Golf Central

On this day in 1950, Andy North, a two-time US Open champion, was born in Thorp, Wisconsin and became one of the oddest statistical anomalies in modern golf history.

Why was North such an improbable champion? Because the 6-foot-4 journeyman only won three times on the PGA Tour in total. The only other golfer since World War II who has won two US Opens - arguably the toughest of golf's four majors - and not reach double figures in PGA Tour wins is Lee Janzen, who has won eight times on tour ...

North was 28 when he broke through to win the 1978 US Open at Cherry Hills in Colorado, squeezing out a one-shot win over JC Snead and Dave Stockton. He struck again in 1985, beating TC Chen and Dave Barr. His only other PGA Tour win was in 1977 at Westchester in the American Express Classic ... He's now a long-time commentator on ABC and ESPN golf telecasts ...

It's also a happy 67th to tough little Jim Colbert (eight wins on the PGA Tour, 20 on the Champions Tour) and happy 59th to one-time PGA Tour winner Forrest Fezler, who had a great name but not so great game ...

In the real world: On this day in 1862, the US ironclad Monitor and the Confederate ironclad Virginia squared off in a draw in the waters off Hampton Roads, Virginia in the first battle between iron warships in history ... and in 1959, the first Barbie doll went on display at New York City's American Toy Fair ...

Strangely enough: It was on this day in 1856 that the social college fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣΑΕ) was founded at the University of Alabama. Today, more men have been initiated as brothers by "SAE" than any other fraternity in America, and golfing brothers include the great Bobby Jones, Andy Bean, Bob Gilder and Tom Purtzer ...

In sport: On this day in 1908, FC Internazionale Milano was formed in a dispute over foreign players in Italy. Swiss players upset with the numbers of Italians in the AC Milan side formed the splinter side known today as Inter Milan ... and they're proof that the debate over foreigners in domestic club sides is not a new one ...

So it's tillukku vid fodingardegnum!, as they say in the Faroes, to Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower (63), who may be celebrating with a nine-minute overblown guitar solo as we speak; to smooth soul singer Jeffrey Osbourne (60); to goofball ABC frontman Martin Fry (50); French "strumpet" actress Juliet Binoche (44); England's man of granite in rugby Martin Johnson (38); dirty footballer Lucas Neill (30) of West Ham and Australia; willowy striker/winger Clint Dempsey (25) of Fulham and the US; and a pair of "rappers," Chingy (28) and Bow Wow (21).

Oh yeah, and a happy 22nd to nice-lookin' actress Brittany Snow who is well-known for Hairspray and American Dreams, among other things ...

It also would have been a birthday for the Soviet cosmonaut and first-man-in-space Yuri Gagarin (b. 1934), had he not gone all weightless on us in 1968 ... 'Til tomorrow! ...