Bill Walton (above) is a retired basketball star,who had been with
the Portland Trail Blazers, and is now a broadcaster in the sport.

He was born in La Mesa CA. Walton led the Trail Blazers to an
NBA championship in 1977, earning the NBA Finals MVP (Most
Valuable Player Award) that season. 

ED DANAHUE

Actress Sophia Loren (Sofia Villani Scicolone)
is 87years young today.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Tyrus Raymond Cobb
(December 18, 1886– July 17, 1961)

(Nicknamed The Georgia Peach)

On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball
game was broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was
to become WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber (below) called
the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn
Dodgers at Ebbits Field in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1939, the World’s Fair—which was being held in New York,
became the catalyst for the historic broadcast. The television
was one of the fair’s prize exhibits, and organizers believed
that the Dodgers-Reds doubleheader on August 26 was the
perfect event to showcase America’s grasp on the new
technology.

On August 16, 1954, a new magazine dedicated to covering sports appeared on American newsstands. Announcing itself with a
striking cover photo of Milwaukee Braves third baseman Eddie
Mathews, his swinging bat a blur against the dramatic backdrop
of a crowded Milwaukee County Stadium, Sports Illustrated is
considered a joke by some at its publisher and will not make
money for most of its first decade. Eventually, however, it will
become the undisputed leader in American sports media, the
sporting magazine of record and one of  the most recognizable
media brands in the world.