Francois Pienaar

Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa (the Springboks) from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After being dropped from the Springbok team in 1996, Pienaar went on to a career with English club Saracens.
Early life and education.
Pienaar was born in Vereeniging, South Africa, into a working class Afrikaner family, and is the eldest of four boys. After completing high school at Hoërskool Patriot Witbank, he won an athletic scholarship to the Rand Afrikaans University, where he studied law.
Playing career.
He made his provincial debut for Transvaal Province in 1989 before being selected for the South Africa squad in 1993. He was appointed Springbok captain from his first test and remained captain until his last, and remains one of the most successful South African captains of all time.
In 1993 Transvaal won the Super 10, Currie Cup and Lion Cup under Pienaar. In 1994, Transvaal retained the Currie Cup under his captaincy and he was voted international player of the year by Rugby World magazine.
1995 World Cup.
Pienaar is most famous for being captain of the first South Africa team to win the World Cup. Prior to the World Cup in 1995, the Springboks were only seeded ninth and were not expected to dethrone the incumbent champions Australia, who had not lost a game in the preceding 12 months.
During the tournament, South Africa defeated Australia, Romania, Canada, Western Samoa, and France. They then met New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park Stadium. Pienaar led the Springboks to a three-point victory with a drop goal from Joel Stransky.
During the remarkable post-match presentation ceremony Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok jersey bearing Pienaar's number, presented him with the Webb Ellis Cup. During his acceptance speech, Pienaar made it clear that the team had won the trophy not just for the 60,000 fans at Ellis Park, but also for all 43,000,000 South Africans.
Pienaar is portrayed by Matt Damon in the film "Invictus", released in December 2009, which focuses on the story of the 1995 World Cup.
Later career.
Within a month of the World Cup's conclusion Pienaar had a stand-off with SARFU after he led South African players in threatening to join their Australia and New Zealand counterparts to play professionally for the World Rugby Corporation (WRC). Pienaar had convinced numerous Springbok players to sign with the WRC, but Louis Luyt eventually dissuaded them from breaking with the SARFU. During this standoff, Pienaar offered the black Springbok player Chester Williams less than other contemporary South African players. In purely marketing terms, Williams was second only to Jonah Lomu.
Subsequently, Springbok players were given contracts and the International Rugby Board (IRB) voted in favour of professionalisation. Pienaar was instrumental in negotiating the deal between SANZAR and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation that turned rugby into a fully-fledged professional game. Some of the older generation rugby administrators branded him a traitor for selling out South African rugby to professionalism.
In 1996, Pienaar was controversially dropped from the Springbok side, after 29 caps, by coach Andre Markgraaff, who accused him of feigning an injury during a match.
Pienaar subsequently left for Britain, where he became player-coach for Watford-based club Saracens. Under his leadership, they defeated the London Wasps to win the Pilkington Cup and also finished second in the Zurich Premiership. During the next two seasons, they secured third and fourth spots in the Zurich Premiership, thereby qualifying for the European Cup on consecutive campaigns.
Pienaar captained the Barbarians in his only appearance for the club against Leicester at Twickenham in 1999.
Test history.
 World Cup Final
Retirement.
In 2000, Pienaar retired as a player and became Saracens’ CEO. As a consequence of the club's lack of success during the two following years, Pienaar stepped down as coach and CEO in 2002. Piennar is one of 3 directors of Saracens as of 5/20.
In 2002 he returned to Cape Town, South Africa, where he lives with his wife Nerine Winter and two sons, both had Nelson Mandela as a godfather.
Pienaar wrote his autobiography "Rainbow Warrior" with Edward Griffiths in 1999. In November 2000, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Hertfordshire.
Pienaar was also involved in South Africa's failed bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup in 2005.
He was a pundit for ITV Sport during the Rugby World Cups of 2007, 2011 and 2015.
Depictions in media.
Pienaar and Mandela are the subject of a 2008 book by John Carlin, "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation", that spotlights the role of the 1995 Cup win in post-apartheid South Africa. Carlin sold the film rights to Morgan Freeman. The 2009 film "Invictus", based on the book, was directed by Clint Eastwood, and starred Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Pienaar.


Jim Brock

Jim Brock (July 24, 1936 – June 12, 1994) was the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team for 23 seasons from 1972 until his death in 1994.
During his first year as head coach, Brock managed his team to a 64–6 record. That mark remains the NCAA record for all-time winning percentage in a single season (.914). Jim Brock's record at ASU was 1,100–440 (.714), and he also led ASU to thirteen College World Series appearances. In 1994, Brock battled liver and colon cancer that would take his life one day after the conclusion of the College World Series. Though his strength was waning, Brock did not miss a conference game through the '94 season. He led his team through the regional tournament at Knoxville, Tennessee, and was in the dugout when the Sun Devils beat University of Miami 4–0, in the opener of the College World Series. Speaking in little more than a whisper, he gave his team an inspirational pep talk after a scoreless first inning when he sensed that the Sun Devils were flat. "You can make an assumption that you'll be up because it's the College World Series," Brock said, "But you spend so much emotion in the final game of the regional that you sometimes have to find a way to regain that emotion." On his way to Rosenblatt Stadium (home of the College World Series), for the second game of the Series, Brock's condition worsened. The Sun Devils went on to lose to the University of Oklahoma, 4–3, in the home half of the eleventh inning. Brock was airlifted from Omaha to a Mesa hospital shortly before game number three. His Sun Devils went on to hit five home runs to eliminate top seeded Miami, 9–5, presenting him with his 1,100th coaching victory. Later, Oklahoma eliminated ASU from the series and went on to capture the national title. On June 12, 1994, three days after his team's season ended, Brock died of colon cancer. He was 57. Brock was posthumously voted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Brock coached ASU to two College World Series Championships in 1977 and 1981, and was named National Coach of the Year four different times in his career (1977, 1981, 1984, 1988). Brock sent 175 players into professional baseball—an average of almost eight per year. Brock coached seven first round picks and all of ASU's three Golden Spike winners. He was a five-time winner of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) Coach of the Year. Jim Brock's No. 33 is retired by ASU, and in 2006, Bobby Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark was dedicated to Brock.


John Anderson (sailor)

John Edward Anderson OAM (born 24 July 1939) is an Australian sailor and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he won a gold medal in the Star class, together with David Forbes. He is the twin brother of sailor Tom Anderson.
In 1975, Anderson was part of the winning Soling class crew in the North American Championship and that same year, won the pre Olympic Regatta at Kingston. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he crewed the Australian boat which finished eleventh in the soling class. He was a member of the Australian Admirals Cup Team on "Apollo II" (1973), "Love and War" (1975), and "Runnaway" (1977). On 26 January 1987, Anderson was awarded the Medal of Order of Australia in "recognition of service to sailing". Anderson was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1999.
On 14 July 2000, Anderson was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for "services to sailing, particularly youth and offshore". In 2009 Anderson was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.


T. J. Healey

Thomas J. Healey (c.1866 - October 8, 1944) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer.
Regularly referred to as "T. J." by both his associates and the media, Healey was born near the site of Fordham University in Fordham, New York. Growing up he worked on his father's dairy farm but rather than cows, his interests centered on Thoroughbred horses. While in his teens he took a job at a racetrack stable and by his early twenties had already begun training horses. In 1888, at Brooklyn's Gravesend Race Track, he saddled the first winner of his fifty-four-year career. For the next eighteen years he ran one of the largest public stables in the United States but in 1896 became the trainer for the Montpelier Stable of Richard T. Wilson, Jr., president of Saratoga Race Course.
 Among the notable horses he trained for Wilson's stable were:
At the turn of the century, Healey trained horses for several prominent owners. Among them were Andrew Miller and Walter J. Salmon, Sr. Healey won his third Preakness Stakes with Salmon, Sr.'s colt Vigil in 1923. During the 1920s and into the first part of the 1930s, T. J. Healey also trained horses owned by Walter and Sarah Jeffords. For them, he won his fourth and fifth Preakness Stakes with:
Richard T. Wilson, Jr. died in December 1929 and Healey was hired by Harry Payne Whitney and his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. Over a four-year period, T. J. Healey won a record $1,453,868 with Whitney runners. Among the most famous horses he race conditioned for Whitney were:
Thomas J. Healey retired from training in 1941 after which he served as a steward for the New Jersey State Racing Association. He died at age 78 on October 8, 1944. Following its formation at Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1955 Thomas J. Healey was part of the inaugural class of inductees to the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.
John A. Healey.
At the time of his death, Thomas J. Healey and his wife Margaret had five daughters and a son, John A. Healey. Known as Jack, the younger Healey worked as an assistant with his father and often was responsible for overseeing a string of racehorses competing at tracks outside their New York/New Jersey base. When the new Santa Anita Park opened in Arcadia, California in 1935, Jack Healey was sent with a string of horses by stable owner C. V. Whitney to compete there during the winter racing season. Jack Healey won the 1935 San Carlos Handicap, San Gabriel Handicap, and San Vicente Stakes.
Jack Healey made his home at Boxwood Farm in Cockeysville, Maryland. After his father's retirement, he was hired by Harry & Jane du Pont Lunger of Wilmington, Delaware to take charge of their Christiana Stables. Less than two months after he won the 1947 Modesty Stakes at Washington Park Race Track in Chicago, Jack Healey fell ill and died at age forty-three on September 8, 1947 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland .


Dermontti Dawson

Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a center and long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football with the Kentucky Wildcats. He spent his entire pro career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Early life.
Dawson was born in Lexington, Kentucky where he attended Bryan Station High School. He was a nationally ranked high school track and field performer in the discus and shot put.
After having a bad experience playing ninth grade football, Dawson chose not to go out for his high school team his sophomore year. He joined the football team as a junior after being recruited due to his size by the school's football coach. He was an all-state offensive tackle in high school and eventually accepted a football scholarship to attend the University of Kentucky. Among his high school teammates were future NFL players Marc Logan and Cornell Burbage.
College football.
Dawson played center and guard at Kentucky. He lettered in each of his four years. In his freshman year in 1984 the team defeated Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Bowl. As a senior in 1987 Dawson was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Professional career.
Dawson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft. In his rookie season he played guard alongside Hall of Fame center Mike Webster. When Webster left the team following that season, Dawson succeeded him as the starting center. He soon became one of the more respected players among the Steelers, and one of the best in the league at his position. He earned the name "Dirt" for the way he would try to grind defenders into the ground. In contrast, his friendly off-field demeanor led to a second nickname, Ned Flanders, after the annoyingly cheerful character from "The Simpsons".
Dawson was named to seven straight Pro Bowls from 1992 to 1998 and was a six-time AP First Team All-Pro. In 1993, he was named co-AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year by the NFLPA and in 1996 he was named the NFL Alumni's Offensive Lineman of the Year. He played in 170 consecutive games, the second-most in Steelers history, until severe hamstring injuries forced him to sit out nine games in 1999 and seven more games in 2000. Dawson was released by the Steelers following the 2000 season partly due to these injuries and partly due to salary cap reasons. He opted to retire rather than trying to play for another team.
He is the only player to have played in the two most lopsided games in the Browns–Steelers rivalry, getting his first career start at center in the Steelers 51–0 loss to the Cleveland Browns at home (still the worst loss for the Steelers in franchise history), but was victorious in the Steelers 43–0 win against the Browns in Cleveland ten years later, in the Browns' first game in four years.
Personal life.
Dawson is divorced from Regina – who served as an elementary school principal at Shearer Elementary in nearby Winchester, Kentucky – and has two children. He returned to Lexington after his retirement, where he spent several years as a real estate developer. He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2010 listing over $69 million in liabilities against just under $1.5 million in assets. He currently resides in San Diego, California, where he is a sales executive for a promotional products company.
Dawson served an internship in the Steelers scouting department in and served as an intern coach with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010. He is also a part owner of the Washington Wild Things, an independent league baseball team in Washington, Pennsylvania.
Legacy.
Dawson was named the first-team center on the National Football League 1990s All-Decade Team. In 2007, he was selected for the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team which was named as part of the franchise's 75th season celebration. Although the Steelers no longer officially retire uniform numbers, the number 63 that Dawson wore has not been reassigned since his retirement. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 following three straight years in which he was a finalist for the distinction.
In 2001 Dawson and his wife established the Dermontti F. and Regina M. Dawson Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Education scholarship at his alma mater, the University of Kentucky (UK). Dawson was appointed to the school's board of trustees by Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher in 2005. He is a member of UK's College of Education's "Alumni Hall of Fame" and the UK Hall of Distinguished Alumni as well as a charter member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. In addition, his jersey has been retired by the school.


Jimmy Croll

Warren A. Croll, Jr. (March 9, 1920 – June 6, 2008), best known as Jimmy Croll, was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred race horse trainer.
Croll was born in 1920 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. After finishing high school, he attended the University of Pennsylvania with the intention of becoming a veterinarian but left to pursue his passion for racing Thoroughbreds. In 1940 he obtained his trainers' license but his racing career was interrupted by service with the United States Army in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. Upon the 1946 opening of the new Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey, Croll relocated there and became a permanent part of that facility's annual summer campaign. In 1998, he received Monmouth Park's "Raines Distinguished Achievement Award" given in memory of trainer Virgil W. Raines to an owner or trainer who has shown a dedication to the sport of Thoroughbred racing through exemplary conduct demonstrating professionalism and integrity.
He earned his first graded stakes race win with War Phar in 1951. Although Croll has had a number of good horses, there are several that stand out:
Jimmy Croll conditioned horses for Rachel Carpenter for 37 years. At the time of her death in August 1993, she owned Croll's most famous horse, the then unraced Holy Bull. Just a few hours before the two-year-old colt made his racing debut, Croll was notified by telephone that in her will, Rachel Carpenter had bequeathed him the seven horses under his care which included Holy Bull.
In retirement, Croll and his wife made their home in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey.
Croll died on June 6, 2008 after a long illness at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey.


Cathryn Fitzpatrick

Cathryn Lorraine Fitzpatrick (born 4 March 1968) is a former Australian cricketer. She was recognised as the world's fastest female bowler throughout her career and became the first woman to take 100 One Day International wickets. In 2019, Fitzpatrick was inducted into both the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame and the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Career summary.
While juggling her full-time job as a waste collector and later a postwoman, Fitzpatrick represented Australia in cricket on 124 occasions. She made her international debut in 1991 and went on to play 13 Test matches, taking 60 wickets (the second-most by an Australian woman, only behind Betty Wilson) at an average of 19.11.
Fitzpatrick also played 109 One Day Internationals, taking 180 wickets (the most by any woman until surpassed by Jhulan Goswami in May 2017) at an average of 16.79. She was a member of the Australian team that won the Women's Cricket World Cup in 1997 and 2005.
On 25 February 2006, Fitzpatrick became the oldest woman to take a five-wicket haul in ODI history, at the age of 37 years and 358 days. In March 2007, she announced her retirement from international cricket and also brought her domestic career with Victoria to an end after taking 148 wickets in 103 WNCL matches.
From May 2012 to March 2015, Fitzpatrick served as head coach of the Australian women's team, overseeing three successful world championship campaigns.
In 2019, Fitzpatrick was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. Later that year, she was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Bowling speed.
Due to limitations of available technological resources in her playing tenure, Fitzpatrick's top and average speeds are estimates rather than precise figures. Thorough eye-witness testimony agrees she was the world's fastest female bowler during her prime years, while sporadic measurements indicated her quickest delivery was at least 125 km/h. This evaluation holds up both impressively and credibly compared to modern women's cricket which is characterised by its increased professional standards—as of 2019, the fastest current bowlers are South Africa's Shabnim Ismail and New Zealand's Lea Tahuhu, who have been officially recorded at speeds of 128 km/h and 126 km/h respectively.


Leroy Blugh

Leroy Blugh (born May 14, 1966) is a former professional Canadian football defensive lineman and the current defensive line coach for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He played for fifteen seasons in the CFL for two different teams and was the winner of the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1996 and is a two-time CFL West Division All-Star and a 81st Grey Cup Champion (1993).
Blugh served as the head football coach at Bishop's University, his alma mater, from 2005 until his resignation after the 2010 season. He was named Defensive Line coach for Queen's University in August 2011. After one year with the Edmonton Eskimos as their defensive line coach, he was hired by the Ottawa Redblacks to serve in the same capacity on February 3, 2014. He spent six seasons with Ottawa, highlighted by a championship win in the 104th Grey Cup game. After the Redblacks' head coach, Rick Campbell, resigned and joined the BC Lions, Blugh was announced as part of his 2020 staff on January 6, 2020.
Blugh was born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and grew up in Napanee, Ontario, where his family moved when he was five years old. In 2015, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.


Rodney Harding

Rodney Harding (born August 1, 1962) was a defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League.
Harding played college football at Oklahoma State University. He had a 12-year career in the Canadian Football League from 1985 to 1996, and he played mainly with the Toronto Argonauts, but ended his career with seasons at the Memphis Mad Dogs and Calgary Stampeders. He was a CFL All-Star two times. He was a part of the Argonauts 1991 Grey Cup winning team.
In 2016, he will be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.


Ed McQuarters

Eddie Lee McQuarters (born April 16, 1943 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a former defensive tackle (number 61) for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1966–1974. McQuarters was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
College and NFL.
After a stellar career at the University of Oklahoma, Ed McQuarters was selected in the eighteenth round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, but after one year was released.
Saskatchewan Roughriders.
McQuarters was a defensive tackle, playing his entire 9-year career for Saskatchewan. The Green Riders played in four Grey Cup games during that period, winning in his rookie year, the 54th Grey Cup in 1966 against the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Mcquarters lost his left eye in a home workshop accident prior to the 1971 season, which limited his effectiveness but did not prevent him from playing up to the 1974 season, when he was cut after spending most of the year with knee injuries.
Honors and statistics.
Ed McQuarters was a CFL all-star in 1967, 1968, and 1969, winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award in 1967.
McQuarters had 10 fumble recoveries, one of them for an 80-yard touchdown, one interception for a touchdown, and four blocked kicks.


Chris Flynn (Canadian football)

Chris Flynn (born November 17, 1966) is a former Canadian football quarterback and is the only player to win the Hec Crighton Trophy three times as the most valuable player in Canadian university football. He was a 3-time All Canadian with the Saint Mary's Huskies (Bachelor of Arts degree) and played for SMU from 1987-1990. He played for the Montreal Machine of the World League of American Football in 1991 and 1992, played and coached in France from 1993-96, and played for the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders in 1996. He was inducted into the Saint Mary's Hall of Fame in 2001, inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2011, and inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 2015. He was voted in a Sportsnet poll as the #1 university football player of the past 50 years. In 2019 Chris Flynn's #1 jersey was the first jersey retired in the 217 year history of Saint Mary's University.


Packey McFarland

Patrick "Packey" McFarland (November 1, 1888 – September 22, 1936) was an American boxer in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. Despite an extraordinary winning record, he was unable to secure a match for either world title. The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia suggests McFarland was the best fighter to never become a world champion.
Professional career.
He was born on November 1, 1888, in Chicago, Illinois.
McFarland became a professional boxer in 1904. In 1905 he beat Jimmy Britt, who had a disputed claim to be the lightweight world champion, although this fight was not for a title. In 1908 he defeated future lightweight champion Freddie Welsh in one bout and drew with him in another. He also defeated old foe Britt in another bout that year. In 1910 he met Welsh again for the British version of the lightweight title. The bout ended in another draw, with Welsh retaining his title. McFarland never fought for another world title bout. On April 26, 1912 he beat Matt Wells at Madison Square Garden, in New York City.
He later defeated future welterweight champion Jack Britton during the later part of his career. losing his first fight and winning 98 there on.
He retired in 1915 after fighting to a draw with Mike Gibbons. He was a boxing instructor at Camp Zachary Taylor in 1918. On January 27, 1933, he was appointed to the Illinois Athletic Commission by Governor Henry Horner. McFarland also managed his sizable investments and was director of two banks.
Death.
McFarland died at Joliet, Illinois, of a strepococcus infection which had attacked his heart.


Elvin Bethea

Elvin Lamont Bethea (born March 1, 1946) is a former American football defensive end who played his entire career with the Houston Oilers. He played for North Carolina A&T State University and was the first person from that school to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2003.
Career.
Bethea was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and played high school football and track at Trenton Central High School. He set the New Jersey state record in the shot put in 1964 – 66 feet 4.5 inches - which stood until 1997. He won the shot put and discus competitions at the Golden West Invitational track meet in 1964.
During his career in Houston, Bethea played in 210 games, including a stretch of 135 consecutive. He played at defensive end and guard in the 1968 season and didn't miss a game until breaking his arm in a game against the Oakland Raiders in 1977. He led the team in sacks six times, finishing his career with 105 unofficial sacks.
His career high was in 1973 with 16 sacks, which still ranks as the best in Oilers/Tennessee Titans history, a feat made more remarkable by the Oilers' 1-13 record. In 1976 Bethea recorded 14½ sacks, yet was not voted to the Pro Bowl. In a game against the San Diego Chargers in 1976, he recorded four sacks (his career high) and had one fumble recovery.
He also had 14½ sacks in 1969. Other notable seasons in terms of sacks were: 1970 and 1971 with 10½ sacks in each, 1975 with 10 and 1978 with 8. He played in the AFC Championship game in 1978 and 1979.
Awards and honors.
Bethea was Second-team All-Pro in 1969, 1973, 1978 and 1979 to go with his 8 Pro Bowl selections.
Bethea was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He was officially inducted during the Enshrinement Ceremony on August 3, 2003, where his college coach and presenter, Hornsby Howell, unveiled the bust of Bethea, which was sculpted by Scott Myers.
In 2005, Bethea was inducted to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
Book.
Bethea is the author of "Smash-Mouth: My Football Journey from Trenton to Canton".


Martin Gison

Martin Mauricio Gison (born 14 March 1914, date of death unknown) was a Filipino sports shooter. He is competed at five Olympic Games, the most for any Filipino as of 2008.
Gison's first Olympics was in 1936 at 22 years old. He also competed at the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1964 editions of the Olympics. The best finished accomplished by Gison was in 1936 where he placed fourth in the men's 50m small-bore rifle event.
During World War II, Gison was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March.


Brent Johnson (Canadian football)

Brent Johnson (born December 7, 1976) is a retired Canadian football defensive lineman who played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He attended Ohio State University where he played for the Buckeyes.
Professional career.
Brent Johnson was drafted by the Lions in the third round, 20th overall of the 2000 CFL Draft. He started playing for BC in 2001. Johnson led the CFL in sacks with 17 in the 2005 CFL season and 16 in the 2006 CFL season. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award and was named a CFL All-Star in both years. Johnson also won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 2006. He was awarded his third CFL All-Star selection for his performance in the 2008 CFL season. He holds the record for sacks with the BC Lions with 89 over his 11-year career.
Personal.
Brent Johnson lives in Vancouver with his wife Lara and his son Roman


Doug Brown (gridiron football)

Douglas Gordon Brown (born September 29, 1974) is a retired National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) defensive tackle. He played college football at Simon Fraser University. Brown won the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 2001. He played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 2001 until his retirement in 2011, competing in three Grey Cups: 2001, 2007, and 2011. He was a CFL All-Star eight times.
Career.
Brown was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders 5th overall in the 1997 CFL draft. However, he did not play a game with them and signed with the Buffalo Bills of the NFL, spending his entire time there on the practice squad. Following that he went to play for the Washington Redskins where he played ten games with the NFL team.
The 2000 season was a wash, but the end of the season saw his rights traded to Winnipeg from Calgary. He started playing with the Bombers for the 2001 CFL season which saw him named as the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian and a visit to the 2001 Grey Cup game which the Bombers ended up losing. He soon acquired the nickname "Big Bird" and again won as Winnipeg's MOC award again the following season.
Next season, in 2004, Brown won his third recognition as the Bombers' MOC and also won the award for the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. 2006 was another strong season, and arguably his strongest with the Blue Bombers. However, he finished as runner up for the Most Outstanding Canadian award that year. Brown went to the 2007 Grey Cup, his second appearance in the penultimate CFL, but again came up short losing by four points to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Brown won his fifth CFL All-Star recognition in 2008 and again finished as runner-up for the MODP award. 2009 saw a return to recognition for Brown where he again won Winnipeg's MOC and MODP awards. Despite being one of the oldest players in the CFL, Brown continued to excel during the 2010 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season. He finished with his seventh CFL All-Star naming that year.
The 2011 CFL season saw Brown as a member of the self-titled "Swaggerville" defence for Winnipeg, which was one of the top defences in the league at that time. The 2011 season also saw Brown win his eighth East Division all-star nod.
In 2016, he was finally inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Personal.
Brown credited former Coquitlam Cheetahs track and field coach Percy Perry with developing his running which enabled his progression to pro football.
He currently writes a weekly sports column for the "Winnipeg Free Press". Brown also serves as colour commentator for Blue Bomber broadcasts on CJOB 68 AM radio in Winnipeg.
Brown is also currently a KidSport Winnipeg Sport Ambassador, helping run an annual Football Camp for recipients of KidSport Winnipeg funding.
He resides in Winnipeg.


Nap Lajoie

Napoleon Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics (twice), and Cleveland Naps between 1896 and 1916. He managed the Naps from 1905 through 1909.
Lajoie was signed to the National League's (NL) Phillies in 1896. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the upstart American League (AL) was looking to rival the supremacy of the NL and in 1901, Lajoie and dozens of former National League players joined the American League. National League clubs contested the legality of contracts signed by players who jumped to the other league, but eventually Lajoie was allowed to play for Connie Mack's Athletics. During the season, Lajoie set the all-time American League single-season mark for the highest batting average (.426). One year later, Lajoie went to the Cleveland Bronchos, where he would play until the 1915 season, when he returned to play for Mack and the Athletics. While with Cleveland, Lajoie's popularity led to locals electing to change the club's team name from Bronchos to Napoleons ("Naps" for short), which remained until after Lajoie departed Cleveland and the name was changed to Indians (the team's name until 2021).
Lajoie led the AL in batting average five times in his career and four times recorded the highest number of hits. During several of those years with the Naps he and Ty Cobb dominated AL hitting categories and traded batting titles with each other, most notably coming in 1910, when the league's batting champion was not decided until well after the last game of the season and after an investigation by American League President Ban Johnson. Lajoie in 1914 joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as the only major league players to record 3,000 career hits. He led the NL or AL in putouts five times in his career and in assists three times. He has been called "the best second baseman in the history of baseball" and "the most outstanding player to wear a Cleveland uniform." Cy Young said, "Lajoie was one of the most rugged players I ever faced. He'd take your leg off with a line drive, turn the third baseman around like a swinging door and powder the hand of the left fielder." He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
Early life.
Lajoie was born on September 5, 1874, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, to Jean Baptiste and Celina Guertin Lajoie. Jean Lajoie was French-Canadian and had emigrated to the United States. Upon arrival to the U.S., he first settled in Rutland, Vermont, but then moved to Woonsocket, where Lajoie, the youngest of eight surviving children, was born. Throughout his childhood Lajoie received little formal education.
Jean, who worked as a teamster and laborer, died not long into the Lajoie's childhood, which forced him and his siblings to work to support the family. Lajoie dropped out of school to work in a textile mill. He also began playing semi-professional baseball for the local Woonsocket team, under the alias "Sandy" because his parents did not approve of their son playing baseball. He earned money as a taxi driver with a horse and buggy and locally was called "Slugging Cabby." "When I told my father I had decided to take the job he was very angry. He shouted that ball players were bums and that nobody respected them, but I was determined to give it a try at least one season," Lajoie later said. He also received the nickname "Larry" from a teammate who had trouble pronouncing Lajoie. Lajoie admired baseball players such as King Kelly and Charles Radbourn.
When word of Lajoie's baseball ability spread, he began to play for other semi-professional teams at $2 to $5 per game ($ to $ in current dollar terms). He also worked as a teamster. He left Woonsocket and his $7.50 per week ($ in current dollar terms) working as a taxi driver and joined the Class B New England League's Fall River Indians in 1896. Lajoie played as a center fielder, first baseman and catcher, earning $25 weekly ($ in current dollar terms). He recorded 163 hits in 80 games and led the team in batting average, doubles, triples, home runs and hits. Lajoie was "widely regarded as an outstanding prospect," and Indians owner Charlie Marston rejected an offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Lajoie in exchange for $500 ($ in current dollar terms). He was also scouted by the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters.
Major league career.
Philadelphia Phillies and Athletics.
The Philadelphia Phillies of the MLB's National League (NL) purchased Lajoie and teammate Phil Geier from Fall River for $1,500 ($ in current dollar terms) on August 9. Phillies' manager Billy Nash originally went to Fall River intending to sign Geier only but obtained Lajoie when the team agreed to include him in their asking price. Author David Jordan wrote:
A legend later grew up that Geier was the main target of Nash's pursuit and that Marston 'threw in' Lajoie in order to get the Phillies to pay the $1,500 asking price. This is hardly likely. While Geier was considered a good prospect, Lajoie was banging the ball at a .429 clip in his first professional season, was a fine fielder, and had already been sought by several big league clubs. Nap Lajoie clearly represented a financial asset to Marston, who did not give him away. The price the Phillies paid was a substantial sum for two minor leaguers in 1896.
Against the Washington Senators on August 12, 1896, Lajoie made his major league debut. He played first base and recorded a single. Ed Delahanty was being considered to play the first base position after Dan Brouthers retired. Delahanty, however, wanted Lajoie to play first so he could return to his natural position of left field. Delahanty said to Lajoie, "Look, sonny, you tell the boss you're a first baseman and you and me are gonna get along." Lajoie became the team's first baseman, and by the end of the season he and Delahanty were roommates. Later in 1898, new manager George Stallings moved Lajoie to second base, commenting, "[Lajoie would] have made good no matter where I positioned him."
Lajoie hit .363 and led the NL in slugging percentage in 1897 and doubles and RBIs in 1898. He had a .378 batting average in 1899, though he played only 77 games due to an injury. In 1900, he missed five weeks due to a broken thumb suffered in a fistfight with teammate Elmer Flick.
John Rogers, described as a "penny-pinching" majority owner of the Phillies, assured Lajoie that he would make the same salary as Delahanty. However, Lajoie discovered that while he was earning $2,600 ($ in current dollar terms), Delahanty earned $3,000 ($ in current dollar terms) (contracts for NL players were not allowed to surpass $2,400). Rogers increased Lajoie's pay by $200 but the damage had already been done. "Because I felt I had been cheated, I was determined to listen to any reasonable American League offer", Lajoie said.
In 1901, the newly created American League had attracted several of the top players in the competing National League to join its ranks. Rogers declined Lajoie's request for an increase in salary, and as a result Lajoie jumped to the crosstown Philadelphia Athletics, owned by former Phillies' part-owner Benjamin Shibe and managed by Connie Mack. Frank Hough offered Lajoie the contract on behalf of Mack. "Hough offered me $24,000 ($ in current dollar terms) for four years. You can bet I signed in a hurry", Lajoie said. Lajoie was considered "the first superstar" to join the newly formed AL. He was also the first player whose yearly salary was for $4,000 ($ in current dollar terms). "The Phillies opened their season and drew 6,000 fans. A week later, when we opened, there were 16,000 in the stands. The American League was here to stay", Lajoie later said. Lajoie's batting average that year was .426 (due to a transcription error for his hit total that was not discovered until 1954, which inaccurately gave his hit total as 220 instead of 229, it was originally recorded at .405, later changed to .422, before finally being revised again to .426). The batting average mark became the all-time AL record after the number was revised. Previously, Ty Cobb and George Sisler had been credited with having the AL's all-time mark. That same year in a game against the Chicago White Sox' Clark Griffith, Lajoie became the second Major Leaguer after Abner Dalrymple in 1881 to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded in an 11–7 game. For the 1901 season, Lajoie led the majors in doubles (48), and led the majors in hits (232), batting average (.426), runs (145), on-base (.463) and slugging percentage (.643), and total bases (350). His 125 RBIs led the AL and his 14 home runs were a career-best and his 48 doubles are a Philadelphia Athletics' record. Mack said of Lajoie, "He plays so naturally and so easily it looks like lack of effort." Author Robert Kelly writes:
"The .422 batting average of Lajoie still stands as an AL record. To some degree, however, it is tainted. The 1901 season was the first for the AL and the level of competition was presumably evolving. Such questions, however, in no way cast doubt on the extraordinary batting ability of the second baseman."
In April 1902, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania overruled an earlier decision by the Court of Common Pleas and upheld the reserve clause in contracts between players and NL clubs. President of the Chicago National League Club Jim Hart said the state Supreme Court's decision had dealt "a fatal blow to the rival league" and NL clubs "have won a great victory." The Phillies' Rogers obtained an injunction barring Lajoie from playing baseball for any team other than his team. However, a lawyer discovered that the injunction was enforceable only in the state of Pennsylvania. The courts ruled that the reserve clause was not valid for players who signed with an AL team. Mack responded by trading Lajoie and Bill Bernhard to the then-moribund Cleveland Bronchos, whose owner, Charles Somers, had provided considerable financial assistance to the A's in the early years. Lajoie was also pursued by Charles Comiskey, owner of the Chicago White Sox.
Cleveland Bronchos/Naps.
Lajoie, nicknamed "The Frenchman" and considered baseball's most famous player at the time, arrived in Cleveland on June 4; his play was immediately met with approval from fans. The Bronchos drew 10,000 fans to League Park in Lajoie's first game. The Bronchos' record at the time Lajoie and fellow Athletics teammate, Bill Bernhard, joined was 11–24 and improved to 12–24 after the team's inaugural game with their new players, a 4–3 win over the Boston Americans. The team went on to finish 69–67, fifth in the AL, for the franchise's first winning record since the AL began as a league. After his first season with the Bronchos, Lajoie's .378 average led all AL players. New York Giants manager, John McGraw, was rumored to want to sign Lajoie, but Lajoie said "... I intend to stick to Cleveland."
For the remainder of 1902 and most of 1903, Lajoie and Flick traveled separately from the rest of the team, needing to avoid entering Pennsylvania so as to avoid a subpoena (the only team they could legally play with inside state limits was the Phillies). When the Naps went to play in Philadelphia, Lajoie and Bernhard would go to nearby Atlantic City to help pass the time. The issue was finally resolved when the leagues made peace through the National Agreement in September 1903 (which also brought the formation of the World Series). To begin the 1903 season, the club changed its name from the Bronchos to the Naps in honor of Lajoie after a readers' poll result was released by the "Cleveland Press". (The team was officially the Blues in their inaugural AL season but changed to the Bronchos for the 1902 season.) The Bronchos finished the season 77–63 and Lajoie finished his first full season with the club again the AL's batting champion with a .344 average. He also led the league in slugging percentage (.518), finished second in doubles (41), third in RBIs (93) and tied for fifth in home runs (7). In the off-season he contracted pleurisy.
During the 1904 season, Lajoie received a suspension after he spat tobacco juice in an umpire's eye. He later informally replaced Bill Armour as the team's manager (Armour submitted his resignation on September 9 but as team captain, Lajoie had already been acting as the Naps' field manager). After the season had concluded, Lajoie was officially named manager. He still managed to lead the majors with a .376 batting average as he recorded his second consecutive league batting title. He also led the majors in hits (208), doubles (49), RBIs (102) and slugging percentage (.546). Lajoie forbade his players from card playing and gambling during the regular season. As a manager, Lajoie was also described as "much too lenient with his players."
Lajoie contracted sepsis from an untreated spike injury after a game in July 1905. Dye from Lajoie's stockings entered his bloodstream and led to blood poisoning. (A rule was put into place requiring white socks to be worn underneath a player's colored socks.) The injury worsened and Lajoie eventually came to games in a wheelchair, and doctors considered amputation. The injury and illness kept Lajoie out until August 28, when he returned as the team's first baseman. Near the end of the season he sustained an injury to his ankle from a foul tip during an at bat, and did not play for the remainder of the season but continued to manage from the bench. He finished the season having only appeared in 65 games (a career-low, other than his rookie season when he was not called up until well after the season had begun). The Naps finished with a 76–78 record in a season in which they had been 52–29, and held a three-game lead in the American League on July 24th Baseball historian Bill James wrote of Lajoie's higher-than-normal career putout total and importance to Cleveland:
Nap Lajoie was not only the team's superstar, after 1905 he was also the manager. He was more than that—hell, the team was actually called the "Naps" in his honor, as if Lajoie "was" the team. If Lajoie was in the habit of covering second base every play, the shortstop certainly wasn't going to tell him not to.
Lajoie led the majors in 1906 in hits (214) and doubles (48) and the Naps finished third in the AL again with a winning record, 89–64. Lajoie finished second in the AL to George Stone in batting average, slugging and on-base percentage. In 1906 he married Myrtle Smith and the couple moved to a small farm outside Cleveland.
In June of the 1907 season, Lajoie's .296 average, "an average even now that scores of players would be glad to accept," put him at risk for hitting below .300 for the first time in his career. He also missed 15 games due to a recurrence of sepsis. Lajoie and Naps first baseman George Stovall got into an argument in a hotel lobby and Stovall broke a chair over Lajoie's head. "George didn't mean anything by it", Lajoie said, and the two maintained a working relationship. He finished the season with an average of .301. Naps owner Charles Somers received a trade offer from the Detroit Tigers for the Naps' Elmer Flick and Tigers' Ty Cobb. Tigers manager Hughie Jennings called Somers and told him he was offering the trade because Cobb was not getting along with several teammates. Somers decided to retain Flick, saying, "We'll keep Flick. Maybe he isn't as good a batter as Cobb, but he's much nicer to have on the team." The Naps finished the regular season in second place to the Tigers with a 90–64 record, a half-game behind the Tigers (who finished 90–63 and were not forced to make-up a rained out game in accordance with league rules). Lajoie was partly blamed for the Naps' second-place finish. Author Fred McMane described an instance during the season between Naps catcher Nig Clarke and Lajoie.
Clarke ... was newly married and asked Lajoie for a day off so that he could go home. Lajoie refused. Clarke sulked and walked over to warm up pitcher Addie Joss. On the first pitch, he stuck out a finger and the ball broke it cleanly. With blood streaming from his hand, Clarke waved it defiantly in front of Lajoie. "Now can I go home?" asked Clarke. He was out five weeks, and Cleveland lost the pennant to Detroit by half a game.
Lajoie finished the season tied for third-most in hits (168) while Cobb's batting average, slugging and on-base percentages, and hit total led the American League. Baseball historians have suggested the managerial duties Lajoie took on affected his offensive numbers.
Lajoie's dissatisfaction with the Naps' play worsened. "You can't win in the major leagues unless you have players who know the game. We don't have time to teach and train youngsters up here. Our job is to win pennants, not run schools", he said. Franklin Lewis, sports writer and author, wrote "Lajoie, in spite of his marvelous fielding and tremendous batting, was not exactly a darling of the grandstand as a manager." Lajoie recommended to Somers on August 17, 1909, he find the team a new manager, although he wanted to remain on the club as a player. Somers responded to Lajoie by giving him more time to finalize his decision but when Lajoie came back days later and announced the same decision, Somers acted quickly to find a replacement. Lajoie later described the decision to take on the added duties as a player-manager as the biggest mistake of his career as he felt it negatively affected his play. The highest-paid player in the league, he also offered a $10,000 ($ in current dollar terms) reduction in salary. Somers promoted Naps coach Deacon "Jim" McGuire to manager. The team finished 71–82 while Lajoie's .324 average was third in the AL and 33 doubles second. The Naps finished 1910 71–81 but Lajoie had one of his better seasons statistically as he led the majors with a .384 average and 227 hits, both categories bettered only in Lajoie's 1901 campaign. His 51 doubles, a career-high, and 304 total bases led the majors, the fourth and final time in his career he would lead the majors in the latter category. Lajoie missed significant parts of back-to-back seasons, the first in 1911 when he appeared in just 90 games. Stovall, the former Naps first baseman, replaced McGuire as the club's manager and the Naps finished 80–73. Lajoie was forced to sit out six weeks of the 1912 season when he sprained his back in May during a practice session in Chicago. He played in 117 games on the season, an increase of the 90 he played in one season before, but Cleveland, who had hired Joe Birmingham as the team's fifth manager since Lajoie gave up the role in 1909, finished 75–78. Lajoie and Joe Jackson tied for the team lead with 90 RBIs. He finished fourth in the AL with a .368 batting average. In 1913, Birmingham and Lajoie had arguments in the open, including one incident in June when Lajoie cursed Birmingham openly to reporters after being benched during a batting slump. Lajoie hit .335 on the year, the last time he would hit over .300 in his career.
Only two other major league players had attained 3,000 career hits until Lajoie hit a double on September 27, 1914, and so joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner in the 3,000 hit club. Lajoie recorded the hit off Yankees pitcher Marty McHale in a 5–3 Naps win. His .258 batting average for the season, however, was the lowest since he had joined the majors in 1896. The Naps finished in last place in the American League standings with a 51–102 record, their worst record since joining the league and the franchise's lowest winning percentage (.333). Lajoie requested that Somers trade him and the club obliged, selling Lajoie to the Athletics for the waiver price and in so doing, Lajoie returned to Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Athletics.
The following season, 1915, Lajoie returned to the Athletics when Mack signed him to a contract. In his first season back with the Athletics, he finished with a .280 batting average but the team ended the season in last place with a 43–109 record. The 1916 season would be Lajoie's last in the majors. In his final major league game, he hit a triple to help Athletics pitcher Joe Bush win his no-hitter. Lajoie, aged 41 years, played in 113 games and finished with a .246 average. Philadelphia's season record was worse than the previous season's franchise-low record, and the team finished in last place again with a 36–117 record. The Athletics' winning percentage (.235) is the franchise's worst winning percentage (through 2012 season).
Minor leagues and retirement.
In 1917, Lajoie joined the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League as manager. At the age of 42, Lajoie won the league's batting title with batting average of .380. He appeared in 151 of 156 games and for the first time in his career, played on a team that won a pennant. He later was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers for $3,000 ($ in current dollar terms) in March 1918 but the contract was annulled by the Commissioner's office and made a free agent to which Lajoie was "well pleased". Later that same year he joined the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association as player-manager. He helped lead the team to a third-place finish but the season was impacted due to the U.S.'s involvement in World War I. Lajoie made his services available to the draft board but they rejected his offer. On December 27, 1918, Lajoie announced his retirement from baseball.
Several years after his retirement, a story in "The Milwaukee Sentinel" talked of Lajoie's ability to "outguess any pitcher." Lajoie faced pitcher Red Donahue, who avoided pitching fastballs to Lajoie after seeing him go 4-for-4 against a fellow pitcher. Donahue instead made pitches on the outside corner, to which Lajoie reached over "and hit them with ease." Donahue then aimed a pitch at Lajoie's head and he proceeded to hit a home run. "That's the kind I eat", he said.
Rivalry with Ty Cobb.
For the first part of the 20th century, Lajoie and Cobb's statistics rivaled each other like few other players in the American League. In 1908, Honus Wagner and Lajoie recorded their 2,000th career hit. Baseball historian David Anderson wrote:
Nap Lajoie reached the milestone later in the summer with even less hoopla, in an age when individual records received little attention from the press and were generally scorned by many players. Players overly worried about their individual stats were often unpopular with teammates. The modesty of Wagner and Lajoie over their achievements contrasted sharply with Cobb's ambition and overriding interest in his individual numbers.
The Lajoie-Cobb rivalry reached a peak in 1910, when Hugh Chalmers of the Chalmers Auto Company (a direct predecessor to modern-day Chrysler) promised a Chalmers 30 Roadster to the season's batting champion. The public became fascinated with the daily statistics of Lajoie and Cobb in what became known as the Chalmers Race. Sports bettors, who by this time followed the sport attentively, also followed the daily reports with interest. Cobb took the final two games, a doubleheader, off against the Chicago White Sox, confident that his average was safe and would allow him to win the AL batting title—unless Lajoie had a near-perfect final day. Going into the final game of the season, Cobb's average led Lajoie's, .383 to .376.
Lajoie and the Naps faced a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns in Sportsman's Park, Cleveland's final two games of the season. After a sun-hindered fly ball went for a stand-up triple and another batted ball landed for a cleanly hit single, Lajoie had five subsequent hits – bunt singles dropped in front of rookie third baseman Red Corriden (whose normal position was shortstop), who was playing closer to shallow left field on orders, it has been suggested, of manager Jack O'Connor. In his second at bat of the second game, Lajoie reached base on another bunt but the runner on first base advanced. According to the rules of that time, the hit was scored a sacrifice and thus, Lajoie did not record an official at-bat. He finished the doubleheader a perfect 8-for-8 and his batting average increased to .384, .001 greater than Cobb's mark. Although the AL office had not officially announced the results, Lajoie began to receive congratulations from fans and players, including eight of Cobb's Detroit Tigers teammates. Most players in the league preferred Lajoie's personality to that of Cobb's. Coach Harry Howell is reported to have said to the game's official scorer, E. V. Parish, "to do well by Lajoie." Howell was reported to have offered a bribe to Parish, which described in Al Stump's biography of Cobb, was a $40 ($ in current dollar terms) suit. Parish refused the offer and the resulting uproar ended in O'Connor and Howell being banned from the major leagues by AL President Ban Johnson.
Johnson had the matter investigated, and after having Cobb's September 24 doubleheader statistics re-checked, discovered only the first game of Cobb's statistics had been scored, but not the second game, in which he went 2-for-3. This put Cobb's suggested actual batting average at .385, again ahead of Lajoie's. In the end, Johnson ruled that Lajoie's sacrifice bunt should have been recorded as a hit (which would have allowed him to go 9-for-9) but that Cobb's batting average was greater, recording 196 hits in 509 at bats to Lajoie's 227 hits in 591 at bats. Johnson asked Chalmers if his company would award an automobile to each player, to which he agreed. Lajoie initially refused the car, but eventually relented and accepted it. Cobb said, "I am glad that I won an automobile and am especially pleased that Lajoie also gets one. I have no one to criticize. I know the games were on the square and I am greatly pleased to know that the affair has ended so nicely." Lajoie said, "I am quite satisfied that I was treated fairly in every way by President Johnson, but I think the scorer at St. Louis made an error in not crediting me with nine hits. However, I am glad that the controversy is over. I have the greatest respect for Cobb as a batter and am glad of his success."
"The Sporting News" published an article written by Paul MacFarlane in its April 18, 1981, issue where historian Pete Palmer had discovered that while Cobb's September 24 doubleheader was not correctly tabulated (perhaps purposefully) according to the correct date, the second game's statistics were in fact included in the next day's ledger, thus incorrectly recording a second 2-for-3 performance from Cobb which meant Lajoie's average was greater. Author James Vail wrote in 2001:
To date, it seems that no one knows for certain who won that 1910 batting title. "Total Baseball", which is now the official major-league record, lists both men at .384 in its seasonal section, but its player register has Lajoie at the same number and Cobb at .383—so even the various editors of that source do not, or cannot, agree.
Jon Wertheim wrote in "Sports Illustrated" 100 years after the event,
The statistics for the Detroit players had been crossed out and nullified. Every Detroit player, that is, except one: Ty Cobb. It takes something less than a detective to arrive at the conclusion that at some point Johnson (or someone in the league office, anyway) realized the error and decided to conceal it.
Legacy.
Lajoie ended his career with a lifetime .338 batting average. His career total of 3,243 hits was the second-most in MLB history at the time of his retirement, behind only Honus Wagner's total (3,420). Lajoie's 2,522 hits in the American League was that league's record until Cobb surpassed his mark. He was among the second group of players elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937 and was later inducted on June 12, 1939, when the Hall opened that same year. Lajoie obtained the greatest number of votes as he led induction mates Tris Speaker (165 votes) and Cy Young (153) with 168 votes (83.6 percent of ballots) from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Lajoie led all second basemen in the NL in putouts (1898) and the AL four times in his career (1901, 1903, 1906, and 1908). From 1906–1908 he led the AL in assists (amongst second basemen). He also led the league in double plays six times in his career. Baseball historian William McNeil rates Lajoie as the game's greatest second baseman, when combining both offensive and defensive impact. Bill James argues, "In the last 20 years several statistical analysts ... have credited Lajoie with immense defensive value ... this analysis is incorrect. He was a competent fielder, even a good fielder. He was "not" a defensive superstar."
During spring training before the 1928 season, Lajoie commented on the 1927 New York Yankees. "Of course, you could see a lot of loafing going on but if that club is the greatest of all times, you just know that we had a lot of clubs in my time who were world champions and didn't know it." He died in Daytona Beach, Florida on February 7, 1959, at the age of 84 from complications associated with pneumonia. He had fallen in the autumn of 1958 and fractured his arm. His wife had died earlier in 1951. In 1999, he ranked number 29 on "The Sporting News"' list of the "100 Greatest Baseball Players", and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
Lajoie is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:
In Ring Lardner's 1911 baseball song, "Gee, It's a Wonderful Game", a stanza refers to Lajoie:
Who lost out in the battle of old Waterloo?/
I don't know, I don't know/
They say 'twas Na-po-le-on/
Maybe it's true/
Maybe so, I don't know/
The pink sheets don't print Mr. Bonaparte's face/
No stories about him today/
'Cause he never could hold down
that old second base/
Like his name sake/
Big Nap Lay'-ooh-way


Bob Todd (baseball)

Bob Todd (born September 27, 1948) is an American former baseball coach and pitcher. He was the head coach of the Ohio State University baseball program. In 23 seasons there his teams compiled a 901–477–2 record. He previously coached Kent State to a 124–82 record. He has guided Ohio State to two 50-win seasons, in 1991 and 1999. His teams won the Big Ten championship five consecutive years (1991–1995). He announced his retirement at the end of the 2010 season.


Jim Leighton

James Leighton (born 24 July 1958) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. Leighton started his career with Aberdeen, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982-83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the management of Alex Ferguson. Ferguson then signed Leighton for Manchester United in 1988, but dropped him after he conceded three goals in the 1990 FA Cup Final. Leighton then had spells with Arsenal, Reading, Dundee and Sheffield United, and rebuilt his career after joining Hibernian in 1993. He returned to Aberdeen in 1997, leading to a career total of over 600 appearances in the league alone.
Leighton played in 91 international matches for Scotland. He was chosen for Scotland's World Cup squads in 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1998, playing in the latter three of those tournaments.
Playing career.
Aberdeen.
Leighton joined Aberdeen from Scottish Junior club Dalry Thistle in 1977, after working in the civil service on leaving school. Before breaking into the Aberdeen first team he was loaned out for one season to Highland League club Deveronvale, where he is now an inductee of the club’s Hall of Fame. Leighton achieved his greatest success under the management of Alex Ferguson in the early to mid-1980s. With Leighton in goal, Ferguson's Aberdeen won Premier Division titles in 1984 and 1985, the Scottish Cup four times, the Scottish League Cup once, and the European Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup in 1983.
Brian Clough, a notorious critic of other goalkeepers for the national team during the 1970s and 1980s, has been reported as saying "Jim Leighton is a rare bird – a Scottish goalkeeper that can be relied on."
Manchester United.
Ferguson, who had left Aberdeen to manage Manchester United in 1986, signed Leighton for £750,000 in 1988. In his first season with United, the club finished 11th. Leighton conceded 35 league goals and kept 14 clean sheets, while he conceded more than two goals only once in all competitions.
In 1989–90 United finished two places lower in the league in 13th. Leighton played when United were defeated 5–1 in the league by newly promoted neighbours Manchester City, and conceded three goals in 1990 FA Cup Final, a 3–3 draw with Crystal Palace. He was then dropped from the United starting lineup for the replay, in which Les Sealey made a number of saves as United won the match 1–0. Leighton's disappointment was such that when handed the winner's medal by Sealey, he later returned it to his replacement's pocket, and when a medal specifically for Leighton was received by the club due to his appearance in the first match, he declined that too. The two players remained close friends, although Leighton's relationship with Ferguson deteriorated to the point where the two were no longer on speaking terms.
Sealey retained the position of first-choice goalkeeper for the 1990–91 season after signing a permanent contract. Although Leighton remained contracted to United for nearly two more years, he played only one more game for the club (against Halifax Town in the Football League Cup on 26 September 1990). He was fourth choice keeper in 1990–91 behind Sealey, Gary Walsh and youngster Mark Bosnich, and was loaned to Arsenal between March and May 1991, a period in which they won the league title, although he did not play.
Leighton remained fourth choice United keeper in season 1991–92 behind Peter Schmeichel, Walsh and youngster Ian Wilkinson. He spent a portion of that season on loan with third-tier Reading.
Return to Scotland.
In March 1992 Iain Munro signed him for Dundee for a £200,000 fee. He played in the last dozen league games of the season winning the title in the Scottish second tier and promotion to the top flight. He was out of favour at Dens Park after Simon Stainrod replaced Munro as manager. Leighton had another non-playing loan spell at Sheffield United.
His career was revitalised after Alex Miller signed him for Hibernian in summer 1993, Leighton playing over 150 games and missing only one league match in four seasons. He played in the 1993 Scottish League Cup Final) defeat to Rangers. He was recalled to the Scottish national team, collecting 23 of his 91 Scotland caps at Hibs. He later said he played the best football of his career in his spell at Easter Road and rated Miller the second-best manager he played under.
In 1997 Leighton returned to Aberdeen, where he featured regularly for another three seasons and reached 500 appearances for the club in 1998. He was captain in the 2000 Scottish League Cup Final defeat to Celtic.
He retired from playing after the 2000 Scottish Cup Final defeat by Rangers. In that game he was substituted after three minutes, suffering a broken jaw in a challenge from Rod Wallace (requiring the insertion of metal plates into his face). With no substitute goalkeeper available, forward Robbie Winters took over in goal and Aberdeen lost 4–0. Leighton's final league appearance that season meant that he set the record for the oldest player in the Scottish Premier League at 41 years and 302 days (since broken by Andy Millen in 2007).
In July 2000 he was given a testimonial against Middlesbrough, the same opponent as in his first appearance for Aberdeen in a 1978 friendly; however he could not actually play in the match due to recovering from his cup final injury. He released his autobiography the same year. In 2004 he was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.
International career.
Leighton's international career lasted for 16 years, from 1982 to 1998. He was an uncapped squad member for the 1982 World Cup, before making his debut against East Germany on 13 October 1982. Within two years he was his country's No. 1, and he played in all of his country's matches at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.
After Leighton fell out of favour at club level, Andy Goram became Scotland first choice goalkeeper and played at Euro 92 and Euro 96. Leighton regained the position after a man of the match performance in a 1-0 home win versus Sweden in November 1996 during qualification for the 1998 World Cup. Leighton played all three Scotland matches at the tournament finals.
He retired from international football on 10 October 1998. His last match was a European Championship qualifier against Estonia when aged 40 years and 78 days. This set a new record as the oldest player to play for Scotland, since broken by David Weir in September 2010. Leighton is a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having won his 50th cap in 1989. Leighton played 91 times for Scotland, second only to Kenny Dalglish's 102 appearances.
Coaching career.
Leighton became Aberdeen's goalkeeping coach after retiring as a player. He parted company with the club in August 2009 when manager Mark McGhee (his former teammate, who had also brought him to Reading years earlier) chose to replace him with Colin Meldrum. In February 2010 he was appointed as goalkeeping coach for Huntly in the Highland League. Leighton was reappointed as the goalkeeping coach at Aberdeen on 13 December 2010, the first act of the new management team of Craig Brown and Archie Knox; he left the club again at the request of manager Derek McInnes, at the end of the 2014–15 season. He commented soon afterwards that he would look for work outside football, as he was unwilling to relocate from Aberdeen due to other work and family commitments, and subsequently became a sales manager for companies providing services to the city's offshore industry.


Grant Hackett

Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to be regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers in history. He also collected a gold medal in Sydney for swimming in the heats of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. He was well regarded for his versatility, and has held the long course world records in the 200 m, 800 m, and 1500 m freestyle events. He dominated the 1500 m event for a decade, being undefeated in the event in finals from 1996 until the 2007 World Aquatics Championships. In total, he has won 10 long-course world championship gold medals.
Hackett was the captain of the Australian swimming team from the time the role was reintroduced in 2005 until his retirement in 2008.
Hackett worked for the Nine Network, often hosting "Wide World of Sports". Hackett's contract as a Westpac Banking Corporation ambassador was not renewed in February 2012 after 13 years in the role, but he remains an employee of the organisation.
Early life.
Hackett was born at Southport on the Gold Coast of Queensland. He is the son of a policeman and younger brother of a Surf Lifesaving champion. He attended Merrimac State High School.
Swimming career.
Hackett first achieved prominence on debut at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships, where he first won the 1500 meters. He also won the 400 m freestyle, recording his only international victory over the yet-to-be-famous Ian Thorpe at the distance in international long course competition.
1998 World Championships.
During the 1998 World Championships, he again won the 1500 m but was narrowly upset by Thorpe in the 400 m. He also combined with Thorpe, Michael Klim and Daniel Kowalski to win the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, beginning a six-year winning streak in the event over the United States.
These results were replicated at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. From 1997 to 2007 he was unbeaten in the 1500 m, winning it at every major world competition, including the World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, Olympics, Commonwealth and Australian Championships.
In 1999, Hackett broke his first world record, unexpectedly breaking Giorgio Lamberti's 200 m freestyle world record while leading off his club relay team at the Australian Championships. That record was subsequently broken by Ian Thorpe in the same year at the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney, although Hackett himself bettered his old mark. Hackett himself claimed the 1500 m freestyle, and combined with Thorpe, Klim and Bill Kirby to break the world record in the 4 × 200 m freestyle.
2000 Summer Olympics.
Entering the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Hackett was the overwhelming favourite in the 1500 m freestyle, and was also expected to help Thorpe take a quinella in the 200 m and 400 m events. However, due to a virus, he was well short of his best and finished eighth and seventh, respectively, in these events. He followed this with an extremely slow swim in the heats of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, and was dropped from the final quartet, being replaced by Todd Pearson. By the time the final of the 1500 m freestyle came, Hackett had qualified third behind sentimental favourite Kieren Perkins, who was being vocally cheered by the crowd. In the face of the immense pressure, Hackett adopted a more attacking, fast-starting approach, and managed to hang on to claim gold.
2001 World Championships.
At the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Hackett was in the peak of his speed. He set personal bests in the 200 m, 400 m 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events, finishing second to Thorpe in both 400 m and 800m, and bettering the 800 m world record in the latter. Along with Thorpe, Klim and Kirby, they bettered the previous world record in the 4 × 200 m freestyle. In the 1500 m, Hackett attacked immediately, and stayed well ahead of Perkins' world record, and with the crowd standing and willing him on, he broke the record by 7 seconds, to claim gold.
2003 World Championships.
In the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Hackett picked up five medals; three gold, a silver and a bronze. Despite capturing individual medals in 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle events for the first time in an international meet, Hackett failed to break any personal best times.
2004 Summer Olympics.
At 196 cm (six foot five) and 89.8 kg (198 pounds), Hackett won the gruelling 1500 meters race by sheer physical strength and stamina. He showed this in Sydney when he won despite having only partly recovered from illness, and again in Athens, when he survived challenges from swimmers (Larsen Jensen and David Davies) both six years his junior to hang on to win the race, despite a partially collapsed lung. This came after a solid swim in the 400 m to claim silver behind Thorpe, and a lackluster performance in the individual 200 m,
followed by an unconvincing swim in the lead-off leg of the 4 × 200 m relay, when he was 1.66 seconds off his best. His sluggish heat swim placed him third, raising concerns within the Australian camp. After the Olympics, it was revealed that one of his lungs was partially collapsed, leaving his total lung capacity diminished by 25%.
2005 World Championships.
In 2005, Swimming Australia introduced the concept of a captain for the swimming team. Hackett was awarded this honour, and led Australia in the World Championships at Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He won gold medals in the 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m freestyle (as well as silver in the 200 m freestyle), the first person ever to achieve this feat, along with the only swimmer to medal in four distances in a single world championships. His victory in the 800 m event broke Thorpe's world record, and his 1500 m victory saw him become the first to win an event four times at a World Championships. He anchored the 4 × 200 m team to bronze with a split of 1:44.84, making him the second fastest performer in relay splits. He was named as FINA's Male swimmer of the meet.
In November 2005, Hackett announced his withdrawal from the 2006 Commonwealth Games due to being unavailable for the selection trials because of a minor surgery to correct a shoulder injury. However, he was given dispensation to act as a non-competing captain in order to mentor the fellow swimmers in the lead-up to the competition.
In late 2006, Hackett relocated to Melbourne due to personal reasons. He attributed his disrupted preparation to adjusting with his new regime. Prior to the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, he presented a pessimistic outlook of his prospects.
2007 World Championships.
He qualified last in the 400 m event, but led in the final before fading in the last lap to take the bronze medal. He qualified fifth in the 800 m event, but finished seventh, more than ten seconds behind the winner. In the 1500 m final Hackett came seventh, ending his decade long unbeaten streak in the event.
In December 2007, Hackett competed in and won his first National Championship 10 km Open Water race. By barely edging out veteran open-water swimmer and surf Ironman Ky Hurst, the pair both qualified for the World Championships in Seville, Spain. However, Hackett failed to finish in the top 10 in this event, and therefore missed out on qualifying for the 10 km open water swim at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was also criticised for appearing to be overweight after the event, a claim that he rejected as "ridiculous".
At the 2008 Victorian Short Course Swimming Championships, his final Australian meet before departing for the Olympics, Hackett broke his own 800 metres freestyle world record – lowering the mark by almost two seconds to 7:23.42.
2008 Olympics.
Though Hackett failed to qualify for the 10,000m; he succeeded in other events. He swam the 400m and 1500m freestyle and the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. In the 1500m he finished second, winning the silver medal behind Tunisian Oussama Mellouli. Had he won, he would have been the first male swimmer to win three successive Olympic titles in the same event, an opportunity denied to two-time Olympic 1500m champion Vladimir Salnikov due to the 1984 Summer Olympics communist boycott. Hackett won the individual 200m freestyle swim at the Olympic trials but as he was not seeking a berth in the event he handed his spot in the Olympic competition in this event to the third-place finisher at the trials, Nicholas Sprenger.
2015 World Championships Comeback.
After six and half years since racing a major competition and after six months of training under his belt. At the Australian Championships, Hackett finished fourth in the 200m freestyle, qualifying for the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay for the 2015 World Aquatics Championships. He also won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle. At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, he won a bronze medal for swimming in the heats of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, thereby winning his first international medal since the 2008 Olympics.
Career best times.
Hackett has set quite a number of world records both short course and long course. His world records in the 1500 meter (long course and short course) and 800 meter short course were the only male world records that survived the 2008/2009 release of the high tech Polyurethane suits.
Media career.
Hackett is currently contracted to the Nine Network, having previously worked with the Seven Network.
In October 2008, Hackett joined "Nine News Melbourne" as the weekend sport presenter, replacing Heath O'Loughlin. However, in November 2009, Nine announced that Hackett would no longer continue as weekend sports presenter, but would continue with the network in other capacities.
Personal life.
Hackett holds a double degree in commerce and law, and an executive MBA from Bond University. He also has a diploma of financial services.
On 14 April 2007, Hackett married Australian singer Candice Alley. In March 2009, Hackett announced that his wife was expecting twins and in September she gave birth to a son named Jagger Emilio and a girl named Charlize Alley.
On 29 October 2011, police were called to attend a dispute at Hackett and Alley's Melbourne apartment, which was reportedly found in disarray. On 3 May 2012, Alley and Hackett announced that they were separating. They divorced in August 2013.
Hackett was questioned by police for an alleged assault during a flight from Adelaide to Melbourne on 17 April 2016. Police sources say that he "went to the toilet for an extended period, taking a bag with him. He emerged aggressive and agitated, taking offence to a male business class passenger who reclined his seat". He reportedly abused and grabbed the passenger on the chest before crew restrained him and contacted Federal Police. The victim alleged he was sexually assaulted, accusing Hackett of groping him. The man alleged that Hackett "tweaked my nipple quite forcefully." Hackett said he had no recollection of touching the man's nipple, and said that the incident followed a period of heavy drinking. Hackett said he "stuffed up" and was embarrassed by his actions. The victim chose not to press charges after receiving a personal apology.
On 15 February 2017 Hackett was arrested following a disturbance at his parents' house on Queensland's Gold Coast. Hackett had previously admitted a reliance on sleeping pills and had been battling mental health issues. Later that same day, his parents reported him missing from home, but before he was reported missing, Hackett posted a photo of himself on Instagram with cuts and bruises to his face and said his brother had beaten him. Hackett was subsequently found safe.
Honours.
Hackett received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000, and both a Centenary Medal and a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2001, the latter for his 2000 gold medal win. In 2004 he was granted the "Key to the City of Gold Coast" in recognition of his outstanding achievement as a swimming champion. He was named as the Australian Swimmer of the Year in 2005, and was also named the Swimmer of the Year by the Swimming World magazine. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, Grant Hackett was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend". In 2010 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2014.


Arthur H. Warner

Arthur H. Warner was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and a former jockey in Toronto. He rose to fame in the late 1950s after winning the Marine Stakes in 1958 and 1959 as a trainer. He won more than 80 stakes throughout his career and was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1984, as a trainer.
Biography.
Warner was born on July 25 1911 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He began his early career with horses as a jockey, and later moved to training.
Warner's most famous purebred was Anita's Son, who was also inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2005, as one of the best thoroughbred horses in Canadian history. He was a highly respected trainer, known to be very loving to his horses.
Warner died in July 1986, at the age of 75.
Major wins.
Warner's major wins are in Marine Stakes and Virgil Stakes. He also shares the record for the most wins in Marine Stakes as a trainer.
Top runners.
Anita's Son
First Minister
Forest Path
Dr. Em Jay


Cliff Harris

Clifford Allen Harris (born November 12, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. A Pro Football Hall of Famer, he appeared in five Super Bowls and was selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls. Harris retired from football at 31 to focus on his work within the oil business.
Early years.
Born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Harris started his football career as a backup quarterback at Hot Springs High School, until moving to Des Arc High School for his senior season, where he was the starter and led the Class A Eagles to an undefeated season (11–0).
Harris was only offered a scholarship to Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) in Arkadelphia, after his father's roommate at Ouachita convinced head coach Buddy Benson to do it. Harris' father, O.J "Buddy" Harris, also played football for OBU. In college, Cliff became an accomplished defensive back. He played all of the secondary positions and was a quality kick returner. He was named to two All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) teams and was part of the 1966 AIC Football Championship team during his freshman season. Harris was part of the track and field team and graduated with a double major in math and physics.
Harris has been inducted into numerous athletic halls of fame, including the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2015), the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (1985), the NAIA Hall of Fame (1978) and the Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame (2003).
Professional career.
Harris was not chosen in the 1970 NFL draft, but the Cowboys invited him to training camp and he signed as a free agent. He beat out Cowboys third-round draft choice Charlie Waters (who did not crack the starting lineup until the retirement of Cornell Green following the 1974 season) for the starting free safety position his rookie year. Military service caused him to miss the second half of the season, although he returned in time for the Cowboys' victory in Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins and never relinquished the position after 1971.
He eventually teamed up with Waters to form the top safety duo in the NFL in the 1970s. Harris made it a point to wear the pads of placekickers in order to keep his speed and quickness up.
Harris was nicknamed "Captain Crash" by his teammates for his punishing hits and reckless pursuit of ball carriers and was also described as a "rolling ball of butcher knives" by hall of fame head coach George Allen. Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Larry Wilson said of Harris, "I feel Harris is the finest free safety in the business today. He changed the way the position is being played. You see other teams modeling their free safeties around the way Harris plays the pass, and striking fear in everyone on the field because he hits so hard.". The Cowboys' defense ranked in the top 10 every year with him in the lineup.
He is one of only 13 players in NFL history to play in five Super Bowls, was chosen for the Pro Bowl six consecutive times and was voted All-Pro four times. However, he is best remembered in the Super Bowl for trying to taunt Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Roy Gerela after a missed field goal in Super Bowl X, only to have Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert body-slam Harris to the turf. The Cowboys were surprised when Harris announced his retirement in March 1980 at the age of 31 to concentrate on his oil business ventures. "Sports Illustrated" writers named him their Football Dream Team free safety. In 2004, he was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was added to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. He was also selected to the National Football League 1970s All-Decade Team and the Cowboys Silver Season All-Time Team in 1984. In 2011, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Harris to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2011
Harris finished his ten NFL seasons with 29 interceptions, which he returned for 281 yards and one touchdown, and 16 fumble recoveries, which he returned for 91 yards. He also was used in special teams during the first half of his career, gaining 418 yards on punt returns and 1,622 yards returning kickoffs.
On January 15, 2020, Harris was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
Cliff Harris Award.
The Cliff Harris Award is presented to the top defensive player in the country representing Division II, III and NAIA colleges and universities. The Selection Committee includes Roger Staubach, Lee Roy Jordan, Walt Garrison, Gene Stallings, Jackie Smith, Drew Pearson, Rayfield Wright, Everson Walls, Charlie Waters, Bill Bates, Gil Brandt, Mel Renfro, Jim Hart and Cliff Harris.
The inaugural winner of the Cliff Harris Award in 2013 was defensive back Pierre Desir from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. Desir was featured in ESPN's Draft Academy and was selected in the fourth round by the Cleveland Browns. Receiving the 2014 award was Darius Allen, a senior defensive end from Colorado State University-Pueblo who helped the Thunderwolves to their first-ever NCAA Division II national championship. The 2015 recipient was Marquis Christian, a former safety at Midwestern State University. The recipient of the award in 2016 was Conner Harris, senior linebacker at Lindenwood University and the top tackler in the history of college football.
Cliff Harris Stadium.
In 2014, OBU honored Harris by naming its new football stadium "Cliff Harris Stadium." The stadium, decked in the school's purple and gold colors, greets visitors approaching the OBU campus and includes more than 500 reserved and premium reserved seats as part of its total seating capacity. Ouachita football, whose mascot is the Tiger, has a rich tradition dating back to 1895 and competes in the Great American Conference in NCAA Division II.
Personal life.
Harris lives in Rockwall, Texas with his wife Karen and six children, three daughters and three sons. Cliff Harris is the author of "Captain Crash and the Dallas Cowboys: From Sideline to Goal Line With Cliff Harris", first published in 2006 and re-released in September 2014. He and teammate Charlie Waters co-authored a book about their Cowboy memories called "Tales From the Dallas Cowboys". Outside football, he works in the energy business.


Arnie Ferrin

Chariton Arnold Ferrin, Jr. (born July 29, 1925) is an American retired professional basketball player, executive, and college athletics administrator. He played college basketball at the University of Utah and professionally with the Minneapolis Lakers in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Ferrin served as the athletic director at his alma mater, Utah, from 1976 to 1985.
Early life and playing career.
Ferrin attended high school in Ogden, Utah. In college at Utah, he won the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award in 1944 when the Utes won the NCAA Championship over Dartmouth. Ferrin also helped Utah win the 1947 National Invitation Tournament. He became the only four-time All-American at Utah.
Ferrin played professionally for three straight years with the Minneapolis Lakers from 1949 through 1951 under coach John Kundla. The team won the BAA (later the NBA) championship in 1949 and won the NBA championship in 1950, both times with the help of Ferrin. He scored 345 points in '49 and 340 in '50, ending his career with 1,037 points in three years. He made 275-of-401 free throws in his career. He was inducted into the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor during the 2012 Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, March 10, 2012.


Wes Cutler

Wesley "Wes" Cutler (born February 17, 1911 in Toronto, Ontario, died June 10, 1956, in Toronto, Ontario) was a star football player in the Canadian Football League for six seasons for the Toronto Argonauts. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.


Neil Colville

Neil McNeil Colville (August 4, 1914 – December 26, 1987) was a professional ice hockey player. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, he played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League with his brother Mac, winning the Stanley Cup in 1940.
Colville joined the Rangers' farm team in 1934 and quickly made his way to the pros by 1936, centreing the "Bread Line" with his brother and Alex Shibicky, where he played until World War II. During the war, he and his brother were stationed in Ottawa and played on the army's Ottawa Commandos team, winning the Allan Cup in 1942.
After the war, they both returned the Rangers, this time as defencemen, the first pairs of brothers to ever do so in the NHL. Neil was adept at both defence and offense. Previously, he was erroneously reported here to be the first player to be named to All-Star Teams as both a forward and a defenseman; though he did indeed accomplish the dual feat, the first to do so was the venerable Dit Clapper in 1931/1938.
He retired in 1949 and became the Rangers' youngest coach a year later, but he was forced to resign due to health problems halfway through his second season.
In the 1950s, Colville was one of the primary founding investors in what would become Northern Television Systems, WHTV, in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Colville eventually moved from Vancouver, B.C. to Whitehorse in order to run the small four-channel station alongside Bert Wybrew. He slept in a bunk in the studio and learned to do everything from fixing the equipment to hosting the news casts. Filling the air time without the benefit of extensive broadcasting infrastructure was at times difficult, and the station would run footage of downtown's Main Street or do live broadcasts of a goldfish bowl to fill the hours.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967. He died in 1987 and there is a memorial bench in his honor at the Gary Point Park in Steveston, British Columbia.
In the 2009 book "100 Ranger Greats", the authors ranked Colville at No. 22 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.


Will Harridge

William Harridge (October 16, 1883 – April 9, 1971) was an American executive in professional baseball whose most significant role was as president of the American League (AL) from 1931 to 1959. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1972.
Early life and career.
Will Harridge was born in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. He worked as a railway ticket clerk before being hired in 1911 as the personal secretary to Ban Johnson, president of baseball's American League.
Baseball career.
In 1927, Harridge became the American League secretary. He then became president of the American League in 1931, held that post until his retirement in 1958, and then was named president emeritus. At that point the league office was moved to Boston, and Harridge was allowed to keep the Chicago office as well as act as custodian of the American League archive correspondence.
Harridge faced some criticism for his involvement in allowing Arnold Johnson, a business associate of New York Yankees owners Dan Topping and Del Webb, to purchase the Philadelphia Athletics and move them to Kansas City rather than allow local owners to purchase the team and keep it in Philadelphia. He is also criticized by some for his then "non-involvement" in turning a blind eye to the control that the Yankees had over Johnson and the A's.
Harridge often cited a 1932 incident as his most difficult decision in baseball. During a July 4 game between the New York Yankees and Washington Senators, a collision occurred at home plate involving Senators outfielder Carl Reynolds and Yankees catcher Bill Dickey. Dickey dropped the ball, but chased down Reynolds and punched him, resulting in a broken jaw. Though Dickey was a star player with the most powerful franchise in baseball, Harridge issued him a $1,000 fine and a thirty-day suspension.
He is more widely known for a ruling that he made in 1951 when dwarf Eddie Gaedel signed a contract with Bill Veeck's St. Louis Browns. Gaedel registered one career plate appearance in August of that year, earning a walk on four straight pitches. Harridge decided that Veeck was making a mockery of baseball and cancelled Gaedel's contract the next day.
Later life.
In 1967, Harridge was driving through Wilmette when he struck and killed architect Barry Byrne of Evanston. Harridge was neither ticketed nor charged in the accident.
Harridge died at age 87 in Evanston, Illinois, and is interred in Memorial Park in Skokie, Illinois
Legacy.
The American League Championship Series trophy is named the William Harridge Trophy in Harridge's honor.


Gordie Drillon

Gordon Arthur Drillon (October 23, 1913 – September 23, 1986) was a Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame ice hockey player. He was born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. From 1936 through to 1942 he was part of one of the NHL's most prolific scoring lines as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won a Stanley Cup during the 1941–42 season.
Drillon played only seven seasons in the NHL, six of those with Toronto and one with the Montreal Canadiens. A winger noted for his deadly accurate shot, he created a specific style of play that made him a leading scorer. Drillon's strong frame made it difficult for opposing defencemen to clear him from the front of the net. He was able to securely park himself in front of the opposing netminder to re-direct shots or pick up rebounds. This style of play would earn him a league scoring title in the 1937–38 season. Future stars such as Phil Esposito, Dino Ciccarelli, and Dave Andreychuk emulated his innovative style with great success.
Traded to the Montreal Canadiens for the 1943 season, Drillon finished second on the team in goals scored. At season's end, Drillon cut short his hockey career and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, serving for the remainder of World War II. After the war, he worked as a hockey coach in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland in the 1948/49 season. Drillon later returned to his native New Brunswick where he was employed as a scout for the Maple Leafs, covering the Maritime provinces. He eventually accepted a job with the New Brunswick civil service. In 1975, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Drillon died in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1986 and was interred there in the Ocean View Memorial Gardens cemetery.