Atanasio Perez Rigal, more commonly known as Tony Perez, was born on May 14, 1942 in Cuba. Perez played for the Cincinnati Reds (1964-76, 1984-86), Montreal Expos (1977-79), Boston Red Sox (1980-82), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1983). "Big Dog" Perez finished his career with a .279 batting average, 379 home runs, 1652 runs batted in and 1272 runs scored.
Perez was a seven time All-Star who was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 1967 All-Star Game. In addition, he received the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1980. In 2000, Perez was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and his number 24 was retired by the Cincinnati Reds. Tony Perez was also inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.
Happy 23rd Birthday to Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. The Oklahoma alum and 2009 first overall draft pick of the Clippers has made a huge impact on the NBA and has revitalized a dying franchise in just his second full season. The guy already has an ESPN Sports Science episode!
Here are some more Blake highlights…Welcome to the Blake Show:
Happy 23rd Blake!
Happy 59th Birthday to Hall of Fame Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice. Born in Anderson, South Carolina on March 8th, 1953, Rice played all 15 seasons of his professional career with the Boston Red Sox. Rice’s first full season with the Red Sox was a big one. He was promoted full time from AAA Pawtucket in 1975 with fellow Red Sox legend Fred Lynn, where the two became cornerstones of the Red Sox outfield for six seasons. The two would earn the nickname the “Gold Dust Twins” for their Gold Glove caliber defense and unparalleled speed in the outfield. Rice would go on to finish 2nd in the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year voting (Rice would win both despite missing the playoffs with a broken wrist).
Rice led the Red Sox to a World Series appearance in 1975, while hitting .309, knocking in 102 runs and scoring 92 more runs. While being recognized as a terrific finesse defender in the outfield, Rice also hit for power at the plate and would lead the ’75 Red Sox with 22 home runs. Over the course of his career, Rice would lead the league in home runs three times (’77, ’78 & ’83), winning a Silver Slugger award twice (’83 & ’84) and win the American League MVP in 1978. Rice was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26th, 2009, and his number # 14 jersey was retired by the Red Sox two days later. Happy Birthday Jim.
Today marks the 70th birthday of “The Greatest.” Born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17th, 1942, Ali’s original name was Cassius Clay, but he changed it when he joined the Nation of Islam in 1964. Ali is regarded as one of, if not the greatest boxers of all time. Ali picked up boxing early. Fuming because his bike was stolen, local Louisville boxing coach Joe Martin found Ali threatening to wup whoever stole his bike, but convinced him to learn how to box first. The rest is history.
His Amateur career was bookmarked by winning the Light Heavyweight Gold Medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, but Ali also won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two National Golden Gloves titles and the Amateur Athletic Union National Title. He ended his Amateur career with a record of 100 wins to 5 losses. As a professional, Ali changed boxing. Traditionally, fighters protect their face by keeping both hands up at all times. Instead of expending energy on protecting his face, Ali focused on speedy footwork and his patented rope-a-dope to win fights. At age 22, Ali became the youngest boxer to win the title from a reigning heavyweight champion when he defeated Sonny Liston in 1964. He would loss and regain his title several times over his 21 year career and take part in some of the sport’s most historical matches (i.e. “The Thrilla in Manila”, “The Rumble in the Jungle” and “The Fight of the Century”). In 1999, ESPN voted Ali the “Sportsman of the Century” for not only his undeniable achievements in the ring, but his larger than life personality out of the ring. Happy 70th Birthday to the People’s Champion.
Early Wynn Jr. was born on January 6, 1920. Wynn, nicknamed "Gus," pitched for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox during his 25-year baseball career. Wynn was known to have a hard-nosed disposition and a fierce fastball. He threw at batters frequently enough to be labeled a "headhunter." When asked if he would throw at his own grandmother, he said, "I'd have to. My grandma could really hit a curveball."
In 1958 Wynn became the first major league pitcher to lead his league in strikeouts in consecutive years with different teams (184 with Cleveland and 189 with Chicago.) He won the Cy Young Award in 1959 at the age of 39, posting a record of 22-10, with 179 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA to lead the Chicago White Sox to the pennant.
Upon his retirement in 1963, Wynn was the last major leaguer to have played in the 1930s to still be playing. He became one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League game in four decades. Wynn was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
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