Olga Korbut was born on May 16, 1955. She began her training at the age of 8 and at 11 enter a sports school headed by former Olympian Renald Knysh.

In 1972 many of Gymnastic Athletics were older then the 17 year old Korbut. Her success, especially with her acrobatic routines on the uneven parallel bars and balance beam, caused a change in the sport. There was a focus prior to 1972 on elegance, afterwards it was more focused on athleticism.

In 1972 she won 3 Gold metals, the team Gold and two individual Gold in Balance Beam and Floor Exercise. Amazingly she finished only with the Silver for the Uneven Bars, it was her performance on the Uneven Bars during the team competition that wowed those in attendance and watching on TV. She missed the mount on the bars and this caused her to fall to second.

She returned to the 1976 games and again won a Gold metal for Team competition and a Silver in the Balance beam. The 1976 games had Nadia Comeneci as the darling of Gymnastics.

Over its history Texas has been part of 6 different nations and therefore flew 6 National flags. Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Unites States of America and the Confederate States of America.

The community of Ysleta, Texas is considered the oldest settlement in Texas. In 1680 the Ysleta Mission began with the settlement built around it. Ysleta has been annexed and is currently part of El Paso, Texas.

Confederate Heroes Day, January 19th, is a holiday in Texas. January 19th is the birthday of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s and in 1931 Texas approved the Robert E. Lee Birthday Holiday. In 1973 Jefferson Davis’ Birthday holiday (June 3rd) was eliminated and the two were combined and renamed Confederate Heroes Day.

The Kansas City Chiefs began as the Dallas Texans as one of the first six teams in the American Football League (AFL), forming in 1959. They moved to Kansas City in 1962. The Indianapolis Colts franchise also started in Dallas and also called the Texans. This Dallas Texans team played for two years before moving to Baltimore in 1953 taking the name Colts.

Until 2010, Baseball’s Texas Rangers were the oldest team in the Major League Baseball to have never played in a World Series. The franchise began as the Washington Senators in 1961 after the original Washington Senators moved to Minnesota and renamed the Twins in 1960. They advanced to the World Series again in 2011, but lost in seven games to St. Louis.

The Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals, originally the Montreal Expos, now are the only major league teams not to appear in a World Series. The Mariners debuted in 1977 while the Expos debuted in 1969 moving to Washington in 2005.

Chamberlain’s Philadelphia Warriors (now Golden State) were playing a home game against the New York Knicks. Even though it was a home game for the Warriors they were playing in the Hersheypark Arena, in Hershey PA.

It was a cold Friday evening when 4,124 paying spectators enjoyed the once in a life time event. It’s possible that many in attendance weren’t even basketball fans, since players from the football teams Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Colts played in a show basketball game before the NBA game started.

As the game progressed and Chamberlain passed his own single game record of 79 with 7:51 left in the game, the crowd sensing a game that would go into the history books, cheered each time that the Warriors had the ball to give it to Chamberlain.

Chamberlain scored his 100th point with less than a minute to play. The crowd went wild and stormed the court. After a long delay the last 46 seconds of the game was finally played. In the game Chamberlain made 36 of 63 field-goal attempts (all 2 point attempts since the 3 point rule had not been instituted) and 28 of 32 free-throw attempts.

The final score was Philadelphia – 169 and the New York Knicks – 147. The 316 points still stands as the record for the most points scored in a regulation game. Twice overtime games have had more points scored.

Since the day happens only a quarter of the time, less since 1900 was not a leap year, this mean that less things could happen on this day than on any other day in the year. Here’s a couple of things that have occurred on the 29th of February.

In 1892 the city of St. Petersburg, Florida was incorporated. At the time it only had 300 people, now it’s population is around 250,000. St. Petersburg is it the fourth largest city in the state of Florida and the largest city in Florida that is not a county seat.

In 1956, Dwight David Eisenhower announced that he was going to run for a second term as President of the United States. In 2008, it’d already be to late for a major party candidate to announce a run, but stay tuned some one may announce still.

When Hank Aaron signed his contract in 1972, he became the first baseball player to make 200,000 a year. Today that’s below the minimum.

Entertainer Dinah Shore was born on February 29, 1916. She celebrated 19 birthdays before passing away two years before her 20th.

Holly, Valens, Richardson (the Big Bopper) along with Dion and the Belmonts were on a road tour called Winter Dance Party. The groups were touring in unheated buses in freezing temperatures when Buddy Holly decided to charter a small plane to their next stop. The small plane could hold four people including the pilot, the cost was $36 person. He chartered it for himself and his two band mates, Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup.

During the tour J.P. Richardson, the Big Bopper, had developed the flu and asked Jennings if he could go instead of him. Jennings agreed.

Jennings was until his death haunted over the crash in part over an exchange of words between him and Buddy Holly. Holly had said to Jennings, “”Well, I hope your ol’ bus freezes up.” Jennings responded, “Well, I hope your ol’ plane crashes.”

Ritchie Valens had never flown in a small plane and asked Tommy Allsup if he could have his seat. With a coin flip, tossed by the DJ at ballroom where they played that night, Valens had the last seat.

Dion DiMucci of Dion and the Belmonts was approached, but declined. He couldn’t see paying the price of 36 dollars, a sum which he had seen his parent argue over this price for apartment rent.

When the shooter was arrested it was 16 year old Brenda Ann Spencer. The rifle she used during the shooting had been given to her as a Christmas gift from her father, only a few weeks before.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Her sentence was 25 years to life in prison and is currently at The California Institution for Women in Chino, California. She is up for parole in 2009.

When asked why she did the shooting one of her responses was, “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.”

Bob Geldolf, who was the lead singer for the rock band Boomtown Rats, heard about the shooting and the statement of Spencer and wrote the song, “I Don’t Like Mondays.”

It was only a minor hit in the US but, it was a number 1 hit in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s many album rock stations played the song as the anthem for Mondays. Since some stations only played the chorus many people had no idea the true subject of the song was a school shooting.