Larry Holmes

Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the Easton Assassin.
Holmes, whose left jab is rated among the best in boxing history, held the WBC heavyweight title from 1978 to 1983, "The Ring" magazine and lineal heavyweight titles from 1980 to 1985, and the inaugural IBF heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985. During his only title reign, he defended his title against 19 fighters, the second most in history behind Joe Louis and the most since the international expansion of boxing governing bodies. Holmes is the only fighter to have stopped Muhammad Ali and the only man still alive to have beaten Ali.
Holmes won his first 48 professional bouts, including victories over Ken Norton (the man he defeated in 1978 for WBC Championship), Ali, Earnie Shavers, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, Carl Williams and Marvis Frazier. He fell one short of matching Rocky Marciano's career record of 49–0 when he lost to Michael Spinks in an upset in 1985. Holmes retired after losing a rematch to Spinks the following year, but made repeated comebacks. He was unsuccessful in four further attempts (against Mike Tyson in 1988, Evander Holyfield in 1992, Oliver McCall in 1995 and Brian Nielsen in 1997) to regain the heavyweight title. Holmes fought for the final time in 2002, aged 52, against the 334lb Eric "Butterbean" Esch, and ended his career with a record of 69 wins and 6 losses, all of these in title fights. He is frequently ranked as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and has been inducted into both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Early life.
Holmes was the fourth of twelve children born to John and Flossie Holmes. After the family moved to Easton, Pennsylvania in 1954, Holmes' father went to Connecticut. He worked as a gardener there until his death in 1970. He visited his family every three weeks. "He didn't forsake us", said Flossie Holmes. "He just didn't have anything to give." The family survived on welfare.
To help support his family, Holmes dropped out of school when he was in the seventh grade and went to work at a car wash for $1 an hour. He later drove a dump truck and worked in a quarry.
Amateur career.
When Holmes was nineteen, he started boxing. In his twenty-first bout, he boxed Nick Wells in the semifinals of the 1972 National Olympic Trials in Fort Worth, Texas. Wells, a southpaw known for unprecedently high knockout-to-win percentage for an amateur boxer, with a majority of knockouts coming in the first round, stopped Holmes in the first round. Nevertheless, Holmes was chosen by a selection committee of the National Olympic authorities to fight at the Olympic Box-offs in West Point, New York, where he had a match-up versus a fighting seaman, Duane Bobick. Holmes was dropped in the first round with a right to the head. He got up and danced out of range, landing several stiff jabs in the process. Bobick mauled Holmes in the second round but could not corner him. The referee warned Holmes twice in the second for holding. In the third, Bobick landed several good rights and started to corner Holmes, who continued to hold. Eventually, Holmes was disqualified for excessive holding.
Professional career.
Early years.
After compiling an amateur record of 19–3, Holmes turned professional on March 21, 1973, winning a four-round decision against Rodell Dupree. Early in his career he worked as a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Earnie Shavers, and Jimmy Young. He was paid well and learned a lot. "I was young, and I didn't know much. But I was holding my own sparring those guys", Holmes said. "I thought, 'hey, these guys are the best, the champs. If I can hold my own now, what about later?'"
Holmes first gained credibility as a contender when he upset the hard-punching Earnie Shavers in March 1978. Holmes won by a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision, winning every round on two scorecards and all but one on the third. Holmes's victory over Shavers set up a title shot between Holmes and WBC Heavyweight Champion Ken Norton in Las Vegas on June 9, 1978.
WBC heavyweight champion: Holmes vs. Norton.
The fight between Holmes and Norton was a tough, competitive fight. After fourteen rounds, each of the three judges scored the fight dead even at seven rounds each. Holmes rallied late in the fifteenth to win the round on two scorecards and take the title by a split decision.
In his first two title defenses, Holmes easily knocked out Alfredo Evangelista and Ossie Ocasio. His third title defense was a tough one. On June 22, 1979, Holmes faced future WBA Heavyweight Champion Mike Weaver, who was lightly regarded going into the fight sporting an uninspiring 19–8 record. After ten tough rounds, Holmes dropped Weaver with a right uppercut late in round eleven. In the twelfth, Holmes immediately went on the attack, backing Weaver into the ropes and pounding him with powerful rights until the referee stepped in and stopped it. "This man knocked the devil out of me", Holmes said. "This man might not have had credit before tonight, but you'll give it to him now."
Three months later, on September 28, 1979, Holmes had a rematch with Shavers, who got a title shot by knocking out Ken Norton in one round. Holmes dominated the first six rounds, but in the seventh, Shavers sent Holmes down with a devastating overhand right. Holmes got up, survived the round, and went on to stop Shavers in the eleventh.
His next three defenses were knockouts of Lorenzo Zanon, Leroy Jones, and Scott LeDoux.
On October 2, 1980, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Holmes defended his title against Muhammad Ali, who was coming out of retirement in an attempt to become the first four-time World Heavyweight Champion. Holmes dominated Ali from start to finish, winning every round on every scorecard. At the end of the tenth round, Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, stopped the fight. It was Ali's only loss without "going the distance" for a judges' decision. After the win, Holmes received recognition as World Heavyweight Champion by "The Ring".
Ali blamed his poor performance on thyroid medication which he had been taking, saying that it helped him lose weight (he weighed 217½, his lowest weight since he fought George Foreman in 1974), but it also left him drained for the fight.
Holmes seemed to show signs of sadness in punishing Ali so much during the fight. He appeared in a post-fight interview with tears in his eyes. When asked why he was crying, he said that he respected Ali "a whole lot" and "he fought one of the baddest heavyweights in the world today, and you cannot take credit from him."
After eight consecutive knockouts, Holmes was forced to go the distance when he successfully defended his title against future WBC Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick on April 11, 1981. In his next fight, two months later, Holmes knocked out former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks in three rounds. On November 6, 1981, Holmes rose from a seventh-round knockdown (during which he staggered into the turnbuckle) to stop Renaldo Snipes in the eleventh.
Holmes vs. Cooney.
On June 11, 1982, Holmes defended his title against Gerry Cooney, the undefeated #1 contender and an Irish-American. The lead-up to the fight had many racial overtones, with promoter Don King and others hyping Cooney as the "Great White Hope." Holmes said that if Cooney wasn't white, he would not be getting the same purse as the champion (both boxers received $10 million for the bout). Although Cooney tried to deflect questions about race, members of his camp wore shirts that said "Not the White Man, but the Right Man." In their fight previews, "Sports Illustrated" and "Time" put Cooney on the cover, not Holmes. President Ronald Reagan had a phone installed in Cooney's dressing room so he could call him if he won the fight. Holmes had no such arrangement. Lastly, boxing tradition dictates that the champion be introduced last, but the challenger, Cooney, was introduced last.
The bout was held in a 32,000-seat stadium erected in a Caesar's Palace Parking lot, with millions more watching around the world. After an uneventful first round, Holmes dropped Cooney with a right in the second. Cooney came back well in the next two rounds, jarring Holmes with his powerful left hook. Holmes later said that Cooney "hit me so damned hard, I felt it—boom—in my bones." Cooney was tiring by the ninth, a round in which he had two points deducted for low blows. In the tenth, they traded punches relentlessly. At the end of the round, the two nodded to each other in respect. Cooney lost another point because of low blows in the eleventh. By then, Holmes was landing with ease. In the thirteenth, a barrage of punches sent Cooney down. He got up, but his trainer, Victor Valle, stepped into the ring and stopped the fight.
After the fight, Holmes and Cooney became close friends.
Trouble with the WBC.
Holmes' next two fights were one-sided decision wins over Randall "Tex" Cobb and ex-European champion Lucien Rodriguez. On May 20, 1983, Holmes defended his title against Tim Witherspoon, the future WBC and WBA Heavyweight Champion. Witherspoon, a six to one underdog and with only 15 professional bouts to his name, surprised many by giving Holmes a difficult fight. After twelve rounds, Holmes retained the title by a disputed split decision.
On September 10, 1983, Holmes successfully defended the WBC title for the sixteenth time, knocking out Scott Frank in five rounds. Holmes then signed to fight Marvis Frazier, son of Joe Frazier, on November 25, 1983. The WBC refused to sanction the fight against the unranked Frazier. They ordered Holmes to fight Greg Page, the #1 contender, or be stripped of the title. Promoter Don King offered Holmes $2.55 million to fight Page, but the champion didn't think that was enough. He was making $3.1 million to fight Frazier and felt he should get as much as $5 million to fight Page.
Holmes had an easy time with Frazier, knocking him out in the first round. The following month, Holmes relinquished the WBC championship.
IBF heavyweight champion.
Despite his no longer being recognized by the WBC as champion, Holmes was still regarded as the lineal champion as well as being recognized as world champion by "The Ring". On December 11, 1983, the newly formed International Boxing Federation extended recognition to Holmes, and he accepted.
As 1984 began, Holmes and Gerrie Coetzee, the WBA champion, were signed to unify the titles on June 15, 1984 at Caesars Palace. The fight was being promoted by JPD Inc., but it was canceled when Caesars Palace said the promoters failed to meet the financial conditions of the contract. Holmes was promised $13 million and Coetzee was promised $8 million. Even after cutting the purses dramatically, they still couldn't come up with enough financial backing to stage the fight. Don King then planned to promote the fight, but Holmes lost a lawsuit filed by Virginia attorney Richard Hirschfeld, who said he had a contract with Holmes that gave him right of first refusal on a Holmes-Coetzee bout. Holmes then decided to move on and fight someone else.
On November 9, 1984, after a year out of the ring, Holmes made his first defense of the IBF title, stopping James "Bonecrusher" Smith on a cut in the twelfth round. In the first half of 1985, Holmes stopped David Bey in ten rounds for his 19th title defense. His next against Carl "The Truth" Williams was unexpectedly tough. The younger, quicker Williams was able to out-jab the aging champion, who was left with a badly swollen eye by the end of the bout. Holmes emerged with a close, and disputed, fifteen-round unanimous decision.
Holmes vs. Spinks.
Holmes' next fight had the potential to make boxing history. He agreed to terms to fight Michael Spinks, the undisputed champion at light heavyweight, for his twentieth world title defense. A victory for Holmes would have tied Rocky Marciano's mark of 49 consecutive wins without a loss. Spinks, meanwhile, was looking to join Bob Fitzsimmons as the only other boxer at the time to win titles at both light heavyweight and heavyweight. In addition, if he defeated Holmes, Spinks would become the first ever reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title.
Before the fight Archie Moore, the long-time light heavyweight champion who unsuccessfully challenged for the heavyweight crown himself twice, predicted an easy win for Holmes: "I'm afraid Larry will chew him up. Michael may be faster than Larry, but you can only go so fast." Despite the assessment, it indeed would be Spinks whose historical destiny would be fulfilled, as he defeated Holmes via unanimous decision to become the first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title. After the fight, a bitter Holmes said, "Rocky Marciano couldn't carry my jockstrap."
Holmes had a rematch with Spinks on April 19, 1986. Spinks retained the title with a disputed fifteen-round split decision. The judges scored the fight: Judge Joe Cortez 144–141 (Holmes), Judge Frank Brunette 141–144 (Spinks) and Judge Jerry Roth 142–144 (Spinks.) In a post-fight interview with HBO, Holmes said, "the judges, the referees and promoters can kiss me where the sun don't shine—and because we're on HBO, that's my big black behind."
On November 6, 1986, three days after his 37th birthday, Holmes announced his retirement.
Comebacks.
On January 22, 1988, Holmes was lured out of retirement by a $2.8 million purse to challenge reigning Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson. Tyson dropped Holmes in the fourth round with an overhand right. Holmes got up, but Tyson put him down two more times in the round, and the fight was stopped. It was the only time Holmes was knocked out in his career. After the fight, Holmes again retired.
Holmes returned to the ring in 1991 and became a much more active fighter, usually fighting on "USA Tuesday Night Fights" cards every few weeks against up and comers and journeymen. After five straight wins, he fought Ray Mercer, the undefeated 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist, on February 7, 1992. Holmes pulled off the upset and won by a 12-round unanimous decision. (Holmes later claimed that he fought Mercer in spite of having a detached retina.) The win got Holmes a shot at Evander Holyfield for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. On June 19, 1992, Holyfield defeated Holmes by a twelve-round unanimous decision.
On April 8, 1995, he fought Oliver McCall for the WBC title. Holmes lost by a close 12-round unanimous decision. Two of the judges had him losing by one point, while the other judge had him losing by three points.
Holmes was back in the ring five months later, resuming the pace he had set since his comeback. However, he was growing tired of the sport and, after he fought and knocked out Anthony Willis in June 1996 on another USA boxing event, Holmes announced that unless he received a shot at the title, the fight against Willis was likely to be his last.
On January 24, 1997, Holmes got his last opportunity to fight for a heavyweight championship when he traveled to Copenhagen to fight undefeated International Boxing Organization champion Brian Nielsen. Nielsen won by a 12-round split decision to retain the title.
Holmes and George Foreman signed to fight on January 23, 1999 at the Houston Astrodome. Foreman called off the fight several weeks before it was to take place because the promoter failed to meet the deadline for paying him the remaining $9 million of his $10 million purse. Foreman received a nonrefundable $1 million deposit, and Holmes got to keep a $400,000 down-payment of his $4 million purse.
Holmes' next two fights were rematches with old foes. On June 18, 1999, he stopped "Bonecrusher" Smith in eight rounds, and on November 17, 2000, he stopped Mike Weaver in six.
Holmes' final fight was on July 27, 2002 in Norfolk, Virginia. He defeated Eric "Butterbean" Esch by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Life after boxing.
Holmes invested the money he earned from boxing and settled in his hometown of Easton. When he retired from boxing, Holmes employed more than 200 people through his various business holdings. In 2008, he owned two restaurants and a nightclub, a training facility, an office complex, a snack food bar and slot machines. Holmes currently co-hosts a talk show "What The Heck Were They Thinking?"
In 2014, Holmes sold his business complex in Easton to business entrepreneur Gerald Gorman, CEO of Lawyer.com.
In 2016, Holmes guest starred as himself in an episode of "Mike Tyson Mysteries", titled "Unsolved Situations".
Personal life.
In 1979, Larry Holmes married Diane Robinson, with whom he has had two children. He also has three daughters from two previous relationships.
Larry's younger brother, middleweight contender Mark Holmes, fought between 1980 and 1987 and had a record of 38 wins and one defeat with 17 knockouts, but never received the opportunity to fight for a world title.
Larry currently resides in Palmer Township, Pennsylvania.
Honors.
Holmes was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.


No Class (horse)

No Class (March 30, 1974 – 1993) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background.
Bred by Jack Hood of Stratford, Ontario, No Class was out of Classy Quillo, whose damsire was Princequillo. Her sire, Nodouble, was an outstanding runner who was voted American Co-Champion Older Male Horse honours in 1969 and 1970 and was the leading sire in North America in 1981. No Class was purchased by Sam-Son Farms for $25,000 at the 1975 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society yearling sale.
Breeding record.
While No Class had limited success on the track, her 1997 induction in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was in recognition of her contribution to racing as a broodmare. A winner of the 1985 Sovereign Award for Outstanding Broodmare, she was the dam of eight foals of which seven raced. All seven were race winners, four were Canadian Champions of which two were Hall of Fame inductees.
No Class's eight foals were:
No Class died at age nineteen in 1993.


Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal heavyweight title from 1985 to 1988. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Nicknamed "Jinx", which spawned the nickname of his straight right hand, "The Spinks Jinx", Spinks is the brother of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, and uncle of Cory Spinks, a former welterweight and light middleweight champion.
After a successful amateur career, which culminated in his Olympic gold medal win, Spinks went undefeated in his first 31 professional fights, beating Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Marvin Johnson and Eddie Davis en route to becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion. After defending the title against 10 different fighters, Spinks moved up to heavyweight, and as an underdog defeated long-reigning IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes (whose own 48–0 record up to that point was one victory short of tying Rocky Marciano's 49–0 unblemished scorecard); in doing so, Spinks became the first reigning light heavyweight world champion to win the heavyweight title. In his final fight, Spinks was knocked out by Mike Tyson in 91 seconds, the only defeat of his professional career.
Spinks has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization and BoxRec rank Spinks among the 10 greatest light heavyweights of all time.
Amateur career.
Spinks won the 1974 156-pound Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Championship by defeating Wilber Cameron in Denver, Colorado and then took the Silver Medal in the National AAU 165-pound Championship Competition in 1975, losing in three rounds to Tom Sullivan in Shreveport, Louisiana. He rebounded to take the 1976 National Golden Gloves Middleweight championship with a three-round victory over Lamont Kirkland in Miami, Florida, and that same year captured the United States Olympic Trials Middleweight Championship by defeating Keith Broom in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Spinks benefited from a favorable draw. Due to a bye and two wins by walkover, he was only required to box two opponents to win the gold medal in the middleweight division. He went on to defeat the Soviet Union's Rufat Riskiyev in the final.
Olympic results.
 at the XXI Summer Olympics (165 lbs), Montreal, Canada, July 1976:
Spinks finished his amateur career with a record of 93 wins (35 knockouts,) 7 losses.
Hiatus.
With the Olympics behind him, Spinks returned to work at a chemical factory in St. Louis, Missouri, "scrubbing floors and cleaning toilets," as one source tells it. He had no big contracts awaiting him and, while Michael appeared to experts to be the more promising of the two brothers, Leon was at that time the big shooting star, a television staple of ABC Sports, on his way to a shot at heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Michael had their mother to care for, and he was intent on helping Leon prepare for Ali. All of this pushed Michael's career to the back burner. It was Butch Lewis in 1977 who convinced Michael to turn professional.
Professional career.
Early years.
Spinks then turned professional with a win over Eddie Benson, knocking him out in one round on April 17, 1977 in Las Vegas. With that, Spinks began a 31 fight winning streak that would almost extend to the end of his career. After four more wins, Spinks finished '77 with the first fight that began a gradual ascent in opposition quality: an eight-round decision over Gary Summerhays, a popular young boxer of the time.
In 1978, Spinks won two fights, including an eight-round decision over former world Middleweight title challenger Tom Bethea, in the same undercard where his brother Leon dethroned Ali as world Heavyweight champion in Las Vegas.
1979 saw Spinks get less than three minutes of boxing action inside a ring, with his only fight ending in a first round knockout of Marc Hans, but in 1980, Spinks took his ascent towards the top to another level, when he beat future IBF super-middleweight champion Murray Sutherland, David Conteh, and fringe contenders Ramon Ronquillo and Alvaro Yaqui Lopez (who challenged for a world title four times). Of his five wins that year, three came by knockout, Sutherland and Johnny Wilburn being the only ones who lasted the distance.
First world title.
By 1981, Spinks was already a top ranked contender, and after beating former and future world light-heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson by a knockout in four rounds, the WBA made Spinks their number one challenger, and so, on July 18 of that year, he met WBA light-heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, once again in Las Vegas. Spinks dropped Mustafa Muhammad in round 12 and went on to become the WBA light heavyweight champion with a 15-round decision win. He defended the title once in '81, beating Vonzell Johnson by a knockout in seven.
1982 began with a knockout victory over Mustafa Wassaja. Spinks had become a superstar, at least in the boxing world. He began appearing on the covers of boxing magazines and boxing fans started clamoring for a unification fight with WBC champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi. Tragedy struck his life, however, when in January 1983, his 24-year-old wife, Sandy Massey, died in a car crash, leaving Spinks the single parent of his two-year-old daughter, Michelle.
Spinks vs Qawi.
Meanwhile, the fight all the fans wanted was being asked for by boxing critics and magazine editors, too. On March 18, two months after his wife's death, Spinks and Qawi met in a boxing ring for the undisputed light heavyweight championship. The fight was broadcast by HBO World Championship Boxing, and, according to the book "", Spinks had a very tough moment to overcome before it even started: His daughter asked him, while he was in his dressing room, if her mother would come to watch the fight. After breaking into tears he composed himself and dominated the fight with his jab and plenty of strategic hooks and crosses. He repeatedly stopped Qawi in his tracks over the first 11 rounds but cautiously waited for Qawi to come out of his crouched defense to resume his assault. Qawi scored a knockdown in round eight. The official scores were 144–140, 144–141, and 144–141, all for Spinks, who was now the undisputed world Light Heavyweight champion. He defended the title one more time before the end of the year, against Oscar Rivadeneira in Alaska, whom he beat by a ten-round knockout.
Spinks fought only once in 1984, retaining his crown with a twelve-round majority decision over Eddie Davis. He and Qawi were only a couple of weeks away from fighting a rematch in September of that year, but that fight got called off when Qawi was injured during training. Spinks also was recognized as IBF Light heavyweight champion in 1984.
Holmes vs Spinks.
In 1985, Spinks beat David Sears and Jim McDonald, both by knockout, in title defenses, before challenging Larry Holmes for the IBF and lineal heavyweight championship. Holmes was trying to tie Rocky Marciano's record of 49–0 as the heavyweight champion, but it was Spinks who made history that night, winning a controversial and narrow fifteen-round unanimous decision and becoming the first ever world light-heavyweight champion to win the world heavyweight title. His controversial victory over Holmes was named "Ring Magazine" Upset of the Year. With this, Michael and Leon had also become the first pair of brothers ever to be world heavyweight champions, followed two decades later by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.
In 1986, Spinks and Holmes fought a rematch as part of the heavyweight unification series, and had nearly the same result, this time Spinks winning by a 15-round split decision. After that, he retained the world heavyweight championship once again, by a knockout in four against Steffen Tangstad. In 1987 he was stripped of the crown by the IBF for refusing to fight their mandatory challenger, Tony Tucker, and accepting a higher offer to fight Gerry Cooney instead. Spinks knocked out Cooney in five rounds, and after Mike Tyson had unified the heavyweight belts, fans started clamoring for a fight between them as many still recognized Spinks as the legitimate lineal champion.
Spinks vs Tyson.
The fight between Spinks and Mike Tyson took place in June 1988, with Tyson knocking Spinks down twice on his way to a first-round knockout. Tyson and Dwight Muhammad Qawi were the only fighters to officially floor Spinks. It was Spinks's first defeat in the professional ring, and his last, as he retired following the fight. In this fight he was badly affected by fear.
Spinks had a record of 31 wins and 1 loss, with 21 wins by knockout as a professional.
In addition to his success as a heavyweight, Spinks is generally considered one of the greatest light-heavyweight champions and fighters of all time. He was the only light-heavyweight champion to remain undefeated in the entire history of the division since its inception in 1903 (until Joe Calzaghe), as well as the only reigning light-heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title.
"The Ring" Magazine in 2002 ranked Spinks as the third greatest light-heavyweight of all time, behind Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore, but ahead of Tommy Loughran, Bob Foster, Harold Johnson, Maxie Rosenbloom and Billy Conn. Furthermore, Spinks did what no other light-heavyweight champion was ever able to do: move up to win the world heavyweight championship, by decisioning IBF champion Larry Holmes in 1985.
On "The Ring" Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, Spinks was ranked 42nd.
On "The Ring" Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, released in 2002, Spinks ranked 41st.
East Side Boxing said in its tribute to Spinks, "Michael Spinks went undefeated fighting during the deepest era in Light Heavyweight history. And he beat the real heavyweight champion to win the title, who was also undefeated. Michael Spinks is the most accomplished light heavyweight champion in history."
Retirement and later years.
Spinks is the rare top fighter who left the sport with both money and his health and never returned to the ring. Aside from a rare event honoring him and occasionally attending fights, Spinks has largely remained off the boxing scene and out of the public eye.
Ken Hissner reported that, "In October 2007 he was introduced into the ring at the Legendary Blue Horizon in Philadelphia. He seemed quite at home in the ring waving and talking to the fans."
The former champion lives privately in a seven-bedroom house, not including the guest house, on a five-acre spread in Centerville, Delaware However, he has been known for visiting schools—carrying his gold medal and four title belts—where he tells kids to pursue their dreams. "Most of the kids don't have a clue who I am," he says, "but they listen when they see all the gold."
For years he remained close to his former promoter, Butch Lewis, training fighters and making rare public appearances at events promoted by Lewis.
In 2011, however, after Lewis died from natural causes, it was reported that Spinks had sued Lewis's estate in a Delaware Chancery Court, alleging that the promoter had failed to properly manage more than $24 million Spinks had earned in the ring and had violated their agreements that Lewis would continue to manage Spinks's money and pay his living expenses for the rest of the boxer's life. The lawsuit alleged that he commingled his personal funds with Spinks's and used Spinks's money to pay his and his children's own personal and business expenses. Also named as a defendant was Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, head of the real estate firm of RLJ Development LLC, in Bethesda, Maryland, and one of the executors of Lewis's $8.5 million estate.
According to Spinks's lawyers, following Lewis's death Johnson and attorney Leonard Williams stopped the payments without telling him, which in turn caused Spinks' health insurance to lapse and bills totaling up to $50,000 a month to go unpaid. "Spinks had to invade his pension and retirement funds and incur significant taxes and penalties in order to meet these obligations," the boxer's lawyers added in the filings.
Spinks asked that the court bar Johnson and Williams from transferring any further assets from Lewis's estate until there can be a full accounting and payments to Spinks are resumed.


Dean Griffing

Orrin Dean Griffing (born May 17, 1915 – February 9, 1998) was an American gridiron football player, coach, and executive. He played as a center and linebacker for the Kansas State University in 1933 and 1934, for the Regina Roughriders from 1936 to 1943, for Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers in 1944, and the Calgary Stampeders from 1945 to 1947; the last he also part owned. Griffing was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1965. He coached Saskatchewan during the mid-1950s. In 1960, Griffing became the first general manager of the Denver Broncos, selected in part because of his known and needed frugality. He was responsible for the team's unappealing brown and yellow uniform and ugly socks, which he had bought secondhand from a high school all-star game. He later worked as special assignment scout for the Chicago Bears.
Griffing died in 1998 in Sarasota, Florida.


Gary Honey

Gary Ronald Honey (born 26 July 1959 in Thomastown, Victoria) is a retired long jumper from Australia. He won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics with a jump of 8.24 metres.
Career.
In addition, Honey won gold medals at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games. He participated in three Summer Olympics, starting in 1980. He was ranked number 2 in the World from 1984 to 1986. He was also ranked in the top 6 in the world from 1981 to 1988. He was 10 times Australian Champion, and 11 times Victorian Champion. In 1988, Gary was the Team Captain for the Seoul Olympic Games.
Honey was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2000.


Edwin Rosario

Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a world champion professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He won the lightweight championship of the world three times, as the WBC lightweight champion (1983–84), and the WBA champion (1986–87) and (1989–90). Rosario won a 4th world championship after moving up to the junior welterweight division by claiming the WBA title, holding that crown from 1991 to 1992.
Rosario was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006.
Early life and career.
Edwin Rosario was born in Candelaria barrio, Toa Baja, an extremely poor barrio on the north coast of Puerto Rico. Rosario's older brother Papo became a professional boxer, beginning what looked like a promising career. Edwin and Papo were the sons of Antonio Rosario and Elizabeth Rivera. They also had three sisters.
His boxing manager and coach (trainer), Manny Siaca Sr., had noticed the younger Edwin Rosario's talent when the boy was 8 years old. Inspired by his brother Papo, "Chapo" Rosario, as he became known in the world of boxing, had a stellar amateur boxing career.
Professional career.
Chapo's brother Papo died unexpectedly, purportedly due to drugs, two years after his entry into professional boxing. Rosario persevered, wanting to honor his brother's memory by winning a world championship. He scored big knockout wins over Young Ezzard Charles and Edwin Viruet. He beat Charles in three rounds on the Holmes-Cooney undercard in June 1982 in Las Vegas. He also defeated Viruet in three rounds; that opponent had boxed 25 rounds against Roberto Durán-including a world lightweight championship bout-without being knocked out.
Rosario eventually gained a record of 21–0 with 20 knockouts. This led to talks of a title fight against World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion Alexis Argüello, to be held in Miami. But Argüello relinquished the title in order to move up in weight to challenge junior welterweight champion Aaron Pryor.
Boxing champion.
With Arguello moving divisions, Rosario was matched with Mexico's José Luis Ramírez on May 1, 1983 for the vacant WBC lightweight title. Rosario dominated the first 7 rounds, but tired down the stretch to make for a very close fight. The judges, as well as most of the public present, felt Rosario had done enough to win. He became world lightweight champion by the unanimous score of 115–113 on all 3 judging cards. Rosario injured his hand during the fight and needed surgery, for which the World Boxing Council gave him a dispensation.
He didn't return to the ring until 1984. In his first defense of the title, he faced Roberto Elizondo, who had lasted 7 rounds with Argüello in a previous world title challenge and was expected to give him a tough fight. Rosario knocked out Elizondo in one round. Howard Davis Jr proved more of a challenge – Davis Jr was ahead on all scorecards with ten seconds remaining in the bout, but was dropped by Rosario for the second time in their fight at that point, and lost a split decision.
A rematch with Ramírez was scheduled, again in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 3, 1984. Rosario dropped Ramírez once in round one and again in the second, but the challenger got off the canvas to take Rosario's title away with a fourth-round TKO. This was Rosario's first defeat. Some fans felt he never fully recovered, although he won three more championships.
Rosario won a comeback fight against Frankie Randall, the future world champion, in London. He had to wait another year before an opportunity to regain the title. On June 13, 1986, he met the world champion Hector 'Macho' Camacho at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight was televised by HBO, and although Rosario shook Camacho badly in the fifth round and rallied down the stretch, Camacho swept the middle rounds. The judges, in a split decision, awarded Camacho the fight.
Because of the closeness of that bout, the WBA gave Rosario a chance to challenge Livingstone Bramble, one of two other world lightweight champions (the other one being the International Boxing Federation's Jimmy Paul). Rosario went to Miami and defeated Bramble by knockout in the second round to become world lightweight champion for the second time. His pose, raising his arms after the fight, became "The Ring" magazine's cover for the next month — the only time Rosario was featured on its English-version cover.
Rosario defended the title against fellow Puerto Rican Juan Nazario with a knockout in eight in Chicago. In his next defense, he was beaten by Julio César Chávez in Las Vegas. By the eleventh round, Rosario's eye was almost completely shut, he was spitting blood from his mouth, and the fight was stopped by his corner.
Rosario was inactive for seven months then went 7–0 with 6 KO's in his next fights. After Chavez vacated the title in 1989, Rosario came back and won it again, beating Anthony Jones, a tough Kronk prospect for the championship.
Rosario joined a small group of men who had become world champions three times in the same division. This time, however, he didn't hold the title for long. When he gave Nazario a 1990 rematch at Madison Square Garden, he was defeated on cuts in the 8th round.
Rosario moved up a weight class to the junior welterweight division, and defeated defending world champion Loreto Garza in three rounds in Sacramento's Arco Arena to become a world champion for the 4th time.
However, personal problems started to take their toll. In his first defense, against Japanese Akinobu Hiranaka in Mexico City on April 10, 1992, he lost by a 1st-round TKO. He later lost a rematch to Frankie Randall, by technical knockout in seven rounds.
Later career and death.
Rosario disappeared from the boxing scene. Years later he received media attention after being arrested for stealing beer from a supermarket. He vowed to stay clean and went into a program to achieve this.
In 1997, he won two comeback fights, then won the Caribbean welterweight title by beating Roger Benito Flores of Nicaragua in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, in a twelve-round decision. Once an HBO staple, Rosario was then fighting on small cards without any TV showings. He was ranked #10 among Oscar De La Hoya's challengers at the welterweight division after his win over Flores, making him an official world title challenger once again.
He defeated Sanford Ricks at Madison Square Garden. In his final fight on September 25, 1997, Rosario knocked out Harold Bennett in two rounds at Bayamon. He died before fighting again.
On December 1, 1997, Rosario visited the home of his ex-wife and four daughters, but he cut his visit short an hour later, saying he felt ill. After returning home where he lived with his parents, Rosario was later found dead in his bed by his father. He was found to have died of an aneurysm on December 1, 1997, with fluid accumulated in the lungs. Doctors said that his history of narcotics and alcohol abuse was a factor.
Many celebrities and dignitaries attended his funeral, and a group of Puerto Rican world boxing champions were among the pallbearers. More than 5,000 people came to the funeral or watched from their homes as the coffin was driven from the funeral home to the cemetery.


Willie Maley

William Patrick Maley (25 April 1868 – 2 April 1958) was a Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football history. During his managerial tenure, Maley led Celtic to thirty major trophies (16 league championships and 14 Scottish Cups) in forty-three consecutive years as manager. He is attributed to have coined the famous Celtic motto 'It is not his creed nor his nationality which counts, it's the man himself.'
Early life.
Maley was born in Newry Barracks, County Down, Ireland, the third son of Thomas Maley and Mary Montgomery. Thomas came from Ennis, County Clare, while Mary had been born in Canada to Scottish parents. At the time of his son's birth, Thomas was stationed in Newry as a sergeant in the 21st (Royal North British Fusilier) Regiment of Foot. In 1869, Thomas took honourable discharge from the British Army and the family moved to Scotland, settling in Cathcart - at that time a village just south of Glasgow.
Willie Maley left school at the age of 13 and worked for a few years in the printworks of Miller, Higginbotham & Co., and then at the Telephone Company of Glasgow. Eventually he was offered the opportunity to train as a chartered accountant with Smith and Wilson, a Glasgow accountancy firm. As a young man, Maley was much more involved in athletics than in football, although he had played a few games for Cathcart Hazelbank Juniors in 1886 and had played with Third Lanark from later that year.
Playing career.
It was on a visit to in Cathcart in December 1887 to invite his brother Tom Maley to join Celtic that Brother Walfrid and the rest of the Celtic deputation first met Willie Maley and they casually invited Willie to come along. In 1888, he was signed by the fledgling Celtic and became one of the club's first players as a midfielder. In 1896, he made a single appearance for Manchester City in a Second Division match against Loughborough.
Due to his Scottish maternal grandparents and having lived in Scotland since the age of one, Maley played for the Scottish national team, earning two caps in 1893 against England and Ireland. Maley represented the Scottish League twice.
Managerial career.
In 1897, the board of Celtic directors appointed Willie Maley, at just 29 years of age, as Secretary-Manager – the first manager – of Celtic. He won the Scottish League championship for the club in his first full season as manager. Mr Maley never worked with his players in training, he watched games from the directors' box and never indulged in team talks or spoke to his players at half-time or post-match. Maley would not even announce the team: players learned if they were in or out through reading the line-up in the newspaper.
Celtic had been a buying club in their opening decade, spending heavily to bring professionals to the club. Maley decided to scrap that and rely almost entirely on recruiting youngsters fresh from junior football.
Maley created a young team who won six consecutive league titles in a row between 1905 and 1910 and won the first Scottish League and Scottish Cup doubles. They were the best team in Glasgow, and the six-in-a-row record remained unbroken until the 1960s. As his six-in-a-row team began to age, Maley set about the task of building a younger team. This younger side, which included Patsy Gallacher and the apparently 'ageless' Jimmy McMenemy, won four league titles in succession between 1914 and 1917. They also set a UK record for an unbeaten run in professional football, 62 games (49 won, 13 drawn) from 13 November 1915 until 21 April 1917, which stood until it was broken by Brendan Rodgers' Celtic in November 2017.
That side won two more titles, in 1919 and 1922. Celtic continued to gather trophies throughout the 1920s and in the mid-1930s Maley built his third great team, featuring Jimmy Delaney and Jimmy McGrory. This side won the league title in 1936 and 1938 and the Scottish Cup in 1937. By then, Maley was approaching 70. The Maley years ended in a less than happy fashion. With Celtic at the bottom of the table, Maley finally retired after a meeting with the board of directors in February 1940. He was the longest-serving manager in Celtic's history. In his 43 years as manager, he won 16 Scottish League championships, 14 Scottish Cups, 14 Glasgow Cups and 19 Glasgow Charity Cups.
Cultural references.
His Celtic career is detailed in the song "Willie Maley", written by David Cameron, one of the most popular Celtic songs among fans.


Black Gold (horse)

Black Gold (February 17, 1921 – January 18, 1928) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 50th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1924.
Background.
Black Gold's dam, U-See-it (spelled "Useeit" in registries), was owned by Al Hoots. As a racemare, U-See-it was not fashionably bred, but she was fast. There was only one horse the Oklahoma-bred never beat in her 6-furlong races at small western tracks: the Hall of Famer Pan Zareta. U-See-it won 34 races in 132 starts, and her purse money supported Al Hoots and his wife Rosa. The Hootses lived in Indian territory and were well known on the Texas/New Orleans racing circuit. In 1916, Al Hoots entered U-See-it into a claiming race in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where she was claimed. When Hoots refused to give the mare to her new owner, he and U-See-it were banned from racing for life.
By 1917, Al was dying. In certain versions of the story, he dreamed that if U-See-it were bred to one of the leading sires of the time, the foal she carried would win the Kentucky Derby. In other versions, Al merely hoped that this could happen. When oil was discovered in what is now Oklahoma, Rosa Hoots (who was a member of the Osage Nation) had enough money to ship U-See-it to the Idle Hour Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, where Colonel E. R. Bradley's Black Toney stood at stud. The result was a black colt, who they named "Black Gold" for his color and for the nickname of oil, which had recently been discovered in Oklahoma. Hanley Webb (or Hedley or Harry, depending on the source), who had been a close friend of Al Hoots and also trained U-See-it, was Black Gold's trainer. The man who groomed and exercised him was also his regular jockey, J. D. Mooney
There is also a book called Black Gold, by Marguerite Henry and tells about Black Gold's life. The Useeit Stakes is run at Remington Park in U-See-It's honor.
Racing career.
Beginning at the New Orleans Fair Grounds on January 8, 1923, Black Gold won nine races in 18 starts as a two-year-old, including his finale. When he came out as a three-year-old, he won his first two races, then moved up into Stakes company in the Louisiana Derby. He led from the start, splashing through mud to wire the field and win by six lengths. Mrs. Hoots was reportedly offered $50,000 for her colt, but turned it down. After shipping to Churchill Downs in the spring, Black Gold won the Derby Trial.
Black Gold went into the 1924 running of the Derby as the favorite. In 1924, the Kentucky Derby was fifty years old and was therefore celebrated as the "Golden Jubilee Derby." It was the first time a golden cup was presented to the winner and the first time "My Old Kentucky Home" was played before the race. Black Gold won it with a rough trip against strong competition in the last seventy yards. Ridden by J.D. Mooney, he was bumped and was forced to check, but recovered. Racing four and five wide, Black Gold overtook Chilhowee to win.
Nicknamed "The Indian Horse," Black Gold did not race in the Preakness or the Belmont Stakes after the Derby. Instead, he won two more Derbies: the Ohio State Derby, his seventh win in a row, and the Chicago Derby. He was the first horse ever to win the Derbies of four different states: Louisiana Derby, Kentucky Derby, Ohio Derby, Chicago Derby. Black Gold missed winning the July 19th Raceland Derby in Chinnville, Kentucky, running third to winner Bob Tail who had finished 19th and last in the Kentucky Derby.
The "Thoroughbred Record" said of Black Gold's best season: "...about as vigorous a campaign as a horse could be called upon to undergo, one that knew no let-ups and that never dodged a single issue."
Retirement and comeback.
Black Gold was retired to stud, but was not fertile. He sired one foal, a colt, that was killed by a lightning strike.
At the age of six, he was returned to the racetrack. He started four more times without a win. On January 18, 1928, at the age of seven, he started in the Salome Purse at the New Orleans Fair Grounds. In the stretch, he broke down and finished the race on three legs. He was euthanized at the track.
He was buried in the infield of the Fair Grounds close to the sixteenth pole, next to his mother's old rival, Pan Zareta. The "Thoroughbred Record" wrote that Black Gold was "...as game a horse as ever stood on plates, and answered the bugler's call."
A male line descendant of Eclipse, Black Gold was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1989.
Career highlights.
At 2 years old:
At 3 years old:
In popular culture.
The horse inspired a 1947 film "Black Gold".


Frank McGill

Air Vice-Marshal Francis Scholes ‘Frank’ McGill, CB (June 20, 1894 – June 28, 1980) was a prominent member of Canada's military, having been an air vice marshal in the RCAF, and a considerable sports figure, amongst other things a star football player in the Canadian Football League for the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers.
Sports career.
McGill was born on June 20, 1894 in Montreal, Quebec to John Jones McGill and Eliza Jane Bryson. He played college football at McGill University, where he also starred at hockey, water polo and swimming. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1965 and into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1959.
Military career.
Frank McGill served in First World War as a pilot for the Royal Naval Air Service, after graduating from McGill in 1913. At the outbreak of War in 1914, a brief period in the Army training corps found McGill extremely bored, following which he promptly joined the Royal Naval Air Service. During the First World War he served in combat and as a test pilot, and was decorated for his Royal Flying Corps work. In 1915 while flying with an instructor over the Thames estuary, McGill's plane crashed, resulting in a fractured arm and stay in the Royal Naval Hospital. In 1917 he was appointed second-in-command to a small flying boat force in the Scilly Isles, England.
In February 1919 Capt. McGill was the 1st Pilot in a flying boat that crashed in poor weather off Newlyn in Cornwall. Capt. McGill saved the life of 2nd Lt. HD Morley. The two remained in correspondence until the death of HD Morley in 1978.
During the inter-war period, Air Vice Marshal McGill organized and led an RCAF squadron which eventually became the country's primary fighter unit and participated in the Battle of Britain. He played a founding role in the development of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, as well as serving as the first commanding officer of Uplands and Trenton airforce bases.
In September 1939 Wing Commander McGill was called up to active service. He was the commanding officer of no. 1 Service Flying Training School at Camp Borden, and during 1940–1941, he was organizer and first commanding officer of no. 2 Service Flying Training School at Uplands. Further postings followed as Director of Postings and Records in 1941 to Air Force Headquarters, and as commanding officer to No. 2 (Movements) Group Headquarters at Halifax in 1941-1942 and to RCAF Station Trenton in 1942-1942.
In 1943, he was promoted Air Commodore and given command of No. 2 Training command in Toronto. Following another promotion to Air Vice Marshal, he returned to Air Force Headquarters in December 1943, where he remained for the rest of the war as Air Member for Organization, later Air Member for Supply and Organization. McGill retired from the RCAF in 1946. From 1951 to 1961 he was Director of the Aircraft Production branch of the Department of Defence Production. He died in Montreal on June 28, 1980.


Eddie Perkins

Eddie Perkins (March 3, 1937 – May 10, 2012) was an American light welterweight boxer.
Perkins was born on March 3, 1937 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He compiled an amateur boxing record of 26-10.
Professional career.
Perkins turned professional in 1956. Managed by Johnny Coulon and captured the Lineal and WBA light welterweight titles with a decision win over Duilio Loi in 1962, but lost the belt in a rematch later that year. In 1963 he then captured the Lineal, WBA and World Boxing Council light welterweight titles with a decision win over Roberto Cruz. He defended the belt twice before losing it to Carlos Morocho Hernandez in 1965. He never challenged for a major title again, and retired in 1975. His record was 74-20-3 with 21 knockouts.
Death.
Perkins, who suffered from dementia and diabetes, died on May 10, 2012.
Honors.
Perkins was elected into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.


Davie Cooper

David Cooper (25 February 1956 – 23 March 1995) was a Scottish professional football player who played as a winger.
Born in Hamilton, Cooper played as a youth for local side Hamilton Avondale, whilst also working as an apprentice printer for the club's owners. His talents were noticed by numerous top-flight clubs both in Scotland and England. Cooper chose to sign for Clydebank in 1974, beginning his career as a professional footballer. Cooper continued to show potential at Clydebank, finishing as the club's top scorer in his second full season at Kilbowie Park.
Cooper signed for Rangers in June 1977 for a fee of £100,000 at the age of 21. The next 12 years would see him become a Rangers stalwart, playing 540 games and winning numerous trophies with the Ibrox club, including the Scottish Premier Division in 1977–78, 1986–87 and 1988–89. In August 1989, Tommy McLean signed Cooper for Motherwell for a fee of £50,000. He played over 150 times for the Steelmen and was part of the team that won the 1991 Scottish Cup Final against Dundee United. Cooper also represented the Scotland national football team from 1979 to 1990, in which he was capped 22 times and scored 6 goals. During this time, he represented Scotland at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, making two appearances for the national team at the tournament.
In his later career, Cooper returned to Clydebank in the capacity of a player/assistant coach. He intended to retire as a player at the end of the 1995 season, however on 22 March 1995 he suffered a brain haemorrhage at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld whilst filming a youth coaching television programme. He died the following day at the age of 39.
An inductee of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, Cooper is regarded by many as having been one of Scottish football's greatest talents.
Early life.
Cooper was born in Hamilton, Scotland, on 25 February 1956 to John Cooper (1918–1998) and Jean Cooper (1926–2012). The Cooper family lived in a flat in Brankholm Brae, in the Hillhouse estate in Hamilton. He attended Beckford Street Primary in Hamilton before moving on to Udston Primary. As captain of the team, he played at left-half (the equivalent of left midfield in contemporary footballing terms) and at inside left (roughly equivalent to a modern-day deep-lying striker).
Cooper later attended St. John's Grammar School (now Hamilton Grammar School) and went on to play for local juvenile team Udston United. Cooper was a Rangers supporter in his youth and attended matches at Ibrox with his father and brother. His brother, John, was a youth team player in the English Football League with Hull City, but failed to secure a career as a professional footballer.
Cooper himself later moved on to Hamilton Avondale, where he played with the Under-16 team, before progressing to the Under-18 team. At that time he was working as an apprentice printer with the brothers who ran Hamilton Avondale. His first International recognition came when he represented his country at Under-18 level against the other Home Nations.
Rangers, Motherwell, Clyde and Clydebank, together with English sides Coventry City and Crystal Palace, all expressed an interest in signing Cooper.
Club career.
Clydebank.
Clydebank director Jack Steedman (who was well aware of Cooper's capabilities) signed the youngster on 16 May 1974. Years later, Steedman admitted: "I raided the Bankies' club safe and took the silver from the gaming machines in the social club and transferred it into pound notes. I took £300 worth of beer-stained notes, drove to the printing works in Hamilton where he worked and convinced him to sign for the club. In forty years of football, it was the best thing I ever did."
Cooper made his debut for Clydebank against Airdrieonians in the Scottish League Cup. The game took place on 10 August 1974; Airdrie won 4–0. His full debut was also against Airdrie and again in the League Cup, on Wednesday 28 August, but again Airdrie won, this time by 2–1. This game was his first appearance at New Kilbowie Park.
Cooper's Scottish League debut came in the Second Division, in the last season before League re-construction, on Saturday 31 August 1974. He first played on the winning side for the "Bankies" on 30 November, when they beat Cowdenbeath at Kilbowie 2–1. His first goal for the team came two games later when, again at Kilbowie, he scored the third goal in the 4–1 defeat of Alloa Athletic. Cooper ended the season with 29 starts, 2 as a sub, and scored 5 goals.
In the 1975–76 season, Cooper was one of four ever-presents. He finished top of the Clydebank goalscoring list with 13 in the League, three of which were penalties. His first hat-trick in senior football included two penalties at Alloa Athletic, where Clydebank won 3–1. Cooper played in all of Clydebank's 49 games that season, scoring 22 goals and seeing the club promoted to the First Division.
Cooper's last goal for the "Bankies" was against Raith Rovers in a 2–0 win at New Kilbowie on 23 April 1977. His last game was at Brockville in a 4–2 win, a week later.
Rangers.
At the age of 21, Cooper was sold to Rangers for £100,000 on 8 June 1977, receiving a signing on fee of £10,000, and on a wage of £150 per week.
Cooper appeared in 52 of Rangers' 53 matches in the 1977–78 season, as Jock Wallace's side won the domestic treble. His first league goal for Rangers came against St Mirren at Love Street on 17 September 1977 in a 3–3 draw (his last goal came almost exactly eleven years later, also against St Mirren). His first Ibrox goal for the club came a fortnight later in a 4–1 win against Clydebank. He scored his second in the same match – direct from a corner kick. He scored eight goals in total in his first season at Rangers.
The following season, Cooper made 49 appearances and scored ten goals as Rangers won both domestic cup competitions. On 4 August 1979, Cooper scored a memorable solo goal against Celtic in the 1979 Drybrough Cup Final at Hampden Park. A crossed ball in from Alex MacDonald met Cooper at the edge of the box, where he went on to "keepie up" the ball over Roddie MacDonald, Murdo MacLeod, Tom McAdam and Alan Sneddon before slotting the ball past onrushing Celtic goalkeeper Peter Latchford. The goal was voted the greatest ever Rangers goal by Rangers fans and listed by The Guardian's Rob Smyth as the second greatest ever solo goal, after Diego Maradona's Goal of the Century. Sandy Jardine, who had scored a spectacular second goal for Rangers during the match, admitted his goal had been overshadowed by Cooper's. “I scored one of my best goals that day,” said Jardine, “and it hardly got a mention.”
The 1979–80 season was the first of only three seasons during his time at Ibrox that the club failed to win a trophy. In 1980, Brighton's Alan Mullery reportedly put in a bid for both Cooper and Rangers teammate Gordon Smith; Smith moved on, Cooper stayed.
The following season (1980–81), Cooper started fewer than half of the scheduled league games. He was, however, part of the starting line-up for the Scottish Cup final replay against Dundee United which Rangers won. This was his last Scottish Cup winners medal for the Ibrox side.
In the 1981–82 season, Cooper started his 21st consecutive League Cup tie for Rangers as they won through to the Final. His only goal in the Ibrox side's 11 ties came in the Final. Cooper played in all but six league fixtures as Rangers attained third place.
In the 1982–83 season, Cooper scored his first hat-trick for Rangers (in a sectional League Cup tie against Kilmarnock) and his first and only European goal, against Borussia Dortmund at Ibrox, in the UEFA Cup. It was his most prolific goalscoring season for the club, scoring 12 goals in all competitions.
Cooper scored eight Scottish Premier Division goals in the 1986–87 season, when Rangers won their first league title for nine years.
Cooper won League Cup medals in 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87 and 1987–88. He scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in 1986–87 against Celtic. The following season he scored a free-kick, Rangers's first goal, in a 3–3 draw against Aberdeen. Rangers won 5–3 on penalties, Cooper claiming a seventh winner's medal.
On 9 August 1988, Cooper's testimonial match against Girondins de Bordeaux saw over 43,000 spectators watch Rangers win 3–2 with Terry Butcher, Kevin Drinkell and Ally McCoist netting for Rangers. Cooper finished his Rangers career with 75 goals in 540 appearances. When asked to describe the highlight of his time at Rangers, he simply responded "I played for the team I loved."
Motherwell.
Following the Souness Revolution at Ibrox and an influx of high-profile signings, Cooper's presence in the Rangers first team began to decrease. Broadcaster Tam Cowan stated: "He (Souness) was bringing in guys like Mark Walters, exciting talent out on the wing from down south. But Davie, because he loved the game so much, just wanted to go somewhere where he could play first team football." Souness later admitted his mistake in allowing Cooper to leave for Motherwell, saying: "I regret the fact I didn’t say no to him at that time. He went on to play brilliantly at the highest level for another three years."
After 12 years at Ibrox, Cooper signed for Motherwell, then managed by former teammate Tommy McLean in August 1989 for a fee of £50,000. His debut for the club came at Rugby Park in a midweek Scottish League Cup tie against Kilmarnock on 15 August 1989. Motherwell won the match 4-1, with Cooper assisting in three of the four goals scored. He scored his first goal for the North Lanarkshire side the following month, in a 3-0 win against Dundee at Fir Park on 30 September 1989.
Cooper spent nearly five years with Motherwell, going on to play over 150 times for the "Steelmen." Perhaps his most notable achievement during his Motherwell spell was contributing to the club winning its first major trophy in 39 years: The 1990–91 Scottish Cup against Dundee United, in which Motherwell won 4–3 after extra-time in the final. The following day, Cooper and his teammates paraded the streets of Motherwell on an open top bus, with thousands of fans gathering to celebrate the club's success.
Return to Clydebank.
While with Motherwell, Cooper had been working in a coaching capacity with the reserve and youth sides. In December 1993 he returned to Clydebank as a player, but also to assist in coaching duties. In 1993–94 he played in a total of 20 games, including sixteen starts and four as a substitute. In 1994–95 he was almost an ever-present in the side until the start of February, when he played his last first team match against Hearts in a Scottish Cup third round replay at Tynecastle on 7 February 1995.
Cooper had scored his last goal in a Challenge Cup semi-final against Airdrie earlier that season, and his last appearance in a Clydebank jersey was in a reserve fixture at New Kilbowie on 21 February 1995 against Hamilton Academical.
International career.
Cooper made his international debut for Scotland under-21s in the 1976–77 season in a 0–0 draw versus the Czech Republic in Pilsen. He won another three caps that season, versus Wales, Switzerland and England.
Cooper's debut for the full national side was on 12 September 1979 in a 1–1 draw in a friendly with Peru at Hampden Park. He played for the national team again the following month in a 1–1 draw at home to Austria in the Euro 1980 qualifiers, but after that he wasn't capped again for over four years. Cooper returned to the national team on 28 February 1984, scoring against Wales in a 2–1 Home Championship win, and was on the scoresheet for Scotland again later in the year in a 6–1 friendly win over Yugoslavia.
1985 Wales v Scotland World Cup Qualifier.
Cooper became a regular in the Scotland team and prior to the 1986 World Cup Finals, playing in 11 consecutive games. Perhaps the most notable international match he participated in was the Wales V Scotland Qualifier at Ninian Park. A draw would be enough to ensure Scotland still had a chance to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Cooper began the match on the bench and Scotland struggled from an early point. Mark Hughes scored in the 13th minute and goalkeeper Jim Leighton struggled with vison after losing a contact lens. At the interval, manager Jock Stein made his plans clear to replace Gordon Strachan with Cooper. Cooper entered the game in the 61st minute, and he began causing problems for the Welsh defence. With nine minutes remaining, a shot from David Speedie was judged to have hit Welsh midfielder David Phillip's arm. Scotland were awarded a crucial penalty to save their chances of qualification. Davie Cooper was the player to take the penalty, and converted it tightly past Neville Southall's reach. The game ended as a 1-1 draw, and the Scotland team and around 12,000 travelling fans celebrated their narrow survival in the competition. The achievement, however, was completely overshadowed by the collapse and death of Jock Stein, who fell ill at the final whistle and died half an hour later.
Cooper also scored in a 2–0 win against Australia in the last qualification play-off, and made two appearances in the Finals in Mexico.
Cooper scored his final two goals (from six in total) for the Scottish senior side on 12 November 1986 in a 3–0 home win over Luxembourg in the Euro 88 qualifiers. He was capped twice for Scotland as a Motherwell player, the last of his 22 caps earned on 16 May 1990 in a friendly against Egypt at Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, which the Egyptians won 3–1. An injury precluded him from being selected for the Scotland squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup Finals.
Personal life.
Cooper met his wife Christine through a connection with his brother John, who had been dating one of her colleagues. They married in Spring 1980 at Coatdyke Congregational Church in the town of Airdrie.
Cooper was often reluctant to speak to the press and only rarely participated in interviews. This led to him being nicknamed "The Moody Blue" due to his reserved nature, despite many of his colleagues and friends praising his personality. Journalist and friend Hugh Keevins said in an article on Cooper: ″He could be grumpy like any other human being in a stressful occupation, but I remember the ready smile and the winning personality.″
One particularly close friend was Ally McCoist, who said in newspaper tribute to Cooper: ″I still regard myself as being blessed to have gained the chance to live and work and share football memories with Davie, whether at Ibrox or when we were in Scotland squads or just chewing the fat about the game we loved.″ McCoist and Derek Johnstone visited Cooper in hospital shortly before his death.
Death.
In the lead-up to his retirement, Cooper got involved in coaching roles both with his club and in local communities. He began presenting a coaching television series for youngsters called 'Shoot' for Scottish Television, along with former Celtic, Arsenal, Aberdeen and Scotland player Charlie Nicholas and former Sheffield Wednesday player Tommy Craig. Cooper collapsed after suffering a brain haemorrhage on the morning of Wednesday 22 March 1995 at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld during a recording session for an episode.
He was taken to University Hospital Monklands, where a CT Scan confirmed a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cooper was transferred to the Institute for Neurological Sciences at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, where consultant neurosurgeon Professor Garth Cruikshank took charge of the case. His condition deteriorated during the night. In his announcement to the media, Cruikshank stated that Cooper would not have been aware at any point of what was going on. In the early hours of the following morning on the 23 March 1995, Cooper's life support machine was turned off and he died at the age of 39.
His funeral took place at Hillhouse Parish Church, Hamilton, on 27 March 1995, and he was buried in the town's cemetery.
Tributes.
The news of Cooper's death was met with widespread sadness from across the country and the footballing world, much of which is still felt today. Supporters of Clydebank, Rangers and Motherwell left tributes outside their respective grounds. Jock Wallace Jr. (who had signed Cooper for Rangers in 1977) said: "My feelings go out to his family and loved ones, who will have to be strong through this ordeal." The (then) Scottish Football Association chief executive Jim Farry stated: "It is tragic that one with such skills and knowledge will no longer be able to impart them to young players."
It emerged that, after his retirement, Cooper had intended to share his footballing knowledge and skills with youngsters in creating a David Cooper Soccer School in conjunction with Clydebank. "It was our intention to take football to the children of the country" said Jack Steedman, whose club had helped Cooper develop his own skills throughout the early 1970s. Subsequently, a seven-a-side tournament for schoolchildren, "The Davie Cooper Soccer Sevens", was named in his honour in 1995; it takes place annually in his hometown of Hamilton.
Legacy.
Cooper is remembered as one of the most significant players in the histories of Clydebank, Rangers and Motherwell football clubs. He was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in 2000, Clydebank's in 2008 and Motherwell's in 2020.
Dutch international Ruud Gullit played against Cooper in a friendly match for Feyenoord against Rangers, after which he called Cooper one of the greatest players he had ever seen. Gullit later named Cooper in his greatest XI in football magazine Four Four Two. 25 years after his sudden death, Gullit commented: "So, it's 25 years ago already, and we have to celebrate him. Davie Cooper forever."
Ex-Rangers forward, David Templeton, was named after Cooper by his father, ex pro Henry Templeton. David Templeton's full name is David Cooper Templeton.
After Cooper's death, Motherwell renamed Fir Park's North Stand in his honour. The 2005 Scottish League Cup Final between Rangers and Motherwell paid tribute to Cooper's memory. Ticket stubs had an image of him printed on them, and a percentage of the programme sales went towards establishing a centre for special needs children. On 16 November 2020, it was announced that Cooper was to be inducted into the Motherwell F.C. Hall of Fame.
In 1999, four years after Cooper's death, a statue of the player was erected in his honour at the Hamilton Palace Sports and Recreation Grounds. The bronze statue was created by artist Kenny Mackay and erected by South Lanarkshire Council. Former team-mate Ally McCoist and Rangers ambassador Mark Hateley laid a wreath at the statue in March 2020, 25 years after Cooper's death in memory of the player.


Bobby Bauer

Robert Theodore "Bobby" Bauer (February 16, 1915 – September 16, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins. He was a member of the famed "Kraut Line" with teammates Milt Schmidt and Woody Dumart. The trio led the Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships and became the first line to finish first, second and third in NHL scoring, in 1939–40. Bauer was named to the All-Star Team four times and was a three-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded for gentlemanly conduct combined with a high calibre of play. He recorded only 36 penalties in minutes in 327 games.
Prior to his NHL career, Bauer won the Memorial Cup with the St. Michael's Majors in 1934 as junior champions of Canada. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 and won the Allan Cup with the Ottawa RCAF Flyers as senior champions that year. Bauer turned to coaching following his NHL career and guided the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen to two Allan Cup championships. The Dutchmen were sent to represent Canada at the 1956 Winter Olympics where Bauer coached the team to a bronze medal. He also coached the Canadian entry at the 1960 Winter Olympics that won a silver medal. Bauer assisted his brother David in creating the Canadian national hockey team in the 1960s. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.
Early life.
Bauer was born on February 16, 1915, in Waterloo, Ontario. He was the second of 11 children to Edgar and Alice Bauer; His elder brother Frank was later Mayor of Waterloo and he had nine younger siblings: Eugene, Jerome, Alice, David, Raymond, Mary, Rita, Therese and Margaret. Edgar was a Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester, Waterloo city councilor and executive in the Bauer family's automotive parts business.
The Bauer children learned to play hockey in a backyard rink, and Bobby grew up playing youth hockey in Kitchener–Waterloo before moving to Toronto in 1930 where he attended St. Michael's College School and played junior first with the St. Michael's Buzzers in 1930–31 followed by three years with the St. Michael's Majors. In 1933–34, Bauer recorded 15 points in 13 Memorial Cup playoff games to help the Majors capture the Dominion junior championship. Bauer played his final year of junior in 1934–35 with the Kitchener Greenshirts where he first played with Milt Schmidt and Woody Dumart, who was then a defenceman.
Playing career.
All three players were signed by the Boston Bruins, and Bauer was assigned to the Boston Cubs of the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) for the 1935–36 season. He scored 15 goals for the Cubs in 48 games, then was promoted to the Providence Reds of the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) in 1936–37. It was with the Reds that Bauer as right wing, Schmidt at centre and Dumart, who moved up to left wing, were first placed together as a line. Owing to their shared German heritage, the trio were initially called the "Sauerkrauts" by Providence coach Albert Leduc, though the name was shortened and they were known as the "Kraut Line" for the majority of their careers. Following a season in which Bauer recorded 18 points in 44 games with the Reds, the Bruins recalled him to Boston for the team's final game of the regular season. He made his NHL debut on March 21, 1937, and scored his first goal in a 6–1 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks.
The Kraut Line earned full-time spots in Boston beginning in 1937–38; Bauer recorded a team-leading 20 goals in his rookie season as the trio led the Bruins to the team's first of four consecutive Prince of Wales Trophy wins as the NHL's best team in the regular season. Following a 31-point regular season in 1938–39, Bauer added five points in 12 playoff games and was named to the NHL's second All-Star Team. The Bruins eliminated the New York Rangers, then defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one to capture Boston's first Stanley Cup championship in ten years. In 1939–40, Schmidt led the NHL in points with 52 while Dumart and Bauer finished second and third respectively with 43 each. It was the first time in league history that three linemates finished in the top three spots in NHL scoring. Bauer was again named a second team All-Star, and with only two penalties in minutes (PIM), won the Lady Byng Trophy for the first time.
A 39-point season in 1940–41 with only two PIM earned Bauer his third consecutive appearance on the All-Star Team and a second Lady Byng Trophy. In the playoffs, the Bruins reached the 1941 Stanley Cup Finals where they defeated the Detroit Red Wings in four straight games. Bauer scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal midway through the second period of a 3–1 victory in the deciding game. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, all three members of the Kraut Line enlisted with the Canadian military by signing up for home defence. At the same time, anti-German sentiment led to efforts to change the trio's nickname. They were briefly called the "Buddy Line" and the "Kitchener Kids", though they were again referred to as the Kraut Line following the war.
The trio were called to active duty in January 1942, forcing them to leave the Bruins midway through the 1941–42 season. In their final game with the Bruins, the Kraut Line recorded eight points in a dominating victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Following the contest, players from both teams fêted the trio, hoisting them up on their shoulders and parading them around the ice. Bauer was overwhelmed by the moment: "The ovation, at the height of my youth, sort of grabbed me." Schmidt, Dumart and Bauer were the first NHL players to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, and while training in Ottawa, they joined the Ottawa RCAF Flyers of the Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL). The trio helped the Flyers win the Allan Cup as Canadian senior champions. Bauer was sent to Halifax to continue his training and played with the Dartmouth RCAF team in 1942–43. Bauer, who served as a radio technician, was dispatched to the United Kingdom where he, Schmidt and Dumart were members of a bomber squadron. However, he was returned to Canada in 1944 after being ruled invalid due to a bout of sciatica caused by an old hockey injury. He played with a team in Toronto until the war's conclusion.
Returning to the Bruins for the 1945–46 NHL season, Bauer was reunited with his Kraut Line teammates. Unlike many players who had left for the war, he remained in peak form. However, after scoring 22 points that season, Bauer contemplated retirement. He chose to return for one additional season and was named the Bruins captain for 1946–47. Bauer had his best year in the NHL: he recorded a team-leading 30 goals and finished seventh overall in league scoring with 54 points. He was named to a fourth All-Star Team and won the Lady Byng Trophy for the third time. Following the season, he announced his retirement.
Coaching career.
Returning to Kitchener, Bauer joined the Bauer Skate Company, his father-in-law's hockey equipment business. He also began his coaching career with the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA)'s Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters and, late in the 1947–48 season, joined the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen in the OHA senior division. After recording 15 points in eight games, Bauer scored 38 and 24 points in the following two seasons and helped the Dutchmen reach the OHA finals in three consecutive years between 1948 and 1950. He again retired as a player in 1950, but came back in 1951–52 for a final season with Kitchener-Waterloo. Late in the season, he also played in one final game with the Bruins. The team was celebrating "Milt Schmidt-Woody Dumart appreciation night" and convinced Bauer to come out of retirement to reunite the Kraut Line for one game on March 18, 1952. The trio were presented gifts in honour of their service to the team and sport. In the contest itself, Bauer scored one goal in a 4–0 victory over Toronto and assisted (along with Dumart) on Schmidt's 200th career goal – at the time a rare feat; Schmidt was one of only five active players at that point to have reached the mark.
Ending his playing career, Bauer became coach, general manager and president of the Dutchmen in 1952. He coached the team to two OHA senior championships and Allan Cup victories: 1952–53 and 1954–55. As the top senior team in the nation, the Dutchmen were sent to Italy to represent Canada at the 1956 Winter Olympics. Bauer was pleased with the way his team adapted to European rules and the Dutchmen were expected to bring home the gold medal. However, the team was shocked by the American entry, a 4–1 loss. Though they still had a chance at gold due to the round robin format of the tournament, the Dutchmen were defeated by the Soviet Union – at the time a relatively unknown and emerging hockey power – by a 2–0 score despite outshooting the Soviets 23–9. Canada was relegated to the bronze medal, at the time the worst finish in the nation's Olympic hockey history.
Bauer retired as a coach following the Olympics. However, the Dutchmen, augmented by players loaned from other teams, were again sent to represent Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics. The team's coach, Bill Durnan resigned following a six-game losing streak, and after several other candidates were unable to take the necessary time off to coach the squad at the tournament, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) convinced Bauer to return. The Canadians lost only one game in the tournament, to the United States. The final game of the tournament had been scheduled between Canada and the Soviet Union as it was expected to be the gold medal match-up. However, the Americans won all of their games. Consequently, the match determined the silver medal, which Canada claimed with an 8–5 victory.
Personal life.
Bauer partnered in a Guelph-based electronics company and resided in Kingston with his wife Marguerite and sons Bobby Jr., and Bradley. He also partnered with Woody Dumart in a stick manufacturing company and was a director of the Kitchener Rangers hockey club. His brother, Father David Bauer, convinced CAHA officials in 1962 to abandon the practice of sending a club team to represent Canada internationally in favour of building a true Canadian National Team. Bobby assisted his brother's efforts in creating the team by sharing his coaching knowledge and helping to formulate how the team was to be formed. The first national team played at the 1964 Winter Olympics where it finished a controversial fourth. On September 16, 1964, Bauer suffered a heart attack while golfing and died at the age of 49. He was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame by the veterans committee in 1996.
Tributes.
Upon learning of Bauer's death, former Kraut Line member Woody Dumart told the Canadian Press, "There was no better person than Bobby. He gave everything he had. He was the brains of the line, always thinking, and a very clever playmaker." NHL president Clarence Campbell declared, "Bauer was truly an outstanding player. Bobby was a great credit to both professional and amateur hockey."


Best Pal

Best Pal (February 12, 1988 – November 24, 1998) was an American Hall of Fame champion racehorse, who retired as the all time record for purses of any California-bred earning (since surpassed) for his owners, the Golden Eagle Farm, US$5.6 million over his lifetime.
Background.
Best Pal was a brown gelding bred by John & Betty Mabee. Best Pal was a descendant of Princequillo on both his sire's and dam's line. He was gelded at an early age due to being "studdish and unmanageable".
Racing career.
Best Pal won the first running of the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, and finished second in the 1991 Kentucky Derby. He won the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Santa Anita Handicap, thus capturing all three of California's premier handicap races. In all, Best Pal won 18 races—17 of them stakes—nearly all in California.
Retirement.
Retired in 1996, Best Pal had a massive heart attack while on his way to a training track at Golden Eagle Farm. He was buried at the farm, and a large boulder with a plaque covers his grave. Best Pal was voted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2010.


Hedley Woodhouse

Hedley John Woodhouse (January 23, 1920 - December 29, 1984) was a Canadian jockey who won the New York state riding championship in 1953. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he began his racing career there in 1937 at the Lansdowne Park racetrack as an apprentice with A.C.T. Stock Farm owned by industrialist Austin C. Taylor. Woodhouse's ability would soon see him racing at tracks along the West Coast of the United States and in 1944 he rode Happy Issue to victory in the Grade I Vanity Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California.
Woodhouse rode the colt Fisherman to a 3rd-place finish in the 1949 Kentucky Derby, the best result of his four tries between then and 1957. He rode in the Preakness Stakes on three occasions, his best finish a 5th in 1951. Racing out of New York tracks in the first part of the 1950s, Hedley Woodhouse won the 1953 New York riding championship with 138 victories, and was runner-up on three occasions.
After finishing 7th in the 1954 Kentucky Derby on "Fisherman", a colt owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and trained by Sylvester Veitch, Woodhouse came within a neck of winning the Belmont Stakes. His 2nd-place finish was his best in the third of the American Triple Crown races.
From being based in New York, Hedley Woodhouse would make his way to the Florida racing circuit where remarkably at age 50 he won the 1970 jockey title at Tropical Park in Miami. He retired the following year having won 2,642 races. He was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1980.
Married to Elsie Woodhouse (1919–1998), their son Robert was also a successful jockey, capturing a number of important stakes races on the New York circuit. Hedley and Robert Woodhouse are the only father and son to win the Whitney Handicap.
Hedley Woodhouse died in 1984.


Ray Flaherty

Raymond Paul Flaherty (September 1, 1903 – July 19, 1994) was an American football player and coach in the National Football League, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was part of three NFL Championship teams, one as a player and two as a head coach.
Early years.
Born on a farm near Lamont in eastern Washington, Flaherty grew up in Spokane and was a multi-sport athlete at Gonzaga High School (now Gonzaga Prep) and Gonzaga University, where he played with Hust Stockton under head coach Gus Dorais. As a freshman, Flaherty attended Washington State College in Pullman, then transferred to Gonzaga before his sophomore year.
Pro football.
Player.
Flaherty began his professional football career in 1926 with the Los Angeles Wildcats of the American Football League, a team of western players based in Illinois. It played all its games on the road in its only season, which ended with a post-season barnstorming tour through the South against league rival New York Yankees. Flaherty then played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, first with the Yankees (1927–1928) with Red Grange, until the franchise folded following the 1928 season. He joined the New York Giants, 1929 through the 1935 season, except for 1930, when he returned to Spokane as the head coach at his alma mater, Gonzaga. He also coached the Bulldog basketball team for a season (1930–1931). At the end of the 1935 season, Flaherty's jersey number 1 was 'taken out of circulation', thus making Flaherty the first professional football player to have his number retired.
At age 26, Flaherty played a season of minor league baseball in 1930, as a second baseman with the Providence Grays of the Eastern League.
Head coach.
Following his playing career, Flaherty was hired by George Preston Marshall, owner of the NFL's Boston Redskins, as head coach for the 1936 season. The team won the division title that year, then relocated to Washington, D.C. for the 1937 season, and picked up future hall of fame quarterback Sammy Baugh in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft. In seven seasons at the helm of the Redskins, Flaherty won four division titles (, , , ) and two NFL Championships (1937, 1942). Among his innovations on offense, Flaherty is credited with inventing the screen pass in 1937.
The Redskins held their 1940 training camp in Spokane at Gonzaga; the previous year's camp was also held in Spokane County, at Eastern Washington College in Cheney. In 1941 and 1942, the Redskins trained in California in San Diego at Brown Military Academy.
Flaherty served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to pro football in 1946 as a head coach in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC). With the New York Yankees, he won division titles in each of his two full seasons at the helm, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the title games. After a poor start in 1948, owner Dan Topping relieved Flaherty of his duties in mid-September. Several months later he was hired as head coach of the AAFC's Chicago Hornets, known as the Rockets in their three previous seasons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 for his contributions as a coach.
After football.
After the end of the AAFC in 1949, Flaherty returned to the Spokane area to enter private business as a beverage distributor, and lived in nearby northern Idaho. During football season, he was a part-time columnist for the "Spokane Daily Chronicle." A college friend of Bing Crosby, Flaherty participated in the singer's Spokane memorial service in 1977.
After an extended illness, Flaherty died in 1994 in Hayden, Idaho at the age of 90; he and his wife Jackie (1921–2007) are buried at St. Thomas Cemetery in Coeur d'Alene.


Fernie Flaman

Ferdinand Charles Carl "Fernie" Flaman (January 25, 1927 – June 22, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He was known as a physical defensive defenceman and a consummate bodychecker. As a coach, Flaman was successful at the collegiate ranks as the head coach of Northeastern University.
Career.
After being signed by the Bruins in 1943 and playing three seasons for the minor-league Boston Olympics (during which time he was named to the Eastern Hockey League's First All-Star Team in 1945 and 1946), Flaman made the big club for good in the 1947 season. He played five seasons for Boston before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he won a Stanley Cup the year he was dealt in 1951.
He played three more seasons for Toronto before being dealt back to the Bruins in 1954 (in which he led the league in penalty minutes with 150), for whom he played seven more seasons. Those were his peak years, as he was named Bruins' captain in 1955 (and served as such for the rest of his NHL career), was named to three NHL Second All-Star Teams (1955, 1957 and 1958), and played in five All-Star Games.
In 1961, Flaman was named the player-coach-general manager of the AHL Providence Reds, retiring as an active player after the 1963–1964 season. He coached Providence for one more year after that, coaching teams in the Western Hockey League and the Central Hockey League thereafter. In 1970, Flaman was named the head coach of the Northeastern University Huskies men's college team, and coached for nineteen seasons (the longest tenure in school history), amassing a 256–301–24 record. He was named United States college coach of the year in 1982, and led the Huskies to four Beanpot Tournament championships and a Hockey East championship in 1988. He retired from Northeastern the next year. He carried out the remainder of his career serving as a scout for the Devils.
Flaman finished his NHL career with 34 goals and 174 assists for 208 points in 910 games, and added 1370 penalty minutes. At the time of his retirement, he was third in NHL history in career penalty minutes.
Flaman was inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965, the Northeastern Hall of Fame in 1989, the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Ted Knight Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. He died in 2012.


Larry Highbaugh

Larry Highbaugh (January 14, 1949 – March 21, 2017) was an American defensive back who played with the BC Lions from 1971–1972 and the Edmonton Eskimos from 1972–1983 of the Canadian Football League.
He won six Grey Cup championships while with the Eskimos and was a three-time CFL All-Star.
Highbaugh was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2004 and in November, 2006, was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#38) of the league's modern era by Canadian television sports network TSN.
After his football career ended he taught at South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, Georgia and died there at age 67.
His grandson, Tre Roberson, is a cornerback who plays for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League.


Robert B. Watson

Robert B. "Bobby" Watson (1913–1997) was a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, the son of Helen Booth and her husband, Alexander Watson. In his youth, the family emigrated to Canada where they settled in the city of Toronto, Ontario where Alexander Watson became involved in Thoroughbred racing. Alexander's sister, Georgina, married Ross Robertson, and they too emigrated to the United States. Their son, Alfred Robertson, was also a highly successful jockey who was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.
In 1937, amidst rumours of race-fixing, Bobby Watson was one several jockeys whose licence was revoked by the Canadian Racing Association for what was deemed to be "suspicious behaviour." Reinstated, in 1939 he began winning important races at Old Woodbine Race Course and, according to his induction biography at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, "Watson absolutely dominated horse racing in Ontario in the 1940s."
Watson won a total of nine of the Classic races that would later form the official Canadian Triple Crown series including all three in 1945 aboard Uttermost. As well, he is the only three-time winner of the prestigious Canadian Championship, doing it in consecutive years.
Bobby Watson retired from riding in the 1950s, ending a career that spanned more than 25 years. He served as an Ontario racing steward for the Jockey Club of Canada in the 1970s and 1980s.


Willie Miller

William Ferguson Miller MBE (born 2 May 1955 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in the world".
Club career.
Miller was raised in the Bridgeton area of Glasgow. He had little interest in football as a young child, and when he did become drawn to the game he played initially as a goalkeeper. He was scouted by several professional clubs while playing as a forward with Glasgow Schools and Eastercraigs Boys Club.
Having been on unofficial schoolboy terms in 1969, Miller signed full-time for Aberdeen in 1971 at the age of 16 and spent a season on loan with Peterhead in the Highland League, scoring 24 goals; upon his return he was converted to a central defender/sweeper in the reserves on the advice of Teddy Scott, established himself in that position in the first team in place of Henning Boel, and by 1975 had been made captain by manager Ally McLeod.
Miller's central defensive partnership with Alex McLeish was integral to Aberdeen's success in the 1980s, as they won all the major domestic honours and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983. He made at least 40 appearances for Aberdeen in 14 consecutive seasons, amassing a total of 12 trophies won as well as appearing in several other finals. His total of 797 competitive appearances for the club is comfortably (by more than 100 matches) the all-time record.
He retired from playing in 1990 due to an injury picked up whilst playing for Scotland. A farewell testimonial match in his honour took place in December 1990 with Aberdeen facing a 'World Cup XI' (featuring Kenny Dalglish, David O'Leary, Mark Hughes and Danny McGrain among others) at Pittodrie Stadium. He had already received a testimonial in 1981 against Tottenham Hotspur.
In 2003, Willie Miller was voted the greatest Aberdeen player of all time in a poll to mark the club's centenary. In 2015 it was no surprise when he was named in Aberdeen's 'greatest ever team' by supporters of the club.
International career.
Having appeared at under-21 and under-23 level, Miller won 65 full international caps for Scotland between 1975 and 1989, scoring one goal. His 50th cap came against West Germany during the 1986 FIFA World Cup. His international career was effectively ended by an injury suffered during the last game of 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification. Although he did not play in the 1990 FIFA World Cup finals, Miller was presented with the match ball from Scotland's 1–0 loss to Brazil to thank him for his contribution to Scottish football.
He was an inaugural inductee to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004, and is also on the international roll of honour, having won 50 international caps. In 2010, Miller was chosen as one of the eleven members of "Scotland's Greatest Team", by viewers of the Scottish Television documentary series, which sought the fans' opinion on the best Scotland players since the 1960s. Viewers also chose Alex McLeish as his partner in central defence.
Managerial career.
In February 1992, he was appointed Aberdeen manager, replacing the sacked Alex Smith. Despite two second-place finishes in the league and two losing cup finals in 1992–93, Miller was sacked in February 1995 with the club in danger of being relegated for the first time in its history (survival was eventually achieved via a playoff).
In May 2004, Miller was appointed to the Aberdeen board and given executive responsibility for football. He played a large role in the appointment of Jimmy Calderwood (a friend from their Glasgow Schools days) as manager, as well as progressing the club's youth academy.
In June 2011, he was appointed as Aberdeen's Director of Football Development, with the responsibility of finding new playing talent for the club. He departed again in 2012.
Career outside football.
Miller has worked for the BBC, particularly for Radio Scotland, as a football commentator and analyst. He has written two autobiographies, "The Miller's Tale" and "The Don", the latter being published in 2007. His third book, "Willie Miller's Aberdeen Dream Team", was published in 2011.