Danny Ainge and Wayne Rollins Rumble

On April 24, 1983, a classic NBA altercation takes place.

In a first round meeting between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks, Boston sharp-shooter Danny Ainge takes one too many elbows from Hawks center Wayne "Tree" Rollins.

Ainge, who had allegedly called Rollins a "sissy," finally ran up and tackled the 7-footer, causing a bench-clearing brawl to ensue. While Ainge and Rollins were scuffling on the floor, Rollins took a bite at Ainge's middle finger.

"He almost bit my finger off,'' Ainge said in a  Sports Illustrated interview. "He bit it all the way through. I had to get two stitches.''

Ainge was ejected from the game, as was Atlanta guard Mike Glenn. Rollins, however, was not ejected. Boston went on to win the game and sweep the Hawks out of the postseason. Rollins was later given a $5,000 fine and a five-game suspension to be assessed at the beginning of the '83-84 season.

The Boston Herald covered the story with the headline: "Tree Bites Man." In later years, the facts of the incident began to strain, and people began to believe that it was Ainge who had bitten Rollins, and not the other way around. Ainge was able to dispell these rumors, though only after displaying the scar that had been made on his middle finger.

Hank Aaron Ties Home Run Record

On April 4, 1974, Hall of Famer Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's home-run record by hitting his 714th home run.

 

Hank Aaron with his record breaking 715th home run ball he would hit on April 8th, 1974.

"Hammerin' Hank," is a retired American baseball right fielder that played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1954 through 1976. Aaron spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) before playing for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League (AL) for the final two years of his career. Aaron is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on their "100 Greatest Baseball Players" list.

After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. In his final season, he was the last Negro League baseball player on a major league roster.

His most notable achievement was breaking the career home run record set by Babe Ruth. During his career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.

Aaron made the All-Star team every year from 1955 through 1975 and won three Gold Glove Awards. In 1957, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, while that same year, the Braves won the World Series.

Aaron's consistency helped him to establish a number of important hitting records. He holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBI) (2,297), the most career extra base hits (1,477), and the most career total bases (6,856).

Aaron is also in the top five for career hits with 3,771 (third), behind only Detroit Tigers Ty Cobb (4,191) and Cincinnati Reds Pete Rose (4,256) and runs with 2,174, which is tied for fourth with Babe Ruth, and only behind San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds (2,227), Cobb (2,246) and Oakland Athletics Rickey Henderson (2,295).

Aaron is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits, the other three are New York Yankees Derek Jeter, Rose and Cobb.

He also is in second place in home runs (755), to Bonds (762) and at-bats (12,364) to Rose (14,053) and in third place in games played (3,298), behind only Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski (3,308) and Rose (3,562). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power hitting records outright, including most total bases with 6,856, most RBI’s with 2,297, extra-base hits 1,477.

Aaron finished his career with .305 batting average, 25 All-Star game appearances, and two NL Batting titles in 1956 and 1959, and was a four-time NL home run champ in 1957, 1963, 1966-1967.

The Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers retired his no. 44 jersey. He was named to Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Aaron was inducted into the Cooperstown Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1982, on the first ballot with 97.83 percent of the vote.

The Mail Man's Streak Begins

On Dec. 18, 1991, former Utah Jazz great and Hall of Famer, Karl Malone also know as the “Mail Man” started a streak of 575 games scoring in double figures.

His streak would be the third longest in NBA history only behind Michael Jordan (840) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (787).

Malone would go on to finish his career as the second player on the All-Time scoring leader board for the NBA, only behind Abdul-Jabbar.

He would finish his career with 36,928 points in 1,476 games marking an average of 25 points per game.

During his career with the Jazz and Lakers, Malone would earn two MVP awards in 1997 and 1999 with the Jazz; he would be named to 14 NBA All-Star games, where he was named the MVP of the All-Star game twice.

He would also be named an 11-time All-NBA First Team player; two-time All-NBA Second Team player, one time All-NBA Third Team player. He would also earn defensive awards, being named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times from 1997-1999, the NBA All-Defensive Second Team once, and the NBA All-Rookie Team.

In 1996, Malone would be named to the NBA’s 50^th Anniversary All-Time Team.

In 2006, the Utah Jazz would retire Malone’s no. 32 jersey.

Malone would also help the United States to two gold medals in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Olympics as part of the Dream Team and Dream Team II.

Ali Wins First Fight

On Oct. 29, 1960, Muhammad Ali also known as Cassius Clay makes his first professional fight. In that fight Ali would beat Tunney Hunsaker in six rounds.

At the ripe age of 18 Cassius Clay, now known as Muhammad Ali, earned a Gold for the United States in the 1960 Rome Olympics in the Light Heavyweight class.

At the age of 22, Ali won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston. 

Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975.

In 1967, three years after Ali had won the heavyweight championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. 

Ali would go on to become the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion.

Nicknamed "The Greatest," Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches.

Notable among these were three with rival Joe Frazier, which are considered among the greatest in boxing history, and one with George Foreman, where he finally regained his stripped titles seven years later. Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style, epitomized by his catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", and employing techniques such as the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope.

Ali brought beauty and grace to the most uncompromising of sports and through the wonderful excesses of skill and character, he became the most famous athlete in the world.

He was also known for his pre-match hype, where he would "trash talk" opponents, often with rhymes.

In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.

Ali finished his career with 61 fights, winning 56 times, 37 by knock out, with only five losses. His fastest win came via knockout when he was just 19 years old. On Feb. 7, 1961, then Clay beat Jim Robinson in the first round just 1:34 into the fight.

Muhammad Ali lighted the one hundredth anniversary Olympic torch in a very emotional moment in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. Ali was also given a replacement gold medal for his boxing victory at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ali had supposedly thrown his previous gold medal into the Ohio River after being refused entry into a restaurant. 

Prime Time Plays Two Sports In One Day

On Oct. 11, 1992, Deion “Prime Time” Sanders suited up for both the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves.  He remains the only man in history to dress for two different professional sports team in one day.

Deion Sanders’ wild weekend began on Saturday night when he played in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Pittsburg Pirates where he pinch-hit in a 6-4 Braves win.  After the game, Sanders took a flight to Florida where his Atlanta Falcons took on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.  Deion played all but one snap on defense as well as returning both punts and kick-offs, and he even chipped in on offense with a nine-yard catch.  Following the game, Sanders traveled by limousine, helicopter, plane and limousine again to arrive back at Three Rivers Stadium just in time for Game 5.  Although he dressed for the game, Sanders did not see any playing time in the Pirates’ 7-1 victory.

When you think of two sport athletes, the name Deion Sanders, along with Bo Jackson, immediately come to mind.  What these two men accomplished on the gridiron and on the diamond is something we may never see again.

Sanders had a great career in the NFL he racked up 53 interceptions, and 22 touchdowns in his 16 years in the league. Sanders’ other accolades included being selected to the Pro-Bowl eight consecutive times from 1991-1999. Sanders also set a record for interceptions in the Pro Bowl with four, he is tied with Everson Wells and Champ Bailey. 

Sanders was also named an All-Pro eight consecutive times from 1991-1999, two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1993 and 1994. In 1994 Sanders also was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was the CO-NFL Alumni Special Teams Player of the Year in 1998, along with Gary Anderson. He was also part of two Super Bowl Championship teams the 1994 San Francisco 49ers and the 1995 Dallas Cowboys.

Sanders’ was elected into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in 2011 as well the college football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana.

While Sanders was the cream of the crop in the NFL world, he was just a mediocre ball player with exceptional speed when it came to the MLB.

Sanders led the league in triples with 14 in 1992, but that was his only remarkable feat. Sanders accumulated 186 stolen bases, 39 home runs on 558 hits in his eight-year career, which spanned 12 years.

Sanders’ most memorable MLB moment came in the 1992 World Series where he hit .533 with four runs, eight hits, two of which were doubles, and one RBI while playing with a broken bone in his foot. The Braves would eventually lose to the Blue Jays in the World Series. He would never reach the World Series again.

"Hit Heard Around The World"

On Oct. 3, 1951 New York Giants Bobby Thomson hits a walk-off home run to win the pennant, defeating their cross-town rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. Thomson’s home run has been named the “Hit heard around the world.”

Despite Thomson’s heroics to win the pennant, the Giants would end up losing the World Series to the New York Yankees in six games.

While best known for his walk-off home run against the Dodgers, Thomson had a great career which saw him play for 15 years with the Giants, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.

Over his career Thomson, nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot," was a three-time All-Star, including back-to-back appearances in 1948-1949. Though never an MVP, Thomson was in the MVP conversation three times over the course of his career, with his highest voting for the MVP Award coming in 1951 when he finished eighth. That year he had career highs in home runs with 32, which was the fifth highest total in the MLB that year, and walks with 73. Thomson also had the fourth highest slugging percentage in MLB.

Thomson put up solid numbers over his career including playing in 1,779 games over 15 seasons. Over those 15 seasons, Thomson had 6,305 at-bats with 1,705 hits, consisting of 1,100 singles, 267 doubles, 74 triples and 264 home runs for a .270 lifetime batting average. Thomson also knocked in 1,026 RBIs, scored 903 runs, totaled 38 stolen bases and walked 559 times, while striking out 804 times.

Thomson led the league in triples once, with 14 in 1952. That was also his highest single season total of triples.

Scottish baseball team, the Edinburgh Diamond Devils, named their home "Bobby Thomson Field.” It was opened by the man himself in 2003 while he was in Scotland to be inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.

The UK Chapter of The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is named the Bobby Thomson Chapter.

Cobb Collects His Final Hit; 4,191

On September 3, 1928, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Detroit Tigers great Ty Cobb gets career hit 4,191, it would also be his last.

At the time of his retirement he was the hit leader in baseball, but since has been passed by one man, Pete Rose. He and Rose are still the only members of the 4,000 hit-club in MLB history. However, Ichiro Suzuki now has over 4,000 hits if you total his time with in the Japanese Leagues with his time in the MLB.

Cobb, nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in The Narrows, Georgia, a small rural community of farmers that was not an official city or village at the time.

Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936 Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes.

At the end of his playing career Cobb was credited with breaking 90 MLB records including 54 career steals of home, still the most of all time, 892 stolen bases, which has since been surpassed by three players including current stolen base champion Oakland Athletics great Rickey Henderson.

Most runs scored with 2,245, which has since been surpassed only by Henderson. Most career hits with 4,191, which has since been surpassed only by Rose.

Cobb finished his career as a one time American League MVP in 1911, the winner of 12 batting titles, including nine in a row from 1907-1915, both of which are the most of all time. He batted over .400 three times, which is tied for an MLB record and only batted under .320 once in his career. He also led the American League with a .350 batting average at age 20, second youngest in MLB history to do so.

Cobb’s career numbers include a .366 batting average, a .433 on-base percentage, a .512 slugging percentage, 4,189 hits, 724 doubles, 295 triples, 117 home runs, 1,249 walks, 1,938 RBIs, 2,246 runs scored, 897 stolen bases in 3,034 games played.

Cobb was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1936 with 98.23 percent of the vote. Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes.

Since the inception of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York there have been 300 members elected with only three members with a higher percentage of the vote being inducted after Cobb including in this order of percentage; New York Mets great Tom Seaver 98.84 percent, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and California Angels great Nolan Ryan 98.79 percent and Baltimore Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr. with 98.53 percent.

Only Kansas City Royals George Brett has topped 98 percent of the vote without surpassing Cobb, with 98.19 percent.

Sandberg Notches Back-To-Back 30 Home Run Seasons

On Aug. 28, 1990, Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs hit home run 30 of the season, which helped the Cubs beat the Houston Astros at the Astrodome.

 It was the second year in a row the future Hall of Famer hit at least 30 home runs, becoming the first major league second baseman to do that. Sandberg wasn't done in 1990 either. He ended up with 40 home runs. After hitting an even 30 in 1989.

Sandberg played 16 years in the major leagues, his first with the Philadelphia Phillies, but as a result of a classic ill-advised trade on the part of Philadelphia, was sent to the Cubs in year two and played the next 15 seasons on the northside of Chicago.

Sandberg was a career .285 hitter, appeared in 10 all-star games, was National League Most Valuable Player in 1984, and elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. 

Since Sandberg retired second base has still be a position with limited power but a few players after him have completed the feat.

Jeff Kent hit 30 home runs in three consecutive seasons.

Alfonso Soriano hit 30 home runs in three consecutive seasons.

Chase Utley also hit 30 home runs in three consecutive seasons.

Dan Uggla is the current record holder with five consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs.