Gale Sayers is a retired National Football League (NFL) player who played as a running back for seven seasons (1965-1971) with the Chicago Bears. Known as “The Kansas Comet,” Sayers is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. His friendship with fellow Chicago Bear Brian Piccolo (who was diagnosed with testicular cancer) was the basis for the 1971 movie Brian’s Song. He is a successful entrepreneur in the information technology field and an active philanthropist. Sayers was born on this day in 1943.
Irena Sendler – No. 745
Irena Sendler (née Krzyżanowska) was a Polish nurse/social worker who served in the Polish Underground during World War II, and as head of children’s section of Żegota, an underground resistance organization in German-occupied Warsaw. Assisted by some two dozen other Żegota members, Sendler smuggled some 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and provided them with false identity documents and housing outside the Ghetto, saving those children during the Holocaust. The Nazis eventually discovered her activities and tortured her, but she managed to evade execution and survive the war. Known as “the female Oskar Schindler,” late in life she was awarded Poland’s highest honor for her wartime humanitarian efforts. Sendler was born on February 15, 1910 and died on May 12, 2008 at the age of 98.
Note: Sendler was reportedly a candidate to receive the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, but that honor was awarded to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) instead.
Pittsburg State Gorilla – No. 743
The Pittsburg State Gorillas mascot, Gus Gorilla, is NCAA Division II pixel art mascot #2 of 320. Pittsburg State University is located in Kansas, not Pennsylvania. (View reference images.)
West Liberty Hilltopper – No. 742
The West Liberty Hilltoppers mascot, Topper the Bear, is NCAA Division II pixel art mascot #1 of 320. (View reference images.)
West Liberty University, in Wheeling, West Virginia, is where my parents met in the late 1970s. Wheeling is on the West Virginia-Ohio border in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The Wheeling Suspension Bridge spans the main channel of the Ohio River and was once the largest suspension bridge in the world. The road and sidewalk are constructed from open steel grating, which makes it an interesting bridge to cross, especially for those with a fear of heights. As for Topper the Bear, all I can think about is Topper from Dilbert, and I imagine this black bear has the same social deficiency of obsessive one-upmanship.
Katharine Hepburn – No. 741
Katharine Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage and television. Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality, Hepburn was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years and received four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer. In 1999, Hepburn was named by the American Film Institute as the greatest female star in Hollywood history. In the middle of her career, Hepburn found a niche playing middle-aged spinsters, such as in The African Queen (1951), a persona the public embraced. Three more Oscars came for her work in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981). She remained active into old age, making her final screen appearance in 1994 at the age of 87. She was born on this day in 1907 and died on June 29, 2003 at the age of 96.
Grace Kelly – No. 740
Grace Kelly was an American film actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III. After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of 20, she appeared in New York City theatrical productions and more than 40 episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. She starred in films from 1953 to 1956, including Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and The Country Girl (in which she gave a deglamorized, Academy Award-winning performance). She retired from acting at the age of 26 to marry Prince Rainier and enter upon her duties in Monaco. She retained her American roots, maintaining dual U.S. and Monégasque citizenship. She was born on November 12, 1929 and died on September 14, 1982.
Chris Paul – No. 739
Chris Paul is an American professional basketball point guard for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. Since being selected in the 2005 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets, Paul has been an NBA Rookie of the Year (2006), a seven-time All-Star, an All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a multiple-time All-NBA and All-Defensive team honoree. He has won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. national basketball team. On August 21, 2013, Paul was elected the National Basketball Players Association president. He was born on this day in 1985.
Note: After LeBron James and Kevin Durant, CP3 is probably the third-best player in the NBA right now. Honorable mentions go to Steph Curry, Derrick Rose (if he ever gets 100% healthy again), Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Kevin Love, Joakim Noah, Dwight Howard, James Harden and Carmelo Anthony—in some order. Oh, and maybe Kobe Bryant?
Woodsy Owl (U.S. Forest Service) – No. 738
Woodsy Owl is an owl icon for the United States Forest Service most famous for his motto, “Give a hoot! Don’t pollute.” Woodsy was designed to be seen as a mentor to children, providing them with information and advice to help them appreciate nature. Harold Bell of Western Publishing (and producer of Smokey Bear public service announcements), along with Glen Kovar and Chuck Williams, originally created the mascot in 1970 as part of a U.S. Forest Service campaign to raise awareness of protecting the environment. In 1997, Woodsy Owl’s design was overhauled.
Carson-Newman Eagle – No. 744
The Carson-Newman Eagles mascot, Talon, is NCAA Division II pixel art mascot #3 of 320. This is also college mascot pixel art #100. (View reference images.)
Carson-Newman University, in Jefferson City, Tennessee, is where my cousin Adam Cavalier works as Director of Athletic Communications/Voice of the Eagles. He is getting married today in West Virginia. I will be attending Adam’s wedding with my wife Heidi and daughter, my dad and stepmom, my sister and her family, and almost all of my dad’s side of the family. I’ve been looking forward to this reunion for months. The following mascot matchup is for Adam, who is a Marshall alum: Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Carson-Newman Eagle.