Did you know?

Ninety years ago this week - Aug. 9, 1936 - the amazing Jesse Owens captured hia fourth gold medal of the Berlin Summer Olympic Games. Having captured first-place finishes on Aug. 3, 4 and 5 in the 100, long jump and 200, Owens won his fourth gold in the 4 × 100 m sprint relay when head coach Lawson Robertson replaced Jewish-American sprinters Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller with Owens and Ralph Metcalfe, who teamed with Frank Wykoff and Foy Draper to set a world record of 39.8 seconds in the event. Owens had initially protested the last-minute switch, but assistant coach Dean Cromwell said to him, "You'll do as you are told."

This Week in

Illini and Spartan History

ILLINI HISTORY - Nineteen-twenties Fighting Illini star LLOYD BURDICK was born 117 years ago this week—August 8, 1909—then died tragically almost exactly 36 years later.

Burdick competed in football & wrestling & is most renowned as a lineman for Coach Bob Zuppke’s Big Ten and national champion 1927 gridiron squad. On August 9, 1945, a day after his 36^th birthday, Burdick boarded an ill-fated Great Northern Railways train. Burdick, a sleeping-berth passenger in a rear car of the slow-moving lead train, died with 33 others when it was struck from behind at a speed of 45 miles per hour.

SPARTAN HISTORY - Fifty years ago this week - Aug. 9, 1976 - Michigan State baseball alumnus ROBIN ROBERTS became a member of Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame. He wound up his career in 1966 with a record of 286 mound victories. Roberts had six straight 20-win seasons from 1950 through 1955. Photo restored by MomentsMadeClear.com.

Shep's Sports Crosswords

An exclusive new feature of SportsLLL.com, Shep's Sports Crosswords is a fun way to challenge your sports trivia knowledge. It takes only about five minutes to play. We'll post a new puzzle each week. This week's sports crossword puzzle is about FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL HISTORY. Click below to play! Can't solve 'em all? Click here!