That game he attended was in 1962. Army was a heavy favorite but they had no idea how to contain Navy QB Roger Staubach. Staubach was a sophomore QB for Navy. He passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more as Navy crushed Army in a big upset, 34-14. After the game, President Kennedy went to the locker room to visit with Staubach.
The Staubach-to-Pearson “Hail Mary” play has become an iconic moment in NFL lore. But the term, “Hail Mary” has been ascribed to several football plays prior to the famous 1975 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings.
- In 1963, Staubach, playing for Navy, secured a victory over Michigan with a touchdown he later described as “a Hail Mary play.”
- In the 1941 Orange Bowl, Georgetown faced Mississippi State. An Associated Press preview story mentioned that the “Hoyas put faith in the Hail Mary pass.” The story matter of factly offered this definition: “A Hail Mary pass, in the talk of the (Georgetown) 11, is one that is thrown with a prayer because the odds against completion are big.”
- In 1922, Notre Dame players literally said a “Hail Mary” prayer in the huddle before scoring a 6-yard touchdown against Georgia Tech. It worked, so they did it again before scoring another 6-yard touchdown. Afterward, Notre Dame offensive lineman Noble Kizer declared: “Say, that Hail Mary play is the best play we’ve got!”
The athletic teams at Georgetown University are nicknamed the “Hoyas.” The exact origin of this name is unclear, though the general belief is that, no later than 1893, Georgetown students began chanting the cheer, “Hoya Saxa!”, which appears to be taken from the Greek “hoia,” meaning “what,” and the Latin “saxa,” meaning “rock” – and, thus, the cheer being interpreted as “what rocks!”
nm too late
Thomas Hoy (1750-1822) was a botanist from Middlesex County in southeast England. His friend, Robert Brown, named a genius of waxflowers after him — hoya. There are over 500 species of plants and they grow in tropical regions of the world including southeast Asia, Australia, New Guinea, and Polynesia.
Here is the Hoya lanceolata ssp. bella.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is the sole non-judicial statewide elected Democrat in Ohio. He is seeking reelection next year; at least three Republicans have already indicated an interest in taking him on.
George Brown was one of the major Fathers of Confederation. His reach across the floor to his personal and political enemy, John A. Macdonald, was one of the key steps that started the Confederation process.
Brown was one of two Fathers of Confederation who died by violence. He was shot by a dismissed employee in the leg. He survived the shooting, but the wound turned septic and he died a week later.
The Brown’s Chicken massacre was a mass murder, committed in 1993 in suburban Chicago. Two men had entered a fast-food restaurant near closing time, then killed seven people – the restaurant’s two owners, and five employees – before placing the bodies in the freezer, and stealing a small amount of cash.
The crime went unsolved for nine years, until the two assailants were implicated by the former girlfriend of one of them. Both were convicted of the crimes, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The American abolitionist John Brown, leader of the attack on Harper’s Ferry and for other anti-slavery uprisings, was hanged on December 2, 1859, the first person executed for treason in the history of the United States.
However it was not a Federal charge of treason. Brown was convicted of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia.
John Brown University is a private Christian institution located in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Founded in 1919 by evangelist John E. Brown, it originally offered free tuition for needy students who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford college. In lieu of tuition, students worked four hours a day on campus, learning carpentry and other vocational skills.
Bill Clinton was the first and only person born in Arkansas, and the first and only governor of that state, to be elected and to serve as President of the United States.
… and Asa Hutchinson is trying to become the second person. Hutchinson was born in Bentonville AR which is in the northwest corner of the state. Hutchinson was the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. Bill Clinton was the 40th Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981.
Bill Clinton was also the 42nd Governor of Arkansas from 1983 to 1992.
Bill Clinton was also the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001.
At the Bill Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, the restaurant on site is called 42.
Jackie Robinson is credited with breaking the color barrier in modern-day Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His #42 jersey is retired throughout MLB. Later, the National Hockey League retired Wayne Gretzky’s #99, and the National Basketball Association retired Bill Russell’s #6.
Bill Russell attended McClymonds High School in Oakland, California, where he played on the school’s basketball team. Three of Russell’s classmates at McClymonds went on to star in major league baseball: Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, and Curt Flood; Robinson also was a teammate of Russell’s on McClymonds’ basketball team.
Cool, cool trivia, kenobi!
In play:
Curt Flood, who is best known for his unsuccessful challenge to baseball’s reserve clause which eventually led to free agency, was a 15-year veteran of Major League Baseball. He signed with the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1956, but was soon traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he had his best years. He won 7 Gold Gloves, was a 3-time all-star, and played on two world championship teams. He ended his career with the Washington Senators in 1971.
In 1968, Flood was involved in the last out of the only two back-to-back no-hitters in MLB history. On September 17, he struck out to for the final out of Gaylord Perry’s 1-0 no-hitter. The next day, he caught a fly ball off the bat of Willie McCovey which ended Ray Washburn’s 2-0 no-hitter.
Perry (an alcoholic beverage) is made from one hundred percent fermented pears.
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, victor of the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie, was, for many years afterwards, locked in a feud with his second-in-command, Capt. Jesse Elliott. Perry and many others blamed Elliott for hanging back and not adequately supporting the main body of the U.S. squadron in the opening stages of the battle.
Anne Elliot is the heroine of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The theme is that she was too-easily persuaded to break her engagement with a dashing young naval lieutenant, who returns some years later as a wealthy naval captain.
Two of Jane Austen’s brothers served in the Royal Navy. One was praised by Lord Nelson; both, I believe, eventually became admirals.