17 February 2015

Happy 90th Birthday, Dad

Can you believe my Dad is 90?  This is a picture of my dad with his youngest grandchild, Alex, in December 2014.


Happy Birthday, Dad

A lot of history has taken place over the last ninety years.  My dad, Bruce, has seen and been a part of many great events in his life.  He is a World War II veteran, having served in the Army at the Battle of the Bulge. 

He is also an avid fan of sports.  He was a team member in Junior High and High School, he coached a regimental team during World War II, he went to college to become a Physical Education Teacher and Coach, he had a great career in coaching, he is a member of the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, he played on many recreational sports teams and even continued coaching after retirement.

He is a Detroit Tigers fan having attended many of their games starting with his first at Navin Field.  He roots for the Detroit Lions, even when that isn't the easiest thing to do.  He attended many of his grandchildren's sporting events and when my son, Travis, was growing up they would sit at the dinner table and discuss sports. 


In honor of my Dad's 90th birthday, today, I thought I would share what was going on in the world of sports in 1925.
  • French Baseball Federation awards silver medals to John McGraw, Charlie Comiskey, & Hugh Jennings
  • Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn, sets indoor record, 4:13.6 mile & 14:44.6 5,000m
  • AL decides to alternate leagues for game 1 of World Series each year
  • US female Figure Skating championship won by Beatrix Loughran
  • US male Figure Skating championship won by Nathaniel Niles
  • Longest win streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (9 games)
  • NHL Championship: Montreal Canadiens sweep Toronto Arenas in 2 games
  • Stanley Cup: Victoria Cougars (WCHL) beat Canadiens (NHL), 3 games to 1
  • Yankees whip Dodgers in exhibition 16-9 but Babe Ruth collapses due to an ulcer
  • Babe Ruth rushed to hospital
  • Babe Ruth has ulcer surgery
  • 1st regular-season Cubs game to be broadcast on WGN radio
  • NHL's NY Americans (formerly Hamilton Tigers) 1st game, lose 3-1
  • 29th Boston Marathon won by Charles Mellor of Illinois in 2:33:00.6
  • No baseball games played in NL due to Charles Ebbets' funeral
  • Ty Cobb goes 6 for 6, (16 total bases)
  • Yankee Everett Scott is benched, ending his 1,307-game playing streak
  • Ty Cobb hits his 5th HR in 2 games tying Cap Ansons record of 1884
  • Phillies have their 8th game postponed in a row
  • Pirate shortstop Glenn Wright makes an unassisted triple play
  • 51st Preakness: Clarence Kummer aboard Coventry wins in 1:59
  • Walter Hagen wins PGA golf tournament
  • 51st Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Flying Ebony wins in 2:07.6
  • Cleveland Indian Tris Speaker gets his 3,000th hit
  • Babe Ruth is finally out of bed, 5 weeks after ulcer surgery
  • Tigers' Ty Cobb is 1st to collect 1,000 extra-base hits (ends 1,139)
  • Peter DePaolo became 1st man to average over 100 mph at Indy
  • Indianapolis 500: Peter DePaolo wins in 4:56:39.401 (162.748 km/h)
  • Lou Gehrig replaces Wally Pipp (1st of record 2130 consec games)
  • NY Yankee Lou Gehrig begins his 2,130 consecutive game streak
  • 29th US Golf Open: Willie Macfarlane shoots a 291 at Worcester CC Mass
  • William DeHart Hubbard of US, sets long jump record at 25' 10 3/4"
  • 38th Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Suzanne Lenglen beats Joan Fry (6-2 6-0)
  • 45th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Rene Lacoste beats J Borotra (6-3 6-3 4-6 8-6)
  • NY Yankee Lou Gehrig hits his 1st of 23 career grand slammers
  • 29th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Bobby Jones
  • 20th Davis Cup: USA beats France in Philadelphia (5-0)
  • Washington shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh is named AL MVP
  • 8th PGA Championship: Walter Hagen at Olympia Fields CC Matteson Ill
  •  NY Giants play 1st NFL game, lose to Providence 14-0
  • Albert Michelsen runs world record marathon (2:19:01.8)
  • Pittsburgh Pirates beat Wash Senators, 4 games to 3 in 22nd World Series
  • 1st hockey game at Madison Square Garden, Montreal Candiens 3, NY Americans 1
These events all took place the year my dad was born. My dad has many memories over the years of other sports events.  He has many memories of growing up and loving sports.  He remembers the first baseball game that his Uncle Art took him to.  I am thankful he has shared his passion of sports with his family and captured many of the stories in his autobiography.

Happy 90th Birthday, Dad.  I love you.

6 comments:

  1. Happy bday to your Dad and what a fun tribute to him!

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  2. Thank you, Marian. He is a special man. I am so happy to still have him in my life.

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  3. Happy 90th Birthday to your Dad! And a big thank you to him for his military service.

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  4. Thank you, Jana. He is very humble about his war years and only recently started talking about it.

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  5. Very nice tribute! Happy 90th to your father!! It's a big milestone. It's so cool how much he loved sports. Interestingly, my grandfather was also in the Battle of the Bulge.

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  6. Kristen, Thank you! It is hard to know what to blog about as a tribute for a life lived that long, there are many ways to go. I think a lot of men grew up after fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. It has only been the last few years that my Dad has talked about it.

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