Early agate
ON THIS DATE
March 31
1931 – Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne is killed in a plane crash in Kansas. Rockne compiled a 105-12-5 record in 13 season with the Fighting Irish. He had five unbeaten and untied teams and won six national championships.
1956 – The Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League play their final game at Duquesne Gardens, a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Barons.
1969 – The Pittsburgh Penguins fire head coach Red Sullivan.
1973 – Ken Norton scores a stunning upset by winning a 12-round split decision over Muhammad Ali to win the NABF heavyweight title. Norton, a 5-1 underdog, breaks Ali’s jaw in the first round.
1980 – Tim Loomis, 27, is promoted to head men’s basketball coach at California State College, replacing retiring Eddie McCluskey, who held the job on an interim basis for two seasons.
1984 – Junior center Brian Davis steals an inbounds pass and scores the winning field goal with 20 seconds to play as Washington defeats Delone Catholic 45-43 in the PIAA Class AA championship basketball game before 5,124 at Hersheypark Arena. Washington (30-3) trails by as many as 10 points in the first half but storms back by outscoring the Squires 16-2 in the third quarter.
1989 – Chad Scott scores 25 points, grabs 20 rebounds and blocks four shots as Monessen defeats Camp Hill Trinity 73-67 at Hersheypark Arena to win its second consecutive PIAA Class A basketball championship. The start of the game is delayed 21 minutes because of a power failure that leaves one of the arena’s scoreboards inoperable.
1990 – Ringgold High School puts four players in double figures but falls in overtime to Glen Mills, 76-74, in the PIAA Class AAAA boys basketball championship game at Hersheypark Arena. Brian Miller leads Ringgold with 19 points. Charles Robinson scores 24 points for Glen Mills.
1996 – Future lightweight world champion boxer Paul Spadafora runs his record to 8-0 with a second-round TKO over Calvin Faggins in an undercard fight at the Meadow Lands Holiday Inn.