As sports continue to await word about the possible lifting of suspended seasons, the Standard would like to debut a new web-only segment, "On This Day." We hope to update it daily, bringing you some of the biggest moments in Warren County sports history (focusing mainly on the last 51 years since the school consolidation and formation of Warren County Senior High), as well as some famous birthdays and big national stories.
We couldn't have picked a better day to start.
Looking back to the sports section in March 23, 1979, the Standard was celebrating a Lady Pioneer basketball state championship!
The Lady Pioneers beat previously unbeaten Riverdale 40-35 in the title game. The team was led to victory by coach Bobby Haile and assistant coach T.E. McGee. Members of the team were Lorrie Smartt, Joan Womack, Angie Elrod, Sherry Hillis, Stephanie Hillis, Michelle Mix, Kelly Madison, Terri Dalton, Susan Martin, Melissa Pedigo, Lynn Ramsey, Lori Swah, Jane Eaton, Janice Bell, Vickie Marsh, Donna Bryan, Jana Wilson, Phyllis Bell, Lisa Dalton, Jane Martin, Lisha Hillis and Carla Carr.
Photos on the page include WCSH principal Chester N. Womack holding the trophy, Lisa Dalton, Terri Dalton and Sherry Hillis playing tough defense and Donna Bryan making her way to the basket.
Many of the members of the 1979 team were back in Warren County recently when Bobby Haile was elected to the Warren County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
In other March 23 issues, Herman Taylor was celebrating a boxing championship (2001), current WCHS softball coach Jerry 'Gooby' Martin was helping the Pioneer baseball team to victory (1990), Phillip Powell was scoring runs for the Pioneers in a victory against Manchester (1979) and Korner Market, Levi's and ARA were playing for titles in the Warren County Independent basketball league (1977), and G&H Tractor Company was celebrating a WCIBL title (1970).
Famous athletes born on March 23
1929 - Roger Bannister, the first man to run a 4-minute mile
1943 - Gail Goodrich, former NBA players for Lakers and Suns
1954 - Geno Auriemma, UConn girls basketball coach
1955 - Moses Malone, NBA Hall of Famer
1970 - Carl Pickens, NCAA and NFL football player
1973 - Jason Kidd, NBA Hall of Famer
1979 - Mark Buehrle, MLB star who threw a perfect game
1992 - Kyrie Irving, NBA all-star
National Sports headlines March 23 (AP)
1956 — Bill Russell leads San Francisco to an 83-71 victory over Iowa in the NCAA basketball championship.
1957 — North Carolina defeats Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in triple-overtime to win the NCAA men's championship. The Tar Heels win 54-53 to finish the season with a perfect 32-0 record.
1968 — Lew Alcindor scores 34 points to lead UCLA to a 78-55 win over North Carolina in the NCAA basketball championship.
1974 — N.C. State ends UCLA's streak of seven national championships with an 80-77 victory in double overtime of the NCAA tournament semifinals. David Thompson leads the Wolfpack with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate Tom Burleson scores 20 and pulls down 14 rebounds.
1979 — Larry Holmes knocks out Osvaldo Ocasio in the seventh round in Las Vegas to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
1991 — London beats Frankfurt 24-11 in the first World League of American Football game.
1993 — Winnipeg's Teemu Selanne sets an NHL rookie points record in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Selanne scores two goals and an assist to give him 111 points, surpassing the 109 that Peter Stastny got with the Quebec Nordiques in 1980-81.
1994 — Wayne Gretzky scores his 802nd goal, passing Gordie Howe as the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history. The Los Angeles Kings center scores in the second period for his 62nd NHL record.
1996 — Michelle Kwan caps a near-perfect season by winning the women's title in the World Figure Skating Championships for the United States' first singles sweep since 1986.
1997 — Laura Davies becomes the first LPGA player to win the same tournament four consecutive years, holing a 3-foot par putt on the first hole of a playoff with Kelly Robbins in the Standard Register Ping.
2002 — Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings scores his 500th career goal, breaking a scoreless tie at 7:48 of the third period. Detroit beat Colorado 2-0.
2002 — Iowa State's Cael Sanderson becomes the first undefeated four-time NCAA wrestling champion at the NCAA Championships. Sanderson beats Lehigh's Jon Trenge, 12-4, to win at 197 pounds and finish his career with a perfect 159-0 record.
2003 — Tiger Woods closes with a 4-under 68 to win the Bay Hill Invitational for the fourth straight time. Woods becomes the first player since Gene Sarazen in the Miami Open (1926-30) to win the same event four straight times.
2005 — Indiana's Reggie Miller becomes the 13th NBA player to score 25,000 career points during the Pacers' 100-93 win over San Antonio.
2007 — Kobe Bryant becomes the second player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in four straight games when he scores 50 in the Lakers' 111-105 win at New Orleans. Only Wilt Chamberlain has more, scoring at least 50 points in seven consecutive games during the 1961-62 season.
2010 — The NFL changes its overtime rules for playoff games to give both teams an opportunity to get the ball. Team owners vote 28-4 in favor of the proposal at the NFL meetings. Minnesota, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Baltimore oppose the change.
