On February 26, 1981 the Minnesota North Stars went to the Boston Garden in an attempt to put an end to a 34 game streak without a win in Boston. A win in this game would be there first ever in Boston. The puck was dropped and for a grand total of six seconds a fine hockey game was played. Somebody dropped their gloves and fists started flying. Order was restored however briefly, at 8:58 chaos erupted again. Among the many records beaten into each were: Seven North Stars and five Bruin players were ejected, 42 penalties each club, 84 total penalties, 67 penalties in the first period alone, 34 first period penalties by the North Stars alone, 210 penalty minutes by the North Stars of a total of 406 minutes total.
Oh Ya, as a sideline to all the fighting a hockey game was played. The Bruins ended up winning where it counted 5-1, the North Stars would have to wait another day to record their first ever win at the Boston Garden. The next time the two teams met in Boston was in the playoffs. On April 8, 1981, the teams went into overtime before the North Stars took the game. The made it two in a row the following day. The following November, they made it three straight with their first ever regular season win. Alls well thats ends well!!!
The answer to yesterdays trivia question was two regular season September games have been played in the history of the National Hockey League. The two games were played in 2007 when the Los Angeles Kings opened play with the Anaheim Ducks in Toyko, Japan. each team won their "Home" game. Todays trivia question is what is the worlds record for most penalty minutes in a professional hockey game. Todays hint, it was not in the NHL. Opps did I give a hint, my bad. The answer in tomorrows daily blog about an early Lakers-Celtics game.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
What A Fight
The joke said "I went to the fights last night and a hockey game broke out". Todays blog is not about a hockey fight or series of brawls on the ice. I have writen about hockey on many occasions but have not written very much on the sport of Boxing. Today we write about one of the many great heavyweight boxing matches through the years where the title changed hands.
In 1962 Charles L. "Sonny" Liston won the Heavyweight title by beating then champion Floyd Patterson. A rematch was held the following summer, Liston won the rematch as well. His second title defence was set for February 25, 1964 against a very brash, young, up and coming fighter named Cassius Clay. Clay was an Olympic Gold Metalist known for for his loud brash comments. The fight was held in Miami Beach, Florida. Liston was a 7 to 1 favorite over the young Clay. The fight was a good one for six rounds. Liston failed to come out of his corner for the 7th round and lost his title.
A week later Clay announced that he was changing his name to Muhammad Ali. Fifteen months later, a rematch was held. This time Ali knocked out the former champ in the first round. Liston took some time off, tried to make a comeback but died at the end of 1970. Ali went on to become a great champion, working very hard to live up to his self proclaimed title "The Greatest".
The answer to yesterdays trivia question is 13 clubs were in the Continental Basketball Association for the 1987-88 season. Two clubs had their league debut with this season, 10 of the 13 clubs had debuted at the beginning of the 1985-86 season or later. Clearly the Lancaster Red Roses, who were an original member of the Eastern Basketball League in 1946, was then in a run from 1975-91 was the senior member of the league.
Todays question is how many regular season games have been played by the National Hockey League clubs in the month of September? The answer will be posted in tomorrows daily blog about a record hockey brawl.
In 1962 Charles L. "Sonny" Liston won the Heavyweight title by beating then champion Floyd Patterson. A rematch was held the following summer, Liston won the rematch as well. His second title defence was set for February 25, 1964 against a very brash, young, up and coming fighter named Cassius Clay. Clay was an Olympic Gold Metalist known for for his loud brash comments. The fight was held in Miami Beach, Florida. Liston was a 7 to 1 favorite over the young Clay. The fight was a good one for six rounds. Liston failed to come out of his corner for the 7th round and lost his title.
A week later Clay announced that he was changing his name to Muhammad Ali. Fifteen months later, a rematch was held. This time Ali knocked out the former champ in the first round. Liston took some time off, tried to make a comeback but died at the end of 1970. Ali went on to become a great champion, working very hard to live up to his self proclaimed title "The Greatest".
The answer to yesterdays trivia question is 13 clubs were in the Continental Basketball Association for the 1987-88 season. Two clubs had their league debut with this season, 10 of the 13 clubs had debuted at the beginning of the 1985-86 season or later. Clearly the Lancaster Red Roses, who were an original member of the Eastern Basketball League in 1946, was then in a run from 1975-91 was the senior member of the league.
Todays question is how many regular season games have been played by the National Hockey League clubs in the month of September? The answer will be posted in tomorrows daily blog about a record hockey brawl.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Flying Dutchman was a German
Johannes Peter Wagner was born on February 24, 1874 in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to German parents. As a young boy he dropped out of school and worked in the local coal mines. In his off time he and his brothers enjoyed playing baseball. Johannes frequently went by the nickname of "Honus". Honus was described as barrel chested, massive shoulders, muscular armed, bow legged 5'11", 200 lbs with huge hands.
After several stops in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut on July 19, 1897 with the Louisville Colonels. The Colonels won the game against the Washington Nationals by the score of 6-2. At the end of the 1899 seasons both clubs folded and Wagner moved on to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had all the tools required for success, a great hitter (3,418 hits and 8 batting titles) a great baserunner (722 stolen bases, thus the nickname "The Flying Dutchman" from the word for a german Deutsch) A long career with the Pirates included many highlights including two World Series.
Wagner retired with many records to his credit. One of his proudest moments was the 1936 announcement that he was one of the first 5 players to elected the newly created Baseball Hall of Fame. Many of his contempories called him the greatest shortstop to ever play the game.
In answering yesterdays trivia question about the four Canadian cities that have had teams in both Baseball's International League and the American Hockey League, the first two should have been really easy guesses, those cities being Montreal and Toronto. The other two cities should have difficult for all but the most hardcore of sports fans to simply guess, those cities are Hamilton, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba. If you guessed those two correctly, you are either a Canadian who is a big long time fan of both leagues or you have been spending time reading my league histories.
Todays trivia question is how many teams played in the 1987-88 season of the Continental Basketball Association? Bonus question, which one of those teams played in the league the longest? The answers will be posted as part of tomorrows daily blog about Cassius Clay meets Sonny Liston.
After several stops in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut on July 19, 1897 with the Louisville Colonels. The Colonels won the game against the Washington Nationals by the score of 6-2. At the end of the 1899 seasons both clubs folded and Wagner moved on to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had all the tools required for success, a great hitter (3,418 hits and 8 batting titles) a great baserunner (722 stolen bases, thus the nickname "The Flying Dutchman" from the word for a german Deutsch) A long career with the Pirates included many highlights including two World Series.
Wagner retired with many records to his credit. One of his proudest moments was the 1936 announcement that he was one of the first 5 players to elected the newly created Baseball Hall of Fame. Many of his contempories called him the greatest shortstop to ever play the game.
In answering yesterdays trivia question about the four Canadian cities that have had teams in both Baseball's International League and the American Hockey League, the first two should have been really easy guesses, those cities being Montreal and Toronto. The other two cities should have difficult for all but the most hardcore of sports fans to simply guess, those cities are Hamilton, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba. If you guessed those two correctly, you are either a Canadian who is a big long time fan of both leagues or you have been spending time reading my league histories.
Todays trivia question is how many teams played in the 1987-88 season of the Continental Basketball Association? Bonus question, which one of those teams played in the league the longest? The answers will be posted as part of tomorrows daily blog about Cassius Clay meets Sonny Liston.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Are You it Was A Soccer Match?
On February 23, 1901 the 1901 British Home Championship soccer tournament opened with a match between Scotland and Ireland at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland. The first half of the match saw the Scots jump out to a 5-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Irish things did not get any better for them in the second half as the Scots ripped off another six goals to record an 11-0 win. The match was a record result for the Scots. Team captain 23 year old Robert C. Hamilton scored 4 goals. Alexander "Sandy" McMahon also scored four goals in the match. Celtic Park where this match was played still stands and is still in use today by the Celtic Club.
The answer to yesterdays trivia question is 28 cities have been members of both the American Hockey League and Baseball's International League. An arguement can be made that a 29th city is on the list however, the Maine Guides of the International League was not in Portland proper but in a suburb and represented the entire State of Maine in its five year run. The city that has had the most time betwen the two leagues is Rochester, New York which has been in the International League since 1899 and the American Hockey League since 1956. On the eight clubs that founded the American Hockey League, two cities were in both leagues at the time, two cities were never in the International League, three had already had their stints in the International League completed and one was a future member of the International League.
Todays trivia question is four Canadian cities are on the list of 28 cities, name them. The answer will be at the end of tomorrows daily blog about Baseball Hall of Famer Honus Wagner.
The answer to yesterdays trivia question is 28 cities have been members of both the American Hockey League and Baseball's International League. An arguement can be made that a 29th city is on the list however, the Maine Guides of the International League was not in Portland proper but in a suburb and represented the entire State of Maine in its five year run. The city that has had the most time betwen the two leagues is Rochester, New York which has been in the International League since 1899 and the American Hockey League since 1956. On the eight clubs that founded the American Hockey League, two cities were in both leagues at the time, two cities were never in the International League, three had already had their stints in the International League completed and one was a future member of the International League.
Todays trivia question is four Canadian cities are on the list of 28 cities, name them. The answer will be at the end of tomorrows daily blog about Baseball Hall of Famer Honus Wagner.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Miracle on Ice Game
Today we mark the 31st anniversary of what many people have called through the years the greatest amateur hockey game ever played. There is nothing that I can write in this forum that would contribute anything new to our body of knowledge about this event.
As 1980 dawned the United States was not feeling very proud of itself as a country. Many events in the 1970s caused many of my fellow citizens at the time to feel disappointment and shame toward our country. As the touranment opened, I remember my mom asking why I wanted to watch the hockey game. My answer was that the Americans were playing, as I teenager at the time I wanted to feel some pride and show some support. We were looking for something, anything to make us feel proud of our country. Victory after victory came to the team. The team got more and more attention. We hoped agianst hope that when they reached the metal round, that they could somehow get passed the Soviets. The Soviet Union had been the source of much of the disenchantment that we were feeling at the time.
When it came time for the game itself, a live TV broadcast was not available. My sisters had a music station playing on the family stereo that was giving updates on the game as it happened, updating us everytime some one scored. We knew that the game was close and could go either way. When the Americans scored in the 3rd period to tie the game, we were immediately updated, game tied at 3 in the third period. We waited hopefully for the next update. It came when the game ended, we heard "We have a final score in Olympic Hockey USSR 3, USA 4!!!" We could not believe our ears, a major upset had occurred.
We also knew that the Gold Metal was still up for grabs and that anyone of the four teams in the metal round could still win it. Two days later, I remember making sure that I was up by 8 AM when the USA-Finland game started. I wanted to make sure that I could see history as it unfolded that day. A victory over the team from Finland clinched the gold and suddenly America felt great about itself again. Several events would occur in the next year that reinforce that American pride. By 1983, I was proud to enlist in the United States Air Force and serve my country for the next 4 1/2 years.
If you are old enough to remember the game, please share your memories with me in the comments sectiion below. For now we move on to the answer to yesterdays trivia question. Since 1975, when Bob Watson scored what was called Baseball's Millionth run, 793, 231 runs have scored in MLB. My thanks go out to Baseball-Reference.com for that answer. Todays question is since 1936 the American Hockey League has operated in much of the same territory as Baseball's International League, how many cities have had clubs in both leagues? The answer will appear in tomorrows daily blog about an Irish-Scotish Soccer game.
As 1980 dawned the United States was not feeling very proud of itself as a country. Many events in the 1970s caused many of my fellow citizens at the time to feel disappointment and shame toward our country. As the touranment opened, I remember my mom asking why I wanted to watch the hockey game. My answer was that the Americans were playing, as I teenager at the time I wanted to feel some pride and show some support. We were looking for something, anything to make us feel proud of our country. Victory after victory came to the team. The team got more and more attention. We hoped agianst hope that when they reached the metal round, that they could somehow get passed the Soviets. The Soviet Union had been the source of much of the disenchantment that we were feeling at the time.
When it came time for the game itself, a live TV broadcast was not available. My sisters had a music station playing on the family stereo that was giving updates on the game as it happened, updating us everytime some one scored. We knew that the game was close and could go either way. When the Americans scored in the 3rd period to tie the game, we were immediately updated, game tied at 3 in the third period. We waited hopefully for the next update. It came when the game ended, we heard "We have a final score in Olympic Hockey USSR 3, USA 4!!!" We could not believe our ears, a major upset had occurred.
We also knew that the Gold Metal was still up for grabs and that anyone of the four teams in the metal round could still win it. Two days later, I remember making sure that I was up by 8 AM when the USA-Finland game started. I wanted to make sure that I could see history as it unfolded that day. A victory over the team from Finland clinched the gold and suddenly America felt great about itself again. Several events would occur in the next year that reinforce that American pride. By 1983, I was proud to enlist in the United States Air Force and serve my country for the next 4 1/2 years.
If you are old enough to remember the game, please share your memories with me in the comments sectiion below. For now we move on to the answer to yesterdays trivia question. Since 1975, when Bob Watson scored what was called Baseball's Millionth run, 793, 231 runs have scored in MLB. My thanks go out to Baseball-Reference.com for that answer. Todays question is since 1936 the American Hockey League has operated in much of the same territory as Baseball's International League, how many cities have had clubs in both leagues? The answer will appear in tomorrows daily blog about an Irish-Scotish Soccer game.
Monday, February 21, 2011
A Magic Basketball game and a Couple Others
Today we are going to focus on Basketball and games with special performances. We start at the Forum in Inglewood, California on February 21, 1984, when the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Seattle SuperSonics. It did not the fans long to see that there was Magic in the air that evening. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was on the top of his game, he had 12 first quarter assists and six more in the second quarter for a total of 18 assists in the half. Johnsons teamwork gave the Lakers the boost that they needed for a 128-112 win over the SuperSonics.
Another way to contribute to a win without scoring yourself is to steal the win as Thomas Gugliotta of the Minnesota TimberWolves tried to do on February 21, 1995 in a game against the Portland TrailBlazers at Portland. Gugliotta had 7 steals in one quarter, unfortunatly his teammates did not cooperate in his efforts as the home club won anyways by a score of 99-86. One year later in a game at The Spectrum in Philadelphia the '76ers and the Miami Heat played as if they were all afraid of the basket. The final score of that game showed that the Heat won by a score of 66-57. Are they sure that they even played all four quarters?
On February 21, 1999 the Toronto Raptors played their first home game at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat their transcontinental rivals the Vancouver Grizzlies by a score of 102-87. The game occurred just one day after the Maple Leafs hockey team played their first game in the new arena a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in overtime. The final game we are looking at this a 136-132 win by the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the D-League over the Arkansas RimRockers on February 21, 2007 in double overtime at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Trivia answer time, the answer to yesterday question about the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League is the Rochester Americans who have been in the league since 1956, the Providence Bruins who have in the league since 1992 and the Portland Maine Pirates who have been in the league since 1993. The Providence market had been out of the league since 1977. The Providence Reds had fielded a team from 1926 until the team moved following the 1976-77 season. The Portland club would have been firmly in third place except for a one season gap before the Pirates arrived, the City of Portland has been in the league since 1977. The City of Springfield, Massachusetts has been in the league since 1954 however, there was a change of franchises after the 1993-94 season. The long standing franchise was transferred to Worcester, Massachusetts and was replaced in Springfield by an expansion franchise. The City of Albany, New York would have made the list having been in the league since 1993, however they had the same situation as the City of Springfield.
Now for todays question. On May 4, 1975 Bob Watson of the Houston Astros scored baseballs 1,000,000 run since the National League began play in 1876. How many runs have scored since Watson crossed the plate on that fateful day? The answer will be posted in tomorrows blog about the great Miracle on Ice Hockey game.
Another way to contribute to a win without scoring yourself is to steal the win as Thomas Gugliotta of the Minnesota TimberWolves tried to do on February 21, 1995 in a game against the Portland TrailBlazers at Portland. Gugliotta had 7 steals in one quarter, unfortunatly his teammates did not cooperate in his efforts as the home club won anyways by a score of 99-86. One year later in a game at The Spectrum in Philadelphia the '76ers and the Miami Heat played as if they were all afraid of the basket. The final score of that game showed that the Heat won by a score of 66-57. Are they sure that they even played all four quarters?
On February 21, 1999 the Toronto Raptors played their first home game at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat their transcontinental rivals the Vancouver Grizzlies by a score of 102-87. The game occurred just one day after the Maple Leafs hockey team played their first game in the new arena a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in overtime. The final game we are looking at this a 136-132 win by the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the D-League over the Arkansas RimRockers on February 21, 2007 in double overtime at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Trivia answer time, the answer to yesterday question about the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League is the Rochester Americans who have been in the league since 1956, the Providence Bruins who have in the league since 1992 and the Portland Maine Pirates who have been in the league since 1993. The Providence market had been out of the league since 1977. The Providence Reds had fielded a team from 1926 until the team moved following the 1976-77 season. The Portland club would have been firmly in third place except for a one season gap before the Pirates arrived, the City of Portland has been in the league since 1977. The City of Springfield, Massachusetts has been in the league since 1954 however, there was a change of franchises after the 1993-94 season. The long standing franchise was transferred to Worcester, Massachusetts and was replaced in Springfield by an expansion franchise. The City of Albany, New York would have made the list having been in the league since 1993, however they had the same situation as the City of Springfield.
Now for todays question. On May 4, 1975 Bob Watson of the Houston Astros scored baseballs 1,000,000 run since the National League began play in 1876. How many runs have scored since Watson crossed the plate on that fateful day? The answer will be posted in tomorrows blog about the great Miracle on Ice Hockey game.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Baseball First Minor League
On February 20, 1877 The International Association was formed. The seven club league has gone down in history as Baseball's first minor league. Although no evidence was found that any of the National League clubs farmed any players out to the International Association during the 1877 season or any of the seasons that followed. The clubs that took franchises in the league were the Columbus Ohio Buckeyes, Guelph Ontario Maple Leafs, London Ontario Tecumsehs, Lynn Massachusetts Live Oaks, Manchester New Hampshire, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Allegheny and Rochester New York. One of the more interesting things here was that two of the clubs pulled double duty as members of the New England League as well. The Lynn and Manchester Clubs were the two clubs doing this.
The Tecuseh club played 18 league games winning 14 of them, they played 80 games in all. The Allegheny club played 92 games in all, winning 11 of 16 league games. The other 5 clubs played between 11 and 16 league games each. The league expanded to 16 clubs for the 1878 season, the league took in the other 3 members of the New England League. The Buckeyes and Maple Leafs did not reenter the league for the second season. The clubs played as many as 38 games between them.
The league downgraded to 10 clubs and changed its name to the National Association for the 1879 season. The league only had 4 clubs returning from its third season. Two of the returning clubs were from the first season. The league clubs played as many as 41 games in the season. The league struggled to put 4 clubs on the field for its fourth and final season. Many of the leagues players went on to long careers in the Major Leagues. Many of the cities that had clubs in the league have had long histories in the game and many are in the game today; cities like Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rochester, New York and Syracuse, New York.
I am hoping that you found yesterdays trivia question an easy one. The Baltimore Ravens franchise originated as the Cleveland Browns in the All-American Football Conference before moving to the NFL for many years as the Browns before their 1996 move to Baltimore. Todays trivia question is the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League have been in the league since 1938 making them the oldest minor league hockey team. The question is which three active franchises are next in line for the title of oldest active team in the league? The answer will be posted in tomorrows daily blog looking at some basketball games.
The Tecuseh club played 18 league games winning 14 of them, they played 80 games in all. The Allegheny club played 92 games in all, winning 11 of 16 league games. The other 5 clubs played between 11 and 16 league games each. The league expanded to 16 clubs for the 1878 season, the league took in the other 3 members of the New England League. The Buckeyes and Maple Leafs did not reenter the league for the second season. The clubs played as many as 38 games between them.
The league downgraded to 10 clubs and changed its name to the National Association for the 1879 season. The league only had 4 clubs returning from its third season. Two of the returning clubs were from the first season. The league clubs played as many as 41 games in the season. The league struggled to put 4 clubs on the field for its fourth and final season. Many of the leagues players went on to long careers in the Major Leagues. Many of the cities that had clubs in the league have had long histories in the game and many are in the game today; cities like Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rochester, New York and Syracuse, New York.
I am hoping that you found yesterdays trivia question an easy one. The Baltimore Ravens franchise originated as the Cleveland Browns in the All-American Football Conference before moving to the NFL for many years as the Browns before their 1996 move to Baltimore. Todays trivia question is the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League have been in the league since 1938 making them the oldest minor league hockey team. The question is which three active franchises are next in line for the title of oldest active team in the league? The answer will be posted in tomorrows daily blog looking at some basketball games.
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