medal performance at Helsinki by winning the springboard diving competition at the Summer Games in Melbourne. The Californian's flawless execution of several somersault dives and seamless entry into the water give her a clear advantage over the field. She'll also repeat her gold medal Helsinki performance in platform diving by winning that event here later this week.

Birthdays:
Harvey Kuenn b. 1930
Alex Delvecchio b. 1931
Bernard King b. 1956
Lee Smith b. 1957
Sergei Bubka b. 1963

1983:
Ray Meyer, the DePaul Blue Demons' basketball coach for over 40 years, won his 700th career game.

"Coach Ray Meyer has been a coach for so long now that what was once a mere occupation has become his first name. ... Considering what this marvelous old panda has been through, the puzzlements of modern times are hardly a challenge. He bends without breaking. He communicates without compromise. He has bridged the gaps-white to black, old to young, firm to funky." -Curry Kirkpatrick, February 18, 1980

Packers Fact:
Tight end Keith Jackson caught 10 touchdown passes for the Packers' Super Bow XXXI champions in 1996.

Dec. 5:
12/5/1957:
Loaded with outfielders including young Vada Pinson, the Cincinnati Reds trade center fielder Curt Flood to St. Louis for three journeyman pitchers. Flood will become a fixture in the Cardinals' outfield for the next dozen years, hitting .300 or better six times and earning seven Gold Gloves. Despite his exemplary career, he will forever be remembered for challenging the legality of his trade in 1969 from his adopted hometown of St. Louis to Philadelphia. He'll lose his legal battles at each step of the process, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the intrinsic validity and moral fiber of his arguments shake baseball's establishment to its roots.

Birthdays:
Jim Plunkett b. 1947
Lanny Wadkins b. 1949
Butch Lee b. 1956
Art Monk b. 1957
Cliff Floyd b. 1972

1974:
The Birmingham Americans won the first Wold Football League championship by beating the Florida Blazers, 22-21.

"Sizing up the two teams before the World Bowl, it was hard to think in terms of their on-field success. After all, no player on either squad had received a regular paycheck for weeks, although Florida perhaps had an edge in experience here since it had gone without money twice as long as Birmingham." -Joe Marshall, December 16, 1974

Packers Fact:
Versatile halfback Paul Hornung was the NFL's scoring champion for three consecutive years from 1959 to 1961.

Dec. 6:
12/6/1985
WBA welterweight champion Donald Curry of Fort Worth, Texas, unifies the title with a decisive second-round knockout of WBC champion Miltion McCrory of Detroit. Curry (24-0 with 19KOs) takes charge immediately with a huge left hook in the first round that send McCrory (27-1-1 with 22 KOs) reeling against the ropes at the Las Vegas Hilton. Not fearing McCrory's punching power after that, Curry scores two knockdowns in rapid succession in Round 2 and referee Mills Lane wastes no time stopping the bout.

Birthdays:
Stan Hack b. 1909
Otto Graham b. 1921
Andy Robustelli b. 1925
Bill Hanzlik b. 1957
Richard Krajicek b. 1971

1987:
Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers completed 22 consecutive passes during a victory against the Green Bay Packers. That easily broke the previous NFL record of 20 passes in a row set by Cincinnati's Kenny Anderson in 1983.

"What Johnny Unitas was to the '60s and Roger Staubach to the '70s, Montana is to the '80s. ... O.<., so he doesn't have the wrist of Dan Marino, the arm of John Elway, the feel of Randall Cunningham. But he has the accuracy of Price Waterhouse." -Rick Reilly, December 18, 1989

Packers Fact:
The Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers (35-14 in the divisional playoffs), the Carolina Panthers (30-13 in the conference title game), and the New England Patriots (35-21 in the Super Bowl) in the postseason en route to their Super Bowl XXXI championship in 1996.