Dick Van Dyke is Born - This Day in History – Dec 13th

Back in 1925 in West Plains, MO, a man was born who would according to history.com, become “the quintessential “nice guy” actor who would become known for his performances in such movie classics as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as the popular 1960s TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show.  Mr. Van Dyke would be raised in the town of Danville, IL and later become a WWII Veteran.  After serving in the military Mr. Van Dyke would move his talents to the Broadway Stage to star in and receive a Tony Award for his performance in Bye Bye Birdie, a role that he would later recreate in a popular Hollywood film version.  

The television audience would also get to share and enjoy the talents of this actor while he would play the role of comedy writer Rob Petrie, in the classic show which was named after Mr. Van Dyke. 

Mr. Van Dyke’s career has been successful for over 50 years in show business.  Now at the age of 85, this legendary actor, comedian, dancer, producer and writer is still active in movies such as Night at the Museum and Curious George.

Detroit and Denver battle it out in a historic high-scoring basketball game

Back in 1983, the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s two teams the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets staged a basketball game with a score like no other: Detroit 186 and Denver 184 in a triple overtime highest scoring game of all time.  An interesting fact is that both teams had suffered a three-game losing streak before they had entered the historic game.

According to history.com, “In all, six players from each team scored in the double figures. The two teams shot a combined 142-for-251 (.566) from the field and both of them smashed the previous team record for most points scored in a single game--173, set by the Boston Celtics in a game against the Minneapolis Lakers (who moved to Los Angeles the following year) on February 27, 1959. Their combined total also easily surpassed the previous mark of 337, set by the San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks in a 171-166 triple overtime win by San Antonio on March 6, 1982.”

The top four leading scorers of this game were: 

Detroit Pistons: Isiah Thomas (47 points) John Long (41 points) 

Denver Nuggets: Kiki Vandeweghe (51 points) and Alex English (47 points)

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kenny-rogers39-greatest-hits-goes-to-1?catId=13