Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 9/26/2011

9/26/1908:
The Chicago Cubs' Ed Reulbach, whose eyesight is so poor that his catchers paint their gloves white to help him out, pitches two nine-inning shutouts against the Dodgers in Brooklyn. The first is a five-hitter, the second a three-hitter. The achievement could not have come in a more pressured situation. Involved in a tight three-way pennant race with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants, the Cubs entered the day's action with only a half-game lead on both clubs. They'll eventually capture first place for their third pennant in a row, then win the World Series over the Detroit Tigers.

Birthdays:
Bobby Shantz b. 1925
Dave Casper b. 1951
Craig Heyward b. 1966
Craig Janney b. 1967
Serena Williams b. 1981

Packers Fact:
Tight end Spencer Havner, a converted linebacker, notched his first career reception on a 21-yard pass to set up a touchdown against Cincinnati in Week 2 of 2009.

“If everybody is abnormal, we don’t need to worry about anybody.”

—ROBERT M. HUTCHINS, former president of the University of Chicago

ON HUH?

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Tonight he became the name we’ve all been hoping he’d become—the man, in fact, that he has been for some time now.

soccer manager Martin O’Neill

WHAT IS MADNESS

“On July 5, 1996, my daughter was struck mad.” So begins Michael Greenberg’s probing, candid, and heartbreaking memoir. Bright, lively, 15-year-old Sally is struck with a case of manic depression that not only devastates her but puts her entire family through a wringer of anxiety, especially the author, who struggles to understand what is happening inside his daughter’s brain. Eventually Sally recovers, but Greenberg is too honest with himself to go for the happy ending or extract an upbeat moral. This is a descent into hell, and Greenberg is determined that the reader know it.

HURRY DOWN SUNSHINE, by Michael Greenberg (Other Press, 2008)