“I believe that good things come to those who work.” – Wilt Chamberlain

“What does perfection look like to me? Championship rings.” – Kobe Bryant

Kobe Returns.

Nov. 18, 1966 – Sandy Koufax retired from baseball at age 30

He was just 30 years old, and he was retiring after a great season—he’d led the Dodgers to a National League pennant and won his third Cy Young Award. But he had chronic arthritis in his pitching arm, and he was afraid that if he kept playing baseball, eventually he wouldn’t be able to use his left hand at all. Koufax’s line in his final season, all while battling the pain: 27-9, 1.73 ERA, 317 strikeouts and 77 walks in 323 innings.

“In those days there was no surgery,” Koufax said much later. “The wisdom was if you went in there, it would only make things worse and your career would be over, anyway. Now you go in, fix it, and you’re OK for next spring.”

In 1961, Koufax really hit his stride: He went 18-13 and led the majors in strikeouts, something he would do four times between 1961 and 1966. Meanwhile, during those six seasons he led the league three times in wins and shutouts, and twice he threw more complete games than any other pitcher. He set a new major-league season strikeout record—382—in 1965. (Only Nolan Ryan has since struck out more batters in a single season.) Koufax threw one no-hitter every year from 1962 to 1965, and in 1965 he threw a perfect game. His pitches were notoriously difficult to hit; getting the bat on a Koufax fastball, Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell once said, was like “trying to drink coffee with a fork.”

Koufax is also remembered as one of the outstanding Jewish athletes in American sports. His decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur garnered national attention as an example of conflict between professional pressures and personal beliefs. In 1971, the 36-year-old Koufax became the youngest person ever to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nov. 15, 1960 – Elgin Baylor scored 71 points against the New York Knicks

From the 1960-61 to the 1962-63 seasons, Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34.0 points per game, respectively. On November 15 of the 1960-61 season, Baylor set a new NBA scoring record when he scored 71 points in a victory against the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden, while grabbing 25 rebounds. In doing so, Baylor had broken his own NBA record of 64 points that he had set in the previous season.

“He was one of the most spectacular shooters the game has ever known. I hear people talking about forwards today and I haven’t seen many that can compare with him.” – Former teammate and NBA Legend Jerry West

Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty during the 1961-62 season, and being stationed in Washington state, he could play for the Lakers only when on a weekend pass. Despite playing only 48 games during the 1961–62 season, he still managed to score over 1,800 points. Later that season, in a game five NBA Finals victory against the Boston Celtics, Baylor grabbed 22 rebounds and set the still-standing NBA record for points in an NBA Finals game with 61.

#ElginBaylor #NBA #Basketball #Player #Athlete #LosAngeles #Lakers #AllStar #MVP #GM #RookieOfTheYear #LosAngelesLakers #Executive #HallOfFame #HOF #Score #Points #Record #Sports #History #SportsHistory #Sport #News #Thisdayinhistory

“Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Nov. 7, 1991- Magic Johnson announces he is HIV-positive and retires from the NBA

After a physical before the 1991–92 NBA season, Magic Johnson discovered that he had tested positive for HIV. In a press conference held on November 7, 1991, Johnson made a public announcement that he would retire immediately. He stated that his wife Cookie and their unborn child did not have HIV, and that he would dedicate his life to “battle this deadly disease”. Johnson initially said that he did not know how he contracted the disease, but later acknowledged that it was through having multiple sexual partners during his playing career. At the time, only a small percentage of HIV-positive American men had contracted it from heterosexual sex, and it was initially rumored that Johnson was gay or bisexual, although he denied both. Johnson later accused Isiah Thomas of spreading the rumors, a claim Thomas denied. Johnson’s HIV announcement became a major news story in the United States, and in 2004 was named as ESPN’s seventh most memorable moment of the past 25 years. Many articles praised Johnson as a hero, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, “For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports.”

Despite his retirement, Johnson was voted by fans as a starter for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game at Orlando Arena, although his former teammates Byron Scott and A. C. Green said that Johnson should not play, and several NBA players, including Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone, argued that they would be at risk of contamination if Johnson suffered an open wound while on court. Johnson led the West to a 153–113 win and was crowned All-Star MVP after recording 25 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds. The game ended after he made a last-minute three-pointer, and players from both teams ran onto the court to congratulate Johnson.

Johnson was chosen to compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics for the US basketball team, dubbed the “Dream Team” because of the NBA stars on the roster. The Dream Team, which along with Johnson included fellow Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Larry Bird, was considered unbeatable. The Dream Team dominated the competition, winning the gold medal with an 8-0 record, beating their opponents by an average of 43.8 points per game. Johnson averaged 8.0 points per game during the Olympics, and his 5.5 assists per game was second on the team. Johnson played infrequently because of knee problems, but he received standing ovations from the crowd, and used the opportunity to inspire HIV-positive people.

“Even exhibition games were not meaningless. I can honestly say I never played a game when I wasn’t nervous beforehand.” – Jerry West

#ThrowbackThursdays

Bill Russell rivals Wilt Chamberlain.

The only two NBA players to have grabbed more than fifty rebounds in a game.

#MJMondays

Get off me!

Oct. 3, 1989 – Art Shell became the first African-American head coach in the modern NFL

After starting the 1989 season with a 1–3 record, Mike Shanahan was fired by Al Davis, which began a long-standing feud between the two. He was replaced by former Los Angeles Raider offensive lineman Art Shell, who had been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier in the year. With the hiring, Shell became the first African American head coach in the modern NFL era, but the team still finished a middling 8-8.

In 1990, Shell led Los Angeles Raiders to a 12–4 record. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs, but Bo Jackson had his left femur ripped from the socket after a tackle. Without him, the Raiders were crushed in the AFC Championship by the Buffalo Bills. Jackson was forced to quit football as a result, although surgery allowed him to continue playing baseball until he retired in 1994.