This Day in History

 Dec 16, 1944:
Battle of the Bulge

 On this day, the Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, Operation Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge, so-called because the Germans created a "bulge" around the area of the Ardennes forest in pushing through the American defensive line, was the largest fought on the Western front.

The Germans threw 250,000 soldiers into the initial assault, 14 German infantry divisions guarded by five panzer divisions-against a mere 80,000 Americans. Their assault came in early morning at the weakest part of the Allied line, an 80-mile poorly protected stretch of hilly, woody forest (the Allies simply believed the Ardennes too difficult to traverse, and therefore an unlikely location for a German offensive). Between the vulnerability of the thin, isolated American units and the thick fog that prevented Allied air cover from discovering German movement, the Germans were able to push the Americans into retreat.

One particularly effective German trick was the use of English-speaking German commandos who infiltrated American lines and, using captured U.S. uniforms, trucks, and jeeps, impersonated U.S. military and sabotaged communications. The ploy caused widespread chaos and suspicion among the American troops as to the identity of fellow soldiers--even after the ruse was discovered. Even General Omar Bradley himself had to prove his identity three times--by answering questions about football and Betty Grable--before being allowed to pass a sentry point.

The battle raged for three weeks, resulting in a massive loss of American and civilian life. Nazi atrocities abounded, including the murder of 72 American soldiers by SS soldiers in the Ardennes town of Malmedy. Historian Stephen Ambrose estimated that by war's end, "Of the 600,000 GIs involved, almost 20,000 were killed, another 20,000 were captured, and 40,000 were wounded." The United States also suffered its second-largest surrender of troops of the war: More than 7,500 members of the 106th Infantry Division capitulated at one time at Schnee Eifel. The devastating ferocity of the conflict also made desertion an issue for the American troops; General Eisenhower was forced to make an example of Private Eddie Slovik, the first American executed for desertion since the Civil War.

The war would not end until better weather enabled American aircraft to bomb and strafe German positions.




   
       

   
   
   
       
   
       
   

This Day in History

 Dec 15, 1973:
Jockey Sandy Hawley wins record 500th race



On December 15, 1973, Sandy Hawley becomes the first jockey to win 500 races in a single year. Born in Ontario, Canada, Hawley began working at Toronto race tracks when he was a teenager. He won his first race in October 1968 at Toronto’s Woodbine race track and quickly racked up more successes, becoming North America’s leading jockey by 1970, when he won 452 races. In 1972, Hawley decided to try his luck on the Southern California race track circuit, where he would be based for the next 16 years.

Hawley achieved his historic 500th win aboard Charlie Jr., in the third race at Maryland’s Laurel Park race track on December 15, 1973. By season’s end, he had crossed the finish line first 15 more times for a total of 515 wins, smashing the previous record of 485 set by the legendary Bill Shoemaker. In 1976, Hawley was named the winner of Santa Anita Park’s George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Eclipse Award as the top jockey in North America.

Decorated with the Order of Canada, his native country’s highest honor, Hawley continued his stellar career throughout the 1980s and into the ‘90s. At Canterbury Downs in June 1986, he won his 5,000th career race aboard Mighty Massa, becoming the youngest jockey ever to reach that mark. Diagnosed with skin cancer in 1987 and given only months to live, Hawley successfully battled the disease and continued his racing career for another decade. He won his 6,000th race in November 1992 at the Greenwood (formerly Woodbine) track, aboard Summer Commander. Upon his retirement in July 1998, Hawley boasted 31,455 mounts and 6,449 wins (plus 4,825 second- and 4,158 third-place finishes) and a staggering total of $88,666,071 in purse earnings.

This Day in History

 Dec 12, 1965:
NFL rookie Gale Sayers ties single-game TD record

Born in 1943, Sayers was a two-time All-American at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. In 1965, he was drafted by both the Bears of the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL). Though Kansas City offered him more money, Sayers chose to play for the Bears. He scored his first pro touchdown in the second game of the season, a losing effort against the Los Angeles Rams, and never looked back, amassing a total of 2,272 combined rushing, receiving and kick-return yards and 22 touchdowns, a record for a rookie. In the December 12 game against the 49ers, Sayers triumphed over muddy conditions to score his historic six touchdowns--four rushing, one receiving and one return--tying an NFL record held by Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals (1929) and Dub Jones of the Cleveland Browns (1951). Sayers was voted the NFL Rookie of the Year for 1965.

Due to serious knee injuries sustained in 1968 and 1970, Sayers’ NFL career lasted only six seasons, during which he twice led the league in rushing, in 1966 and 1969, and garnered the best-ever career kickoff-return average in the NFL (30.65 yards). After briefly attempting to play again after his second injury, he retired for good in 1972.

Sayers is also well-known for his close friendship with his fellow Bears halfback Brian Piccolo, who motivated Sayers through rehabilitation after his first knee injury and who died in 1970 after a struggle with cancer. The 1971 TV movie Brian’s Song, a sentimental favorite for many, was adapted from Sayers’ memoir, I Am Third. In 1977, the 34-year-old Sayers became the youngest player ever to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This Day in History

 Dec 11, 1981:
Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick



On this day in 1981, the Jamaican boxer Trevor Berbick beat former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a unanimous 10-round decision, before a crowd of 10,000 at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre in Nassau, the Bahamas.

At the age of 39, Ali (born Cassius Clay) was attempting his second comeback from retirement. Crowned as the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champ in 1964 after beating Sonny Liston, he had successfully defended the title eight times before he was convicted of draft evasion in 1967, stripped of his boxing license and title and sentenced to five years in prison. Though the conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Ali was inactive for two years and announced his retirement in 1970. He returned to the ring after only a short time, however, and regained his heavyweight title in 1974 after a win against George Foreman in Zaire. After losing and regaining the crown again in 1978, Ali announced his retirement for the second time. He reemerged in October 1980 to fight a championship bout against Larry Holmes, who knocked him out in the 11th round in a one-sided battle. Ali refused to accept the result, however, and pushed to set up the fight with Berbick in the Bahamas in order to prove himself.

Immensely popular with the fans, Ali put in his best performance in the middle of the Berbick fight, seeming to win the fifth and sixth rounds with his combinations and aggressive punches. From the seventh round on, however, control belonged to the 27-year-old Berbick, whose speed and power allowed him to inflict a series of damaging punches, batter Ali in the corner, land a punch to the head in the ninth, and get him on the ropes in the tenth. In the end, all three judges gave the match to Berbick.

Ali retired for good after the fight, finishing his career with an overall record of 56-5 and earning a lasting reputation as one of the 20th century’s most influential sportsmen. For his part, Berbick won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 but was beaten in his first defense by the 20-year-old Mike Tyson. Berbick continued boxing for another 14 years but was plagued by issues in his personal life, including various arrests and a conviction for sexual assault. His boxing license was revoked in 2000 after a post-fight CAT scan found a blood clot in his brain. In October 2006, Berbick was found dead, with massive wounds to the head, in a church courtyard in his native town, Norwich, near Kingston, Jamaica. His 20-year-old nephew and a friend were charged in the killing.

This Day in History

 Dec 10, 2006:
LaDainian Tomlinson breaks single-season touchdown record

On December 10, 2006, the San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson racks up his 29th touchdown of the year, breaking the National Football League (NFL) record for touchdowns scored during a single season.

Born in 1979, Tomlinson was selected by the Chargers in the first round of the NFL draft in 2001, after a triumphant career at Texas Christian University. As the team’s starting running back, he made an immediate impact, proving lethally effective at rushing, catching and passing. In 2003, he became the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and record 100 receptions in the same season. He was also the seventh player to run, catch and throw for a touchdown in the same game, a Chargers victory over the Oakland Raiders in October 2005. Tomlinson broke some ribs near the end of the 2005 season, but continued to play, finishing with a then-career-high 20 touchdowns (18 rushing, two receiving).

From the beginning to the end of the 2006 season, Tomlinson was unstoppable, leading the Chargers to the playoffs (though not to the Super Bowl) and smashing NFL records along the way. Facing the Denver Broncos on December 10, Tomlinson took a handoff at the Broncos’ seven-yard line into the end zone for his third touchdown of the day and 29th of the season, breaking the previous record set by Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks in 2005. By season’s end, he had improved his total to 31 touchdowns. He also set new single-season records for rushing touchdowns (28) and total points scored (186). The previous points record, held by Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers, had stood since 1960.

Despite San Diego’s loss to the New England Patriots in the division playoffs, Tomlinson raked in almost every available honor during his record-breaking season, including the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards

Marquez knocks out Pacquiao in 6th round

Juan Manuel Marquez knocked Manny Pacquiao out cold with a vicious right hand at the end of the sixth round Saturday night, putting a ferocious end to the fourth fight between the two boxers.

Pacquiao had been down in the third round but knocked Marquez down in the fifth and the two were exchanging heavy blows in the sixth round before Marquez threw a right hand that flattened Pacquiao face down on the canvas at 2:59 of the sixth round.

The referee waved the fight to an end as Marquez celebrated and the sold-out crowd at the MGM erupted. Pacquiao was down for about two minutes before his handlers managed to get him up.

After being helped to his corner, Pacquiao sat on a stool, blew his nose and stared vacantly ahead as his handlers cut his gloves off. It was a stunning end to a furious fight and it may have signaled the end of Pacquiao's career.

"I threw a perfect punch," Marquez said. "I knew Manny could knock me out at any time."

Marquez had vowed to finally beat Pacquiao after losing two close fights and settling for a draw in the first fight. But after Pacquiao knocked him down in the fifth round and was landing big left hands, it looked like it would be Pacquiao's night.The two came out for the sixth round and the pace was just as relentless. Both were landing big punches and both were brawling when suddenly as the round came to close Marquez shot out a right hand that landed flush to the jaw of Pacquiao, who crumpled to the canvas in a heap.

"I felt he was coming to knock me out the last three rounds and I knew he was going to be wide open," Marquez said.

It was the second loss in a row for Pacquiao, who dropped a decision to Timothy Bradley in June and who had vowed to regain his prominence in the ring.

Pacquiao was aggressive from the opening bell, but paid the price in the third round when he got by a Marquez right hand that put him down. Pacquiao got back up and seemingly took control of the fight, dropping Marquez in the fifth round and landing the bigger punches until he was dropped

"I got hit by a punch I didn't see," Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao, who earned more than $20 million for the fight, was ahead 47-46 on all three scorecards after the fifth round.

There was no title at stake in the 147-pound fight, but that didn't stop 16,348 fans from filling the MGM Grand Arena and roaring in unison from the opening bell as the two fighters went after each other.

Ringside punching stats underscored the ferocity of the bout, showing Pacquiao landing 94 of 256 punches to 52 of 246 for Marquez. But it was the one big right hand from Marquez that counted more than anything, knocking Pacquiao out for the first time in a career that goes back 17 years.

"He was in charge," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach said. "He just got a little too careless and got hit with a punch he didn't see."

Promoter Bob Arum immediately said he could see a fifth fight between the two boxers, and a dazed Pacquiao seemed to agree.

"Why not?" he said.

Pacquiao weight the class limit of 147 pounds, but it was Marquez who looked like the stronger fight entering the ring after having bulked up with the help of a strength conditioner even though he weighed in at 143 pounds. In their earlier fights, Pacquiao had been the bigger punchier, knocking Marquez down a total of four times, but on this night it was Marquez who had the biggest punch.

The stunning knockout was the first real loss by Pacquiao in seven years. He lost a close decision to Bradley in his last fight, but most ringside observers believed he had won it fairly convincingly.

Marquez improved to 55-6-1 with 40 knockouts, while Pacquiao fell to 54-5-2.

This Day in History

 Dec 8, 1980:
John Lennon shot



John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles, the rock group that transformed popular music in the 1960s, is shot and killed by an obsessed fan in New York City. The 40-year-old artist was entering his luxury Manhattan apartment building when Mark David Chapman shot him four times at close range with a .38-caliber revolver. Lennon, bleeding profusely, was rushed to the hospital but died en route. Chapman had received an autograph from Lennon earlier in the day and voluntarily remained at the scene of the shooting until he was arrested by police. For a week, hundreds of bereaved fans kept a vigil outside the Dakota--Lennon's apartment building--and demonstrations of mourning were held around the world.

John Lennon was one half of the singing-songwriting team that made the Beatles the most popular musical group of the 20th century. The other band leader was Paul McCartney, but the rest of the quartet--George Harrison and Ringo Starr--sometimes penned and sang their own songs as well. Hailing from Liverpool, England, and influenced by early American rock and roll, the Beatles took Britain by storm in 1963 with the single "Please Please Me." "Beatlemania" spread to the United States in 1964 with the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," followed by a sensational U.S. tour. With youth poised to break away from the culturally rigid landscape of the 1950s, the "Fab Four," with their exuberant music and good-natured rebellion, were the perfect catalyst for the shift.

The Beatles sold millions of records and starred in hit movies such as A Hard Day's Night (1964). Their live performances were near riots, with teenage girls screaming and fainting as their boyfriends nodded along to the catchy pop songs. In 1966, the Beatles gave up touring to concentrate on their innovative studio recordings, such as 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, a psychedelic concept album that is regarded as a masterpiece of popular music. The Beatles' music remained relevant to youth throughout the great cultural shifts of the 1960s, and critics of all ages acknowledged the songwriting genius of the Lennon-McCartney team.

Lennon was considered the intellectual Beatle and certainly was the most outspoken of the four. He caused a major controversy in 1966 when he declared that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus," prompting mass burnings of Beatles' records in the American Bible Belt. He later became an anti-war activist and flirted with communism in the lyrics of solo hits like "Imagine," recorded after the Beatles disbanded in 1970. In 1975, Lennon dropped out of the music business to spend more time with his Japanese-born wife, Yoko Ono, and their son, Sean. In 1980, he made a comeback with Double-Fantasy, a critically acclaimed album that celebrated his love for Yoko and featured songs written by her.

On December 8, 1980, their peaceful domestic life on New York's Upper West Side was shattered by 25-year-old Mark David Chapman. Psychiatrists deemed Chapman a borderline psychotic. He was instructed to plead insanity, but instead he pleaded guilty to murder. He was sentenced to 20 years to life. In 2000, New York State prison officials denied Chapman a parole hearing, telling him that his "vicious and violent act was apparently fueled by your need to be acknowledged." He remains behind bars at Attica Prison in New York State.

John Lennon is memorialized in "Strawberry Fields," a section of Central Park across the street from the Dakota that Yoko Ono landscaped in honor of her husband.