Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 2/11-12/2012

2/11/1973:
The Philadelphia 76ers suffer their 20th loss in a row, dropping a 108-90 decision to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Forum. The defeat gives the 76ers a 4-58 record on the 1972-73 season. On February 14, they'll win their next game, edging the Milwaukee Bucks in the Spectrum. Freddie Boyd breaks the 104-104 tie with a field goal and 16 seconds remaining. Beginning with this Valentine's Day victory, the 76ers will win five of the next seven but then lose their final 13 games of the season to finish with a 9-73 record. The 73 defeats establish an NBA record.

Birthdays:
Eddie Shack b. 1937
Sammy Ellis b. 1941
Ben Oglivia b. 1943
James Silas b. 1949
Brian Daubach b. 1972

Baseball manager Bobby Bragan, in 1962, commenting on the future of the sport: "Someday all stadiums will have domes, and they'll seat around 2,500. They'll sell television rights for about $3 million and seeing the game will be on a very exclusive basis, like Queen for a Day. When will that be? In about 40 years. That how long it takes baseball to make a change."

Birthdays:
Chick Mafey b. 1903
Dom DiMaggio b. 1917
Joe Garagiola b. 1926
Don Stanhouse b. 1961
Chet Lemon b. 1955

LIVING HISTORY

The Fiery Trial, the definitive account of emancipation from a celebrated history professor at Columbia, also embodies a thrilling and wholly new approach. Eric Foner teases out the tangled knot of race and politics in 19th-century America to illustrate how Lincoln calibrated his politics to achieve his goal: the freedom of four million slaves and their recognition as American citizens. Foner was awarded the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2006. His 2002 book, Reconstruction, won the Los Angeles Times, Bancroft, and Francis Parkman book prizes.

THE FIERY TRIAL: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND AMERICAN SLAVERY, by Eric Foner (W. W. Norton, 2010)