March 31st
Sometimes the Foo has a hard time with Today in Sports History (TISH). Some days, not a lot has happened in sports history. Other days are difficult because the Foo has to choose among several events. Today, the Foo can't decide among 3 things. In 1991, Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues, scored his 86th goal of the season. In 1931, legendary coach Knute Rockne died in a plane crash. The Trifecta is completed by Mr. Hockey. Born in 1928, Gordie Howe turns 84.
The following is a link to an an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, written a year ago by Jeremy Ruhterford. Read Article Here is another link to stats related to Hull's 86-goal season. This also appeared on stltoday.com Personally, those were golden days for me. I was just a month away from graduating high school. Living in St. Louis, this was an incredible time to be a hockey fan. I am hoping for more magic tonight as the Blues could clinch the Central Division title with a victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
American sports suffered perhaps its first tragedy on this day in 1931. Knute Rockne was on a plane that went down near Emporia, Kansas. This is an intriguing story from espn.com about an eyewitness to the crash. Rockne was born March 4th, 1888 in Voss, Norway. At the age of 5, his family came to America and settled in Chicago. He was actually a chemist, who after his playing days, helped coach the track and football teams at his alma mater, Notre Dame. He eventually would revolutionize the game when he became the head coach of the Fighting Irish. In 13 seasons at Notre Dame, he had over a hundred wins, five seasons they were without a loss or tie, and they had 3 national championships. This is a link to the official Knute Rockne web site. Curiously, there is a town in Texas named specifically for him. Rockne, Texas. I can understand if it was in Indiana or even Illinois. But Texas? Oh well!
Finally, that brings us to Gordie Howe, born in this day 1928 in Floral, Saskatchewan. The stats are staggering! Over 800 goals in the NHL, another 419 in the World Hockey Association, over 1,700 NHL games, and 419 games in the WHA. His professional career would dawn while World War II was still being fought (the 1944-'45 season-OHL), and would last until the height of the Cold War (1979-'80 for the Hartford Whalers who had been absorbed into the NHL when the WHA ceased).
He won 4 Stanley Cups and was a 29 time All Star. Did you know Mr. Hockey and Mrs. Hockey, in honor of his wife Colleen, are both registered trademarks?
The New York Rangers had their hands on number 9 and let him go. He tried out for New York, but did not make the team at the age of 15.
This is a link to Gordie Howe's web site .
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