November 2021 - Page 3 of 3

Goaltender Manon Rheaume becomes first woman to play in pro hockey game

In Atlanta on December 13, 1992, Manon Rheaume becomes the first woman to play in a regular-season professional hockey game. In the Atlanta Knights’ 4-1 loss to Salt Lake City, Rheaume enters at the start of the second period with the score tied at 1 in the International Hockey League contest. In nearly six minutes, Rheaume stops four shots and allows one goal before she is replaced by the Knights’ starter.

“She did it,” wrote columnist Ailene Voisin of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Damn, she did it.”

“We gave her a cigar with a note afterword,” Atlanta coach Gene Ubriaco told reporters afterward. “Now, you’re really one of the guys.”

Although Rheaume acknowledged the “ice is broken” after the minor league game, she was modest about her performance. “I know the people want to see me, and I understand, but they must understand me. I am not ready. Not yet,” Rheaume told reporters.

On September 23, 1993, Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game, with the Tampa Bay Lightning in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues. She didn’t make the Lightning’s regular-season team. But she caught on with the Atlanta Knights.

Rheaume played one more game for Atlanta that season before moving on to the Eastern Collegiate Hockey League, where she played a combined eight games for the Knoxville Cherokees and Nashville Knights. She also had success with the Canadian women’s national team before retiring in 1997. Rheaume briefly came back during the 2008-09 season.

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Ernie Davis becomes first Black player to win Heisman Trophy

On December 6, 1961, Syracuse running back Ernie Davis becomes the first Black player to win the Heisman Trophy—college football’s top individual award—beating Ohio State fullback Bob Ferguson. Earlier in day, Davis meets with President John Kennedy at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. “I never thought I’d ever be shaking the hand of the President of the United States,” he says.

As a senior in 1961, Davis rushed for 823 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. The previous season, he rushed for 877 yards.

Davis was the first pick in the 1962 NFL draft, by Washington, which traded him to the Cleveland Browns. But he never played in the NFL. Davis was diagnosed with leukemia later in 1962, and died on May 18, 1963. He was 23.

“When I look back I can’t call myself unlucky,” Davis wrote in The Saturday Evening Post in March 1963. “My 23rd birthday was December 14. In these years I have had more than most people get in a lifetime.”

Years after Davis’ death, Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder called him “the best kid I ever had anything to do with.”

“Ernie was just like a puppy dog, friendly and warm and kind,” he told Sports Illustrated. “He had that spontaneous goodness about him. He radiated enthusiasm. His enthusiasm rubbed off on the kids. Oh, he’d knock you down, but then he’d run back and pick you up. We never had a kid so thoughtful and polite.”

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Broward County Public Schools to Host Annual Ed Talk Virtual Event Takes Place on Saturday, November 6, 2021

November 4, 2021

ED Talk logo

Broward County Public Schools will host its annual Ed Talk on Saturday, November 6, 2021. Since its inception in 2012, Ed Talk has become the District’s largest public forum designed to engage stakeholders in discussing educational strategies and advancing the District’s Strategic Plan. This year’s Ed Talk takes place virtually from 9 a.m. to noon. The online event is free and open to the public.

Each year, students, parents, teachers, staff, business leaders, elected officials, faith-based partners and other community members join Broward County School Board members and educational leaders to engage in conversations focused on helping students reach their full potential.

Ed Talk captures feedback from attendees to advance and support the important work taking place Districtwide regarding the three core priorities outlined in the BCPS Strategic Plan components – high-quality instruction, safe and supportive environment, and effective communications.

This year’s Ed Talk will focus on mental health resources for students and staff and providing academic assistance for students. There will also be a review and update on the District’s safety and security measures, and a town hall question and answer session.

For more information on how to register and participate, visit browardschools.com/edtalk.

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth largest school district in the nation and the second largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has nearly 261,500 students and approximately 110,000 adult students in 241 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 93 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 170 different countries and 147 different languages. To connect with BCPS, visit browardschools.com, follow us on Twitter @browardschools, on Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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Chicago Bears beat Philadelphia Eagles in freaky Fog Bowl

On December 31, 1988, the Chicago Bears defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-12, in a playoff game plagued by a thick fog starting late in the first half. Playing conditions at Soldier Field in Chicago become problematic, and fans in attendance and television viewers struggle to see the game, dubbed the “Fog Bowl” by media.

The freak conditions were caused when cold air over Lake Michigan was blown by a breeze toward warm air at Soldier Field on the lakefront, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists said the fog was so thick that it was like having clouds on the ground.

“It will be remembered as the best game you never saw,” Fred Mitchell wrote in the first sentence of his game story in the next day’s Chicago Tribune.

“We couldn’t see anything—absolutely nothing,” CBS-TV play-by-play broadcaster Verne Lundquist told the Associated Press. “We had to look at the TV just like everyone else.” Lundquist’s color man, Terry Bradshaw, told viewers the game should have been suspended.

Bears defensive end Al Harris likened the bizarre conditions to playing in a cemetery. “I never saw anything like this,” he said.

The NFL considered suspending the game, but the league ultimately left the decision to referee Jim Tunney and the NFL commissioner’s representative.

“We felt the playing conditions were satisfactory,” Tunney said. “They were really tough in the middle of the third quarter … No word came to me that either coach wanted to stop play.”

Other NFL games have been plagued by thick fog. In 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts, fog was so thick for a game between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons that NBC relied on its Skycam for most in-game coverage instead of the usual sideline cameras.

The week after the Fog Bowl, the Bears lost to eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game.

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Miami Dolphins beat Kansas City Chiefs in NFL’s longest game

On December 25, 1971, Garo Yepremian boots a 37-yard field goal in the second overtime of an AFC playoff game to give the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the longest game in NFL history. Game time elapsed for the Christmas contest: 82 minutes and 40 seconds.

“After I kicked the ball,” Yepremian told reporters, “I look up at the sky and thank God for giving me the chance to kick it.”

The loss was devastating for the Chiefs, who got a remarakble performance from Ed Podalak, a largely unheralded running back. He finished with 350 all-purpose yards, an NFL record for a playoff game.

Kansas City might have won were it not for a poor performance by Pro Bowl kicker Jan Stenerud. Following a long, fourth-quarter kickoff return by Podolak, the future Hall of Famer missed a 31-yard field goal attempt with 35 seconds left. In the first overtime, his 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Said Chiefs coach Hank Stram: “It’s a shame to fight that hard, play that well with them and not win.”

Yepremian was confident he would make the winning kick. “I thought when we were driving I could make anything under 50 yards,” he said. “On the sideline I was dying to get a chance to kick [the winning field goal].”

With the win, the Dolphins advanced to the AFC Championship Game, which they won against the Baltimore Colts, 21-0. Two weeks later, however, Miami lost in the Super Bowl, 24-3, against the Dallas Cowboys.

Miami bounced back the next season, finishing 17-0—the only perfect record in NFL history. In the Super Bowl, the Dolphins beat Washington, 14-7.

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Broward County School Board Launches National Search for Superintendent and Seeks Community Input

November 1, 2021

Visit the Superintendent Search Webpage and Participate in the Community Survey

The Broward County School Board has launched a national search for a permanent superintendent and is inviting the community to be involved in this important process. Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth largest school district in the United States. It was Florida’s first fully accredited school system and employs more than 30,000 full-time and part-time staff members. Consistent with the School Board’s commitment to transparency and stakeholder engagement, the Board hired Ray and Associates, an independent firm that specializes in educational executive leadership searches, and created a webpage dedicated to informing the BCPS community and the public about the process, progress and important dates and events related to the search.

It is essential to the Board that the process includes the participation of staff, teachers, students, parents and guardians, and the entire Broward community. As a first step, the search firm has launched a short survey seeking input on the qualities that are most important to stakeholders in a superintendent. Visit browardschools.com/SuperSearch and click on the survey link to share your input. The survey closes on Monday, November 15, at 8 a.m., and is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian-Creole.

Additionally, members of the public who would like to be considered to participate in a virtual focus group, may register through the site, browardschools.com/SuperSearch. The focus groups will take place through Zoom on Tuesday, November 9, from noon to 1 p.m., and on Wednesday, November 10, from 6 to 7 p.m. Registration does not guarantee participation, as each focus group has limited capacity.

The survey and focus groups results will assist in building the profile for hiring the District’s next superintendent. The School Board looks forward to engaging and collaborating with the BCPS community and stakeholders in this important process.

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ABOUT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
“Committed to educating all students to reach their highest potential.”
Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is the sixth largest school district in the nation and the second largest in the state of Florida. BCPS is Florida’s first fully accredited school system since 1962. BCPS has nearly 261,500 students and approximately 110,000 adult students in 241 schools, centers and technical colleges, and 92 charter schools. BCPS serves a diverse student population, with students representing 177 different countries and 151 different languages. To connect with BCPS, visit browardschools.com, follow us on Twitter @browardschools, on Facebook at facebook.com/browardschools.com and download the free BCPS mobile app.

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