Dennis Rodman is a former NBA player, most famously with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls. Nicknamed “The Worm,” he was known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years (1991-98) and won five NBA championships (1989-1990, 1996-1998). In 1993, Rodman reinvented himself as a “bad boy” and became notorious for his brightly colored hair, piercings, tattoos and controversial, disruptive antics. He famously wore a wedding dress to promote his 1996 autobiography Bad As I Wanna Be and pursued a high-profile affair with singer Madonna. He was born on this day in 1961.
Note: On February 26, 2013, Rodman made a trip to North Korea to host basketball exhibitions featuring the Harlem Globetrotters. He met North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un and later called Kim “his friend” and suggested that President Barack Obama “should pick up the phone and call” Kim since the two leaders are basketball fans. On May 7, self-appointed North Korean ambassador Rodman called on Kim Jong-un to release Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in North Korea. Almost equally strangely, in March 2013, Rodman arrived at Vatican City during voting in the papal conclave, which elected Pope Francis I.
Jason Collins is an American professional basketball center, most recently playing for the NBA’s Washington Wizards. He attended Stanford University and was selected in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft. Collins has played for six teams in 12 NBA seasons and is now a free agent. On April 29, 2013, Collins became the first active male professional athlete in a major North American team sport to publicly come out as gay. According to ESPN’s Rick Reilly, “Collins is now the Jackie Robinson of gay athletes and, like Robinson, strong enough for the job. He’s universally loved in the NBA.”
Note: Collins has said that he chose to wear jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, the victim of a gay hate crime in 1998.
Fauja Singh is a British centenarian marathon runner of PunjabiSikh descent. Born in India, he did not develop the ability to walk until he was five years old. He immigrated to England in the 1990s and ran his first marathon at age 89. Now 102 years old, Singh is a world record holder in his age bracket. His marathon record for age 90-plus, recorded in 2003 at age 92, is 5 hours 40 minutes. In 2004, Singh was featured in an Adidas advertising campaign alongside David Beckham and Muhammad Ali. On February 24, 2013 (just five weeks shy of his 102nd birthday), Singh retired from competitive running after completing the 10-kilometer Hong Kong marathon. He was born on this day in 1911.
Note: ESPN published a compelling Outside the Lines feature on Singh called “The Runner” on February 22, 2013. Happy April Fools’ Day!
Cy Young was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player. During his 22-year career (1890-1911), he pitched for five different teams, most notably the Boston franchise (Americans/Red Sox). Young established numerous pitching records, some of which have stood for a century. He still holds the MLB records for most wins (511), career innings pitched (7,355), career games started (815) and complete games (749). One year after Young’s death in 1955, the Cy Young Award was created to honor the previous season’s best pitcher. He was born on this day in 1867.
Willie Stargell, nicknamed “Pops” in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played his entire 21-year career as the left fielder and first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1962-1982). He helped the Pirates capture six National League East division titles, two National League pennants and two World Series (1971, 1979). He was born on this day in 1940.
Gino Marchetti is a retired National Football League (NFL) player who played for the Dallas Texans (1952) and the Baltimore Colts (1953-1966). He was voted “the greatest defensive end in pro football history” by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972. Marchetti won his first of two NFL championships in the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Colts and the Giants, which is often referred to as “The Greatest Game Ever Played” in NFL history. In 1959, Marchetti founded Gino’s Hamburgers. Gino’s became a successful East Coast regional fast food chain and had 313 company-owned locations when it was sold to Marriott in 1982, which converted many of the restaurants to Roy Rogers. In 2010, Marchetti revived the Gino’s name with Gino’s Burgers & Chicken, which first opened in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Born in the historic coal-mining town of Smithers, West Virginia on January 2, 1927, Gino Marchetti is my first cousin, twice removed. Now 86 years old, he is the most famous member of my extended Italian-American family.
Randy Moss is a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Last season he played for the San Francisco 49ers, but Moss spent most of his career with the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots. He holds the NFL single season touchdown reception record (23, set in 2007) and is second on the NFL all-time regular season touchdown reception list with 155. A freakishly gifted athlete, Moss played college football at Marshall University and is one of the most famous “sons of Marshall.” He was born on this day in 1977 in West Virginia.
After a 15-1 regular season with the 1998 Vikings, and an 18-1 season with the juggernaut 2007 Patriots (whose only loss was the Super Bowl XLII upset), Moss just missed another chance at his first Super Bowl ring with the 2012 49ers. “I really think I’m the greatest receiver to ever play this game,” Moss said at Super Bowl media day in New Orleans on January 29, 2013. I agree that Moss is the greatest NFL receiver, in terms of pure, terrifying athletic talent, but NFL legend Jerry Rice leads him in every significant career statistical category. If Moss had a stronger work ethic, I’m pretty sure he could have been the greatest football player of all time.
Robert Pack is a retired American professional basketball player. Nicknamed “Pac-Man,” he had a 13-season career in the NBA, most notably with the Denver Nuggets from 1992-1995. As a reserve point guard with the Nuggets, Pack was like a 6′ 2″ firecracker coming off the bench. His athleticism, energy and dunking ability could completely change the momentum of games. Pack is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. He was born on February 3, 1969.
Since I spent much of my childhood in Iowa, I was naturally a fan of the nearby Chicago Bulls (or, more accurately, I was a fan of Michael Jordan). But during Michael Jordan’s first retirement (1993-1995), my Bulls support wavered and I looked to other NBA teams. I decided to jump on the Denver Nuggets bandwagon while Jordan played baseball. Pack was part of an exciting young Nuggets team starring Dikembe Mutombo, LaPhonso Ellis and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf that went on to become the first eighth-seeded team in NBA Playoffs history to defeat the first-seeded team. In the first round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, the Nuggets upset the mighty Seattle SuperSonics—which I enjoyed because I thought that Shawn Kemp-led Seattle team had a bad attitude.
Scottie Pippen is a retired American professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the NBA. He is most remembered for his 12 seasons with the Chicago Bulls, with whom he was instrumental in six NBA titles and their record 1995-96 season of 72 wins. Pippen, along with Michael Jordan, played an important role in transforming the Bulls team into a vehicle for popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s. Pippen is also the only person to have won an NBA title and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice (1992, 1996).
Spud Webb is a retired American professional basketball player. At only 5′ 7″ tall, he played point guard in the NBA for 12 seasons, primarily for the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings. Webb is notable for winning the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest (over teammate and defending champion Dominique Wilkins) despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history and being unable to palm the ball. Since Webb made his NBA debut in 1985, only two players have been shorter: Earl Boykins (5′ 5″) and Muggsy Bogues (5′ 3″).
As a short kid who loved basketball, I was in awe of Spud Webb’s NBA success and dunking ability. Webb had a 42-inch vertical leap, minimum. I used to pretend to be him (when I wasn’t playing Air Jordan or Wilkins) as I dunked ferociously on our eight-foot basketball hoop in the driveway and made up Slam Dunk scores.
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player (born in France) who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, and one of the best dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname “The Human Highlight Film.” Wilkins participated in five slam dunk contests (1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990), winning two. In 1985, he beat rookie Michael Jordan in the finals. In 1986, Wilkins was defeated by his 5′ 7″ teammate, Spud Webb. In 1988, the highly anticipated rematch of Wilkins vs. Jordan resulted in Jordan winning 147 to 145, controversially.
As a kid, I tried to imitate the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest dunks on the NERF basketball hoop attached above my bedroom door. Or, even better, on the metal basketball hoop mounted in my late grandparents’ basement that my dad built from Erector Set pieces in the late 1950s. These dunks were essentially the practice of accidentally slamming my nine-year-old extremities into the door frame or doorknob as I contorted my body to get a foam ball to pass through an orange plastic hoop. And the crowd goes wild.
Mike Iuzzolino is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks for two seasons (1991-93). After his NBA career, Iuzzolino played professionally in Italy and Spain until 2003. While unknown to many, Iuzzolino was featured in the 1993 arcade edition of the popular two-on-two basketball video game NBA Jam. He was born on this day in 1968.
As a 14-year-old basketball fan, I was surprised that Mike Iuzzolino was one of the 54 NBA players selected for the 27 NBA Jam teams. The 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks roster was pretty weak, aside from teammate Derek Harper, but still. I thought getting to play as Iuzzolino in a video game was awesome—and play as him I did, whenever I grew tired of collecting Mortal Kombat fatalities at the old coin-op arcade. As a skinny little white kid who wanted to be good at basketball, I looked to my Mike Iuzzolino basketball card for inspiration. Because somehow this thin, 5′ 10″ Italian-American point guard from Altoona, Pennsylvania (just 40 miles from my dad’s house) had made it to the NBA. I dreamed, “As soon as I get my growth spurt, I’ll be right there with him.” Coincidentally, Iuzzolino also played basketball at Penn State, which was the university I planned to attend (and I did, from 1997-2001). So, what happened to the two of us? Iuzzolino is now Director of Basketball Operations at Canisius College in New York, and I didn’t play competitive basketball beyond 10th grade. Though I did finally hit 5′ 10″, which is really important in the fields of graphic design and web development.
Jack Nicklaus, nicknamed “The Golden Bear,” is an American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as the most accomplished professional golfer of all time. Nicklaus won a total of 18 PGA major championships and 73 PGA Tour victories over a span of 25 years. Only Sam Snead and Tiger Woods have collected more PGA Tour victories, but no one has won more major championships. Nicklaus was born on this day in 1940.
Ty Cobb was a Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team’s player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career. He still holds several records as of 2012, including the highest career batting average (.367). Cobb’s legacy as an athlete has sometimes been overshadowed by his surly temperament and aggressive playing style. He was born on this day in 1886.
Joe DiMaggio was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 13-year career as the center fielder for the New York Yankees (1936-1942 and 1946-1951). He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak (May 15 to July 16, 1941), a record that still stands. DiMaggio was a three-time MVP winner and 13-time All-Star. During his 13 years with the Yankees, the club won 10 American League pennants and nine World Series championships. He was born yesterday in 1914.
Note: DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe eloped in 1954, but divorced less than a year later. In 1962, they were on the verge of remarriage when Monroe was found dead in her bedroom. Suicide by barbiturate overdose, or was she murdered?
Stan Musial is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 22-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1941-1963). He was a 24-time All-Star selection (tied with Willie Mays) and is widely considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He compiled 3,630 hits and 475 home runs during his career. He was named the National League MVP three times and won three World Series. He was born on this day in 1920.
Ted Williams was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 22-year career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox (1939-1942 and 1946-1960). Williams led the league in batting six times, won the American League MVP twice and won the Triple Crown twice. A 19-time All-Star, he had a career batting average of .344 with 521 home runs. Williams was the last player to bat over .400 in a single season (.406 in 1941).
Dikembe Mutombo is a 7′ 2″ Congolese American and former NBA player. He played for six teams during his 18-year career (1991-2009), most notably the Denver Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks. “Mt. Mutombo” is one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players of all time, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times. He ranks second to Hakeem Olajuwon on the NBA’s career blocked shots list. Mutombo is a member of the Luba ethnic group and speaks nine languages. A well-known humanitarian, he started a foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.
This is 8-bit Mutombo in a “rainbow” Nuggets uniform (a style that lasted 11 years, from 1982-1993). Those uniforms remind me of the Atari 2600 version of Vanguard, a blocky, rainbow shooter that was originally released in 1982, the very same year as Denver’s rainbow jerseys—coincidence? Mutombo is character #5 in my ugly uniform series. The NBA’s 2012-13 regular season began on Tuesday, October 30, 2012.
Stan Smyl is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player. He played 13 seasons as a winger for the Vancouver Canucks, from 1978 to 1991. Nicknamed “Steamer” for his relentless and hard-nosed style of play, he served as team captain for a record eight seasons. He led Vancouver to the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals and retired as the Canucks’ all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points. Smyl’s number 12 was the first retired number in Canucks’ history.
Note: I chose to draw 8-bit Smyl because he was the best player to wear a Vancouver Canucks uniform during their famously ugly “flying V” uniform era (1978-1984). Terrible uniforms and clown costumes must be remembered!
Mario Lemieux is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006. Lemieux led Pittsburgh to two Stanley Cups (1991 and 1992) and led Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002. He was named MVP three times and led the league in scoring six times. Playing only 915 out of a potential 1428 regular season NHL games, Lemieux’s career was plagued by health problems, including Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He is currently the Penguins’ principal owner and is the only person ever to win the Stanley Cup as both a player and an owner. Lemieux is one of the greatest hockey players of all time.
Today is the last day that Heidi and I will be in Switzerland. The next stop on our train journey across Europe is Venice, Italy. Goodbye, Alps.
Gino Marchetti – No. 580
Gino Marchetti is a retired National Football League (NFL) player who played for the Dallas Texans (1952) and the Baltimore Colts (1953-1966). He was voted “the greatest defensive end in pro football history” by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972. Marchetti won his first of two NFL championships in the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Colts and the Giants, which is often referred to as “The Greatest Game Ever Played” in NFL history. In 1959, Marchetti founded Gino’s Hamburgers. Gino’s became a successful East Coast regional fast food chain and had 313 company-owned locations when it was sold to Marriott in 1982, which converted many of the restaurants to Roy Rogers. In 2010, Marchetti revived the Gino’s name with Gino’s Burgers & Chicken, which first opened in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Born in the historic coal-mining town of Smithers, West Virginia on January 2, 1927, Gino Marchetti is my first cousin, twice removed. Now 86 years old, he is the most famous member of my extended Italian-American family.