April 23 in sports history: I'm 'an excellent choice,' Gronk says

MORE DRAFT

1989: After a 3-13 season, Tom Landry's last as Dallas' coach, the Cowboys had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. They made the first selection under new coach Jimmy Johnson count: UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman.

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper predicted Aikman and Johnson would take the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl in three or four years. His TV colleague, former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, thought talent-bereft Dallas should have packaged Aikman in a trade for more draft picks and players.

To his credit, Aikman was ready to get to work right away. He turned down an invitation to be on "Late Night with David Letterman" because he wanted to be at the Cowboys mini-camp days after the draft.

"There will be a lot of people who expect me to be the savior and bring the Cowboys back to the Promised Land in one year," Aikman said. "That's a lot of pressure."

As it turned out, Kiper was (shockingly) spot-on. Aikman led Dallas to a Super Bowl title in the 1992 season and won two more during the 1990s.

QUIRKY BASEBALL STUFF

1913 | 1946 | 1952| 1964 | 1999: This day in the big leagues is a baseball history nerd's delight. 

In 1913, New York Giants ace Christy Mathewson, whose out pitch was a nasty screwball, threw only 67 pitches in nine innings to beat the Phillies, 3-1. Giants manager John McGraw claimed the meager pitch total was a world's record for a nine-inning game.

In 1946, Ed Head of the Brooklyn Dodgers, making his first start after a year in the military, no-hit the Boston Braves in a 5-0 win at Ebbets Field. "... the ex-G. I. definitely established himself as a first line chucker on Leo Durocher's list although the skipper wasn't around to see the fun," The Associated Press reported. "Leo was busy appearing in a Brooklyn court in connection with his alleged battle with a fan at Ebbets Field last summer."

Six years later on this date, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians and Bob Cain of the St. Louis Browns hooked up in a pitching duel for the ages. In going the distance, each gave up only one hit. Cain won, 1-0. It was sweet revenge for the Browns skinny left-hander, a victim of Feller's third no-hitter the previous July. 

On the same day, New York Giants knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm, who became one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time, homered in his first at-bat in the big leagues in a 9-5 win over the Boston Braves. The "blast" traveled all of 270 feet, barely making it over the right-field wall in the strangely configured Polo Grounds. It was the final homer in the majors for Wilhelm, who had 432 at-bats during his 21-year career.  

In 1964, Ken Johnson of Houston Colt 45s — they didn't become the Astros until after the season — became the first major league pitcher to lose a nine-inning no-hitter. In the 1-0 loss to the Reds, the knuckleballer was victimized by two errors in the ninth inning — one of them his —that led to the only run of the game.  "So I made history." he told reporters. "Heckuva way to get in the books, isn't it?" 

FIRSTS BY ALL-TIME MLB GREATS

1939: At Fenway Park in Boston, 20-year-old Red Sox rookie Ted Williams hit the first of his 521 career homers in a 12-8 loss over the A's. Williams, Boston Globe sports columnist Victor O. Jones wrote, "...is one of the reasons why the fans are showing such a great interest in the Red Sox these days."

1954: In the Milwaukee Braves' 7-5 win over St. Louis, Hank Aaron hit the first of his 755 career home runs. 

Damn, we miss you, baseball!

ALSO

1989: Before his final regular-season game, at The Forum in Los Angeles, the Lakers gave Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a retirement send-off that included a Rolls-Royce and other lavish gifts. Teammates also gently rocked the NBA's all-time leading scorer in a large rocking chair.

1993: In the Magic’s 119-116 win over the Nets at The Meadowlands, Nick Anderson scored 50 points. But the bigger story was Orlando rookie Shaquille O'Neal, who ripped down the backboard on a first-quarter two-handed slam, delaying the game for 45 minutes. The 24-second clock atop the backboard slammed into O'Neal, bruising the left shoulder blade of the 7-foot-1, 303-pound center.

2017: In winning the women's division of the London Marathon, Kenyan Mary Keitany broke Paula Radcliffe’s world record, completing the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 17 minutes and 1 second. 

Happy birthday...

• American snowboarder Chloe Kim, who won Olympic gold in 2018 (20).

R.I.P.

1933: Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe, who was 42-20 with a 2.56 ERA for the New York Giants in 1886, died. "Smiling Tim" was 76. 

1995: Controversial sportscaster Howard Cosell, whose unique style of broadcasting often put him in the spotlight. As one of its original broadcast team members, he helped "Monday Night Football" gain immediate popularity. He was 77.

April 22: No. 1 overall NFL draft picks who flamed out