We all love random facts, right? Trivia material, perhaps…Here are some fun facts from the world of sports…
*Joey Gallo’s senior class at Bishop Gorman High School (NV) had a first round draft pick in three different sports. Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA) was selected 14th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2013 NBA Draft. Ronnie Stanley (Notre Dame) was drafted 6th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2016 NFL Draft. And then there’s Rangers right fielder Joey Gallo, who was drafted 39th overall—still a first round pick with the structure of baseball’s draft—by the Texas Rangers in the 2012 Amateur Baseball Draft. When I asked Gallo about this, he said that some people had previously looked into it and were unable to find any record of any other senior class featuring a first round pick in each of these sports.
*Ken Griffey Jr. had the Ken Griffey Junior Milk Chocolate Bar named in his honor. Ironically, Griffey was allergic to chocolate.
*Former Rangers pitcher Gaylord Perry once famously remarked “They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run.” Sure enough, just a few hours after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon on July 20, 1969, Gaylord Perry, then with the Giants, hit his only career home run.
*Tom Landry played football at the University of Texas. As simple as that is, many people don’t realize that!
*While the Dodgers were very instrumental in breaking down racial barriers with Jackie Robinson, it was the 1971 Pirates who became the first team to field nine black or latino players. They also won the World Series that year!
*Rangers broadcaster Matt Hicks was an extra who sat near Bob Uecker in the movie Major League II.
*The word on the street is that boxing legend Jack Johnson is also the man responsible for inventing the household wrench.
*The Olympic rings cover every flag in the world. Yellow, green, red, black, and blue were selected because at least one of those five colors appears in every flag in the world.
*Four players in NBA history have registered a quadruple-double: Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson.
*Famous actor Paul Giamatti is the son for late MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti
*NFL referees receive a Super Bowl ring when they are tabbed to officiate the big game.
*B.J. Thomas sang the National Anthem for two big DFW conference clinching series: Game 7 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals between the Stars and Avalanche and Game 6 of the 2010 American League Championship Series between the Rangers and Yankees. He became known for his hit, “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.” When he sang the anthem for the latter of those two games, he did so while raindrops were actually falling on his head due to a pre-game 6 drizzle.
*Tiger Woods became the first athlete ever to become a multi-time recipient of Sports Illutrated’s Sportsman of the Year when he won it in 2000 after initially winning it in 1996
*Lee Corso’s college roommate and teammate on the Florida State football tea was a guy named Burton Leon Reynolds Jr., also known as Burt Reynolds, famed Hollywood actor.
*William Howard Taft was the first President to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game.
*Chris Drury won the 1989 Little League Baseball World Series with Trumbull, CT before going on to a successful hockey career. Current Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash was on the team representing Tampa, FL in that same tournament.