...february 12, 2007...

Bill Russell (73 years old)- The NBA center who led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships.

Abe Lincoln (Dead, 198 years old)- The 16th president of the United States who helped abolish slavery.

...and baseball...

Dennis Springer (42 years old)- Knuckleballer for Los Angeles who gave up home run number 73 to Barry Bonds in his "juiced" 2001 season.

Chet "The Jet" Lemon (52 years old)- All-star who played for the White Sox and Tigers, finished his career with 215 homers and a .273 average.

Dom "The Little Professor" DiMaggio (90 years old)- Brother of Joe and lesser known, but still an all-star, Vince.  Dom was an all-star playing for Boston all of his career.  Dom is still alive at age 90, contrary to Joe and Vince who died at relatively young ages.

Chick Hafey (Dead, 104 years old)- This Hall of Famer played during the dead ball era, leading the NL in batting average in 1931 and hit as many as 29 home runs in a season.  He was inducted into the Hall in 1973 with one All-Star Game under his belt.

...happy birthday to all...