A few days ago we took a look at the opening of the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. Today we look at International Hockey with most of it provided by the Olympics. We start on January 29, 1924 just a few days after the Winter Olympics first opened. In one game Canada, the early Olympic powerhouse mangling the Swedish team by a score of 22-0. The Canadians scored 10 goals in the third period alone. It was a record loss for the Swedes. On the very same day the British team treated their hosts very rudely by giving them a 15-2 beating.
On January 29, 1956 in the Winter Olympic games in Italy, the Soviet team beat the Swiss team by a score of 10-3. this was no where near the record beating of those games as just two days before the Canadians beat the Austrians 23-0. It was the Soviet team however that won the gold metal in the tournament, their first of many to come. The Canadians finished in third, receiving the bronze metal.
The 1964 games brought us plenty of highlights of its own. On January 29 the Czechoslovakians beat the Germans by a score of 11-1. Both clubs advanced to the metal round with the Czechoslovakians takaing the Bronze metal and the Germans taking 7th place.
Just to prove the high scoring in ice hockey is not restricted to the Olympics we saved the best for last. we go to the 2007 Asian Games at Chungchan, China. The team from Kazakhstan scored 17 goals against the team from Thailand. The biggest problem from the Thai bench was the Kazakhs held a 17-0 lead after 20 minutes. The second period was not any better as the Kazakhs scored 20 more goals. The Thais must have felt some joy when they scored a single goal in the third period, while holding the Kazakhs to only 15 goals in the period. The score 52-1 score produced record results for both countries. The Kazaks finished the first round with a two game score of 90-1. They did not however save enough goals for their game with the eventual champions, the Japanese beat them by a score of 3-2. Giving equal opportunity to the women, on that same day, the Japanese women beat the South Koreans by a score of 29-0. The Japanese used a 12 goal first period and an 11 goal third period for the rout. The South Koreans gave up a total of 68 goals without netting a single goal for themselves.As with the men this game produced record results for both countries.
After all this Hockey we will look at one of the more important minor league baseballs most important leagues in the US Midwest during the first 60 years of the 20th century tomorrow.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Will the Cheeseheads be Rewarded?
Yesterday we looked at Art Rooney and the Pittsburgh Steelers in advance of their upcoming appearance in the Super Bowl. The Steelers will not be the only team playing in the big game. Their opponent will be the Green Bay Packers. The Packers history is a couple decades longer then that of the Steelers. Earl "Curly" Lambeau founded the Packers as semi-pro team in 1915. The played as independents through the 1920 season. They then joined a league called the American Pro Football Association.
On January 28, 1922 the league chose as its new name the National Football League. They also voted to allow the Decatur, Ilinois Club permission to move to Chicago. The club changed its name from the "Staleys" to the "Bears". The Bears have enjoyed a long rivaly with the club that Curly Lambeau founded.
When the team was incorporated in 1923 it was set up as a non-profit, that today has over 110,000 stockholders. Lambeau played for the team until 1929 and was the head coach until 1949. He died of a heart attack in 1965, three months later City Stadium was renamed Lambeau Field. No game at Lambeau Field has been a non sellout since 1960. Fifty years of sellouts is a very impressive record for a team based in a city of just over 102,000 people.
The Super Bowl in Dallas should be a great game, hopefully with lots of history to be seen in this blog in the years to come. Tomorrow we will look at International Hockey with an empasis on Olympic Hockey.
On January 28, 1922 the league chose as its new name the National Football League. They also voted to allow the Decatur, Ilinois Club permission to move to Chicago. The club changed its name from the "Staleys" to the "Bears". The Bears have enjoyed a long rivaly with the club that Curly Lambeau founded.
When the team was incorporated in 1923 it was set up as a non-profit, that today has over 110,000 stockholders. Lambeau played for the team until 1929 and was the head coach until 1949. He died of a heart attack in 1965, three months later City Stadium was renamed Lambeau Field. No game at Lambeau Field has been a non sellout since 1960. Fifty years of sellouts is a very impressive record for a team based in a city of just over 102,000 people.
The Super Bowl in Dallas should be a great game, hopefully with lots of history to be seen in this blog in the years to come. Tomorrow we will look at International Hockey with an empasis on Olympic Hockey.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Chief
The Super Bowl is coming up!! The Super Bowl is coming up!! The Super Bowl is coming up!!
In the honor of the upcoming Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers we are going to present a two day look at the NFL and the two club from a historical persespective. We start today with a look at the Steelers side. Why start with the Steelers?
On January 27, 1901 Steelers founder Arthur J Rooney, Sr was born in Coulterville, Pennsylvania. The Village was a Southeastern suburb of Pittsburgh. In 1933 Rooney paid the National Football league $2500 for the right to place a new team in Pittsburgh. The team was originally dubbed the "Pirates" in honor of Rooneys favorite baseball team. After a few years as the Pirates, the team was rebraded with its own indentity as the Steelers. The Steelers struggled through World War II. A pair of one year mergers with first the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Chicago Cardinals allowed Rooney and his team to survive the war.
In 1972 the lovable loser Steelers gave way to a powerhouse team that has seen the Steelers at or near the top of the leagues standings for much of the last 40 years. With the team in great shape after the 1974 season, Art stepped down from the day to day operation of the club, allowing one of his sons Dan to take day to day operation of the team. Art remained as chairman until he died in 1988.
Dan Rooney has done a fine job both with the team and in the community. He is currently serving as the United States Ambassador to Ireland. One of Arts grandsons is a member of the US House of Representives. Two of his great-granddaughters are actresses.
As promised, tomorrow we will look at the upcoming Super Bowl with a look from the Packers side.
In the honor of the upcoming Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers we are going to present a two day look at the NFL and the two club from a historical persespective. We start today with a look at the Steelers side. Why start with the Steelers?
On January 27, 1901 Steelers founder Arthur J Rooney, Sr was born in Coulterville, Pennsylvania. The Village was a Southeastern suburb of Pittsburgh. In 1933 Rooney paid the National Football league $2500 for the right to place a new team in Pittsburgh. The team was originally dubbed the "Pirates" in honor of Rooneys favorite baseball team. After a few years as the Pirates, the team was rebraded with its own indentity as the Steelers. The Steelers struggled through World War II. A pair of one year mergers with first the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Chicago Cardinals allowed Rooney and his team to survive the war.
In 1972 the lovable loser Steelers gave way to a powerhouse team that has seen the Steelers at or near the top of the leagues standings for much of the last 40 years. With the team in great shape after the 1974 season, Art stepped down from the day to day operation of the club, allowing one of his sons Dan to take day to day operation of the team. Art remained as chairman until he died in 1988.
Dan Rooney has done a fine job both with the team and in the community. He is currently serving as the United States Ambassador to Ireland. One of Arts grandsons is a member of the US House of Representives. Two of his great-granddaughters are actresses.
As promised, tomorrow we will look at the upcoming Super Bowl with a look from the Packers side.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
And The Goals Just Keep On Coming
Some days it seems like being a goalie in Hockey would be a poor career choice. Take January 26 for example, as early as 1912 goalies have found themselves watching the puck go back. On January 26, 1912 at the Denman Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association squeaked out a 10-8 win over the Victoria Senators. exactly three years later at the Portland Ice Arena, the Portland Rosebuds turned the tables on the Millionaires with a 10-4 win.
In 1921 the National Hockey League got into the act, when at the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto, the Saint Patricks scored a 10-3 win over the Hamilton Tigers. The Saint Patricks were led by Corbett Denneny, who had six goals. The performance was one short of the still standing league record. In 1997 it was Mario Lemieux of the Penguins who had a 4 goal performance in the third period at Molson Centre in Montreal for a 5-2 win over the locals.
Hockey goalies are not the only ones to take a January 26 beating. At the Asian Cup Quialifyer in Vietnam on January 26, 2000 China scored a 19-0 soccer win over Guam. Seven years later at Changcung, China the Hockey goalie got pounded again when Kuwait outscored Macau 15-2. To finish it off, we turn to Basketball in the year of 2008, when at Aliso Viejo, California, The Orange County team of the American Basketball Association scored a 160-152 win over the Maywood Buzz.
Somedays it just does not pay to be on defense, less of course its the defense of your freedom. Thank You to all the members of the Miltary who defend our freedom the world over.
Tomorrow we look at ???
In 1921 the National Hockey League got into the act, when at the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto, the Saint Patricks scored a 10-3 win over the Hamilton Tigers. The Saint Patricks were led by Corbett Denneny, who had six goals. The performance was one short of the still standing league record. In 1997 it was Mario Lemieux of the Penguins who had a 4 goal performance in the third period at Molson Centre in Montreal for a 5-2 win over the locals.
Hockey goalies are not the only ones to take a January 26 beating. At the Asian Cup Quialifyer in Vietnam on January 26, 2000 China scored a 19-0 soccer win over Guam. Seven years later at Changcung, China the Hockey goalie got pounded again when Kuwait outscored Macau 15-2. To finish it off, we turn to Basketball in the year of 2008, when at Aliso Viejo, California, The Orange County team of the American Basketball Association scored a 160-152 win over the Maywood Buzz.
Somedays it just does not pay to be on defense, less of course its the defense of your freedom. Thank You to all the members of the Miltary who defend our freedom the world over.
Tomorrow we look at ???
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A True Southern Gentleman
Today we pay tribute to a true Southern gentleman, Ernie Harwell. Ernie was born on January 25, 1918 in Georgia. He grew up in Atlanta. For the 1923 baseball season this future legend was hired at the age of five to be the visiting batboy for the local Atlanta Crackers. By the age of 16 he was a correspondent for The Sporting News, reporting on the Crackers each week. In 1943 he became the Crackers radio announcer, a career was begun that would last the rest of his life.
In 1948 he became the only announcer to be traded for a player when the Brooklyn Dodgers required his services. He would later move over to the New York Giants and later to the Baltimore Orioles, when they first entered the American League. In 1960, he moved again to Detroit to become an announcer for the Tigers. Thus began a long love affair between not just the fans of Tigers, but the City of Detroit itself and Harwell. In their eyes he was nothing short of the greatest, with his Southern charm.
In 1981 he became the fifth baseball announcer to receive the Ford C Frick Award. Although the Frick Award is given by the Baseball Hall of Fame, it does not make the winners members of the HoF, it is still a great award to be honored with. It is one of many awards that Harwell has won over his long, great career. He retired for good following the 2002 season. He died on May 4, 2010 of cancer with his wife of 68 years Lulu at his side. Happy Birthday Ernie.
Tomorrow we will look at some Hockey games both NHL and international games.
In 1948 he became the only announcer to be traded for a player when the Brooklyn Dodgers required his services. He would later move over to the New York Giants and later to the Baltimore Orioles, when they first entered the American League. In 1960, he moved again to Detroit to become an announcer for the Tigers. Thus began a long love affair between not just the fans of Tigers, but the City of Detroit itself and Harwell. In their eyes he was nothing short of the greatest, with his Southern charm.
In 1981 he became the fifth baseball announcer to receive the Ford C Frick Award. Although the Frick Award is given by the Baseball Hall of Fame, it does not make the winners members of the HoF, it is still a great award to be honored with. It is one of many awards that Harwell has won over his long, great career. He retired for good following the 2002 season. He died on May 4, 2010 of cancer with his wife of 68 years Lulu at his side. Happy Birthday Ernie.
Tomorrow we will look at some Hockey games both NHL and international games.
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Winter Olympics First
On January 24, 1924 Olympic history was made when the first Winter Olympic Games were opened at Chamonix, France at the foot of Mont Blanc. At first it was called The International Winter Sports Week. It was afterwords that the International Olympic Committee changed the event name to the Winter Olympic Games I. Although some winter sports had been a part of the Olympic program since 1916, this was the first time that the had been held as one festival. The reason that the festival was held in France was that the Summer Olympics were scheduled to be held in Paris that summer. When the Winter Olympic Games were formalized, it was then that bidding for the summer and winter games were separated.
In that this was the first formal Winter Olympics many firsts were made as well as a couple of lasts. Sixteen nations showed up for the games, fourteen of the nations were European and then there was the USA plus Canada. The very first Gold medal was awarded to the USA, it would be the only Gold metal the Americans earned of their four metals. Half of the sixteen Gold metals awarded were split evenly between Norway and Finland, the two nations took home 17 and 11 total metals respectively. Ten of the competing nations took metals home. The games also marked the first appearance in the Olympics of then 11 year old Sonje Henie, who would win at the next three games.
As to the lasts, it was the last time that a Summer Olympic title would be defended at the Winter games, that happened in two events. Tomorrow we willl look at former Detroit Tiger broadcaster Ernie Harwell. I still would like to catch more feedback from my overseas readers, please email at sabrkev@gmail, as I have some regular readers from places like Malaysia and Israel that I would like to hear from.
In that this was the first formal Winter Olympics many firsts were made as well as a couple of lasts. Sixteen nations showed up for the games, fourteen of the nations were European and then there was the USA plus Canada. The very first Gold medal was awarded to the USA, it would be the only Gold metal the Americans earned of their four metals. Half of the sixteen Gold metals awarded were split evenly between Norway and Finland, the two nations took home 17 and 11 total metals respectively. Ten of the competing nations took metals home. The games also marked the first appearance in the Olympics of then 11 year old Sonje Henie, who would win at the next three games.
As to the lasts, it was the last time that a Summer Olympic title would be defended at the Winter games, that happened in two events. Tomorrow we willl look at former Detroit Tiger broadcaster Ernie Harwell. I still would like to catch more feedback from my overseas readers, please email at sabrkev@gmail, as I have some regular readers from places like Malaysia and Israel that I would like to hear from.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Bonus Blog Who are They?
Ask any devout football fan to name the members of the National Football League, most fans can get a vast majority of the team names correctly and very quickly. You ask those same football fans to name even one semi-pro football league, most will give you a blank stare. Yet there are well over one thousand semi pro teams in the country in dozens of leagues. These leagues operate hidden away in small stadiums used by high school, JC and college teams. Some of the records set in these leagues are nothing short of amazing: Sixtynine yard field goals, a five overtime period game, 121 points in a game, teams that scored 0 points in an eight game season, a player playing in his 41st season, a 68 year old placekicker, a punter with 13 punts in a game, etc.
It would take me months to tell you about all of these leagues and records. As for today, I am going to focus on one of the smaller leagues in semi-pro football, the Professional Development Football League. The league started out in 2009 with only two teams the Bellingham (WA) Blitz and the Tacoma (WA) Cobras. The two teams played two inseason games and one playoff game, which the Cobras won all 3 games. The league expanded by 2 clubs for 2010 by adding the Boise (ID) Buccaneers and the Portland (OR)Thunderbolts. In 2010 each league member played 6 league games, two playoff games were played for a grand total of 14 games. The Cobras repeated as league champs but did lose one game in overtime to the Buccaneers.
I would like to write more about the Cobras and the other league members but, how much can you write about a league where they have only played 20 games. I wish the members of the league and all the other semipro football leagues a great 2011 season, may your highlights be many.
It would take me months to tell you about all of these leagues and records. As for today, I am going to focus on one of the smaller leagues in semi-pro football, the Professional Development Football League. The league started out in 2009 with only two teams the Bellingham (WA) Blitz and the Tacoma (WA) Cobras. The two teams played two inseason games and one playoff game, which the Cobras won all 3 games. The league expanded by 2 clubs for 2010 by adding the Boise (ID) Buccaneers and the Portland (OR)Thunderbolts. In 2010 each league member played 6 league games, two playoff games were played for a grand total of 14 games. The Cobras repeated as league champs but did lose one game in overtime to the Buccaneers.
I would like to write more about the Cobras and the other league members but, how much can you write about a league where they have only played 20 games. I wish the members of the league and all the other semipro football leagues a great 2011 season, may your highlights be many.
Who Had the Rangers Number?
On January 23, 1944 the New York Rangers traveled to the Detroit Olympia for the third of the seasons five games in the Motor City. Although the Red Wings owned a 4-1 records of the New York Club at this point in the season, the visitors did not except the record beating that the received at the hands of their hosts.
After the second intermission, the two teams returned to the ice with the Red Wings holding a commanding 7-0 lead. The Red Wings then proceeded to score 8 goals in the next 20 minutes of play to win by a 15-0 score, Ouch!!. Three of their goals were scored by left winger and future Hall of famer Syd Howe. The RedWings had 22 assists in the game and 14 assists in the third period alone.
The Rangers still had two more trips to see the Red Wings in Detroit left on the season schedule. The reurned a few weeks later on February 3. This time, they at least scored two goals. The problem was Howe scored 6 all by himself in leading the Red Wings to a 12-2 win.
A final trip to Detroit in March saw the Red Wings take an Olympia sweep at the Rangers and a more repectable 6-5 win and the season series by a 8-1-1 count. The Red Wings went on to a 26-18-6 season record and a scond place finish. The Rangers went on to a 6-39-5 record in sixth place with only 17 points.
As of this writing, the two clubs have not faced each other since December 6, 2009. They will however see each in two weeks on February 7, when the Red Wings put their career 272-220-103 record against the Rangers on the line. The Red Wings have scored 1,815 goals against the Rangers and given up 1,627 goals.
Tomorrow we will look at the opening of the first Winter Olympic Games.
After the second intermission, the two teams returned to the ice with the Red Wings holding a commanding 7-0 lead. The Red Wings then proceeded to score 8 goals in the next 20 minutes of play to win by a 15-0 score, Ouch!!. Three of their goals were scored by left winger and future Hall of famer Syd Howe. The RedWings had 22 assists in the game and 14 assists in the third period alone.
The Rangers still had two more trips to see the Red Wings in Detroit left on the season schedule. The reurned a few weeks later on February 3. This time, they at least scored two goals. The problem was Howe scored 6 all by himself in leading the Red Wings to a 12-2 win.
A final trip to Detroit in March saw the Red Wings take an Olympia sweep at the Rangers and a more repectable 6-5 win and the season series by a 8-1-1 count. The Red Wings went on to a 26-18-6 season record and a scond place finish. The Rangers went on to a 6-39-5 record in sixth place with only 17 points.
As of this writing, the two clubs have not faced each other since December 6, 2009. They will however see each in two weeks on February 7, when the Red Wings put their career 272-220-103 record against the Rangers on the line. The Red Wings have scored 1,815 goals against the Rangers and given up 1,627 goals.
Tomorrow we will look at the opening of the first Winter Olympic Games.
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