Aaron and Armstrong
We lost two legends this past week, and that ain't hay
It’s Wayne Gretzky’s birthday today.
I memorized a whole bunch of famous people’s birthdays when I was like ten years old so that I would… remember their birthdays. Gretzky’s is January 26. Michael Jordan’s is February 17. Albert Einstein? March 14. Joe Montana, Gene Wilder, and Jacques Cousteau? June 11, same as me.
My obsession with numbers and dates and statistics and milestones goes back to my childhood fascination with the cultural phenomenon of the moment: Trivial Pursuit. There was an importance to that game that there just wasn’t for all the other games my family played. Like, it was important to win at Trivial Pursuit but it didn’t matter who won at Battleship…
And you thought this newsletter didn’t have a tragic backstory.
— DJ
Answers from last week’s issue
In what season (i.e. 1954-55, 1987-88) did LeBron James average 30 points per game in the regular season for the last time?
LeBron averaged 30.0 points per game in 2007-08. Interestingly, the King has only averaged 30+ two times in his illustrious career.
In what year did the American League adopt the designated hitter rule?
On April 6, 1973, Ron Blomberg became the first player to appear as a designated hitter, hitting sixth for the New York Yankees, who can go fuck themselves for being the New York Yankees.
What year’s NHL entry draft year saw a European go #1 overall for the first time?
Mats Sundin was taken first overall by the Québec Nordiques in the 1989 entry draft.
What was the first year the Super Bowl was not played in January?
Super Bowl XXXVI was played on February 3, 2002, when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams for his/their first Super Bowl victory. Brady will play in his tenth Super Bowl on February 7.
#dougquizmore
Answers will come next issue, but you already knew that.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox recently completed a rare trade, only the fifth time they’ve done so the past 40 years. The last time was in 2014, when the Yankees received Player A, who has played for every AL East team, and the Red Sox received Player B, whose brother won a World Series with the Sox in 2007 and was once a teammate of Player A’s when they were both Atlanta Braves. Who are Players A and B?
The late, great George Armstrong was the longest-serving captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history, wearing the C for twelve seasons. The next two longest-serving Leafs captains each held the captaincy for ten seasons and are both in the Hockey Hall of Fame. One captain won a Stanley Cup as a player and five as a coach. Who are they?
What was the last team that played a Super Bowl game that was hosted in their home state?
Today is Vince Carter’s birthday. Since 1990, only two other players have played in an NBA game at age 43 or older. Both are centres who also won championships in their 40s. Who are they?
#postscript
RIP Henry Aaron, arguably the greatest hitter who ever lived, and George Armstrong, the greatest captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history.
Many thanks to Doug Gilmour for being named his name and to you for being named your name, but also, remember when Doug Gilmour was traded from St. Louis to Calgary for reasons including that he allegedly slept with a 14-year-old when he was 25? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
We know you love us and want to help Oddball out, so please click the heart and share this issue (and all the other issues!) with likeminded friends, enemies, and frenemies you think may enjoy the challenge. Same goes for the challenge of our weekday trivia over on Facebook — which we are probably moving to Instagram.
If you have an opinion about that or anything else, get thee to the comments section.
DJ/JY