Sports Fact & This Day in History 1/3/15

Jan. 3:
1959: Alaska admitted into Union
On January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signed a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska into the Union as the forty-ninth and largest state. the European discovery of Alaska came in 1741, when a Russian expedition led by Danish navigator Vitus Bering sighted the Alaskan mainland. Russian hunters were soon making incursions into Alaska, and the native Aleut population suffered greatly after being exposed to foreign diseases. In 1784, Grigory Shelikhov established the first permanent Russian colony in Alaska on Kodiak Island. Despite a slow start in settlement by Americans from the continental United States, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought a rapid influx of people to the territory. Alaska, rich in natural resources, has been contributing to American prosperity ever since.

On his 600th coaching win on January 2, 1985, a come-from-behind 142-140 triple-overtime decision over Utah State with most of his top players on the bench after fouling out, UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian said, "We just had to be grateful to the Lord for this one. We had no ballhandlers, we had no shooters, we had guys out of position. How we ever came back to win just amazes me."

Birthdays:
Hank Stram b. 1923
Bobby Hull b. 1939
Darren Daulton b. 1962
Cheryl Miller b. 1964
Eli Manning b. 1981