It's A Celebration: August 21st Edition!!
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by user Ufgators
It's a celebration! To commemorate my birthday (August 21) I decided to research famous athletes who were born on today's date as well.
The most versatile of the August 21st athletes has to be Wilton Chamberlain, AKA Wilt The Stilt. Wilt Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia in 1936 and passed away in 1999. At the University of Kansas he was a two-time All-American center. During 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association, "Wilt the Stilt" (over 7 ft 1 in./216 cm) led the league in scoring seven consecutive seasons (1959-65), was the leader in field goal percentage 9 times, the top rebounder 11 times, and the most valuable player 4 years (1960, 1966-68). He played with the Philadelphia Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Famed for his long-standing rivalry with Boston's Bill Russell, his most memorable records are the 100 points he scored in a 1962 game against the New York Knicks and his career mark of 23,924 rebounds.
Next up on the list of August 21st legends is arguably the greatest college player of all time-- the only player ever to start in four Rose Bowls-- Archie Griffin. Archie was born in 1954 and played RB in the NFL. He holds the distinguished record as the only college player to win two Heisman Trophies (1974-75). He rushed for 5,177 yards in his career at Ohio St. and was drafted by Cincinnati Bengals and played 8 years in NFL.
Jack Buck heads the list of most famous announcers born today. The link is from ESPN, and it includes Buck's famous, tear-jerking tribute to America after 9/11. Buck is one of the greatest men associated with sports ever, so I decided to list some of his most memorable calls:
- "Smith, corks one into right down the line! It may go...Go crazy, folks! Go crazy! Its a home run and the Cardinals win the game 3-2 on a home run by The Wizard! Go crazy!"- Calling Ozzie Smith's walkoff home run in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series.
- "A swing and a miss! And that's a winner! That's a winner! A World Series winner for the Cardinals!" - Calling the last out of the 1982 World Series. Bruce Sutter struck out Gorman Thomas.
- "In to deep left center...for Mitchell...and we'll see you...tomorrow night!"- Calling Kirby Puckett's walkoff home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.
- "Gibson...swings and a fly ball to deep right field. THIS IS GONNA BE A HOME RUN! UNBELIEVABLE! A HOME RUN FOR GIBSON! IS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING?! I DONT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW! I DONT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!"- Calling an injured Kirk Gibson's walkoff home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series off of Dennis Eckersley.
Other memorable events that occurred on this day include: (links are from wikipedia) The births of: sportscaster Chris Schenkel, NHL coach and player Toe Blake, MLB player Jerry DaVanon, Pro Bowl QB Jim McMahon, MLB'er John Wetteland, NFL RB Reuben Droughns, and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jason Marquis. The whole list of August 21st birthdays can be found here.
So, there you have it. August 21st is a very special day to not only me, but to almost every sport in the world! This date has seen the birth of the worlds oldest man, Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall, singer Kenny Rogers, among many, many others. I know this for certain: The people born on my birthday can beat the players born on your birthday!!
- Sources: Wikipedia, ESPN, Google Images
Date
Mon 08/21/06, 8:17 am EST
good call manny!
