Honorable Mention: January 13, 1945: Peter Simpson. Alongside team Captain Frank McLintock, he was the usual starting centreback, wearing the Number 6 shirt, on North London soccer team Arsenal when they won the Football League and FA Cup "Double" in 1971.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1972: Vitaly Scherbo. The native of Belarus won 6 Gold Medals in men's gymnastics, including the all-around, at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 13, 1832: Horatio Alger. Starting with Ragged Dick in 1868, he began publishing children's novels, based on a theme of virtue leading a poor boy "from rags to riches." But "the Horatio Alger Myth" is that the boy gets where he gets due to hard work. That never happened: It was always because the boy did something good that a wealthy person saw, and the wealthy person rewarded him."
Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 13, 1984: Nick Mangold. On the one hand, he played 11 seasons for the New York Jets, and not only did not lose his mind, but made 7 Pro Bowls. He is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the 1st time in the election that will be announced before Super Bowl LVI. On the other hand, maybe he did lose his mind: He's a Trump fan.
Dishonorable Mention: January 13, 1975: Andrew Yang. Another billionaire businessman who believes that what this country needs more of in government is billionaire businessmen. He ran for President, where Donald Trump already failed, and got nowhere. Then he ran for Mayor of New York, where Michael Bloomberg already failed, in a "ranked preference" system that seemed tailor-made for him, and he finished 4th.
10. January 13, 1808: Salmon P. Chase. One of the 1st members of the Republican Party to get elected to high office, in his case as Governor of Ohio in 1855. Prior to that, he had left the Whig Party over the slavery issue, and had tried minor parties until the Republican was founded. Like most of those early Republican achievers, he thought he should be the Party's nominee for President in 1860. Instead, Abraham Lincoln was nominated.
Lincoln appointed Chase to be U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, a very difficult job during the American Civil War. He was rewarded for this service in 1864, when Lincoln appointed him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Chase held this job until his death in 1873. Most people have never seen a $10,000 bill, and it hasn't been printed since 1945, but Chase's picture was on it.
9. January 13, 1962, 60 years ago: Kevin Mitchell. As a rookie, he was a member of the team that won the 1986 World Series. Then, the Mets let him go. In the 35 years since, they've won exactly two World Series games. In 1989, he was named the National League Most Valuable Player, leading the San Francisco Giants to the Pennant.
8. January 13, 1919: Robert Stack. He played Eliot Ness on The Untouchables from 1959 to 1963, making him one of TV's all-time tough guys. From 1987 to 2002, he hosted the true-crime TV series Unsolved Mysteries on NBC. And, of course, he played Captain Rex Kramer in the 1980 spoof film Airplane!
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1977: Orlando Bloom. He's been Paris of Troy, Legolas, Romeo, Will Turner, and, in real life, the man loved by Kate Bosworth, Miranda Kerr and Katy Perry.
7. January 13, 1931: Charles Nelson Reilly. He starred in the original Broadway casts of Bye Bye Birdie, Hello, Dolly! and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, winning a Tony Award for the last of these. He was comic relief on The Ghost & Mrs. Muir. But he became a superstar as a regular panelist on Match Game, as seen in the photo above.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1931: Rip Taylor. The comedian was another game-show mainstay in the 1970s and '80s. But he only appeared on Match Game once -- ironically, in the Number 3 seat, usually occupied by Charles, who wasn't there that week. In those days, a performer could do everything to confirm he was gay except actually say so. And both Charles and Rip did.
6. January 13, 1925: Gwen Verdon. One of the greatest dancers of the 20th Century, often choreographed by her former husband, Bob Fosse.
5. January 13, 1886: Sophie Tucker."The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas" was a precursor to full-figured babes from Dolly Parton to Meghan Trainor, and to tart-tonged tarts from Mae West to Rue McClanahan to Kim Cattrall.
4. January 13, 1933: Tom Gola. He won championships for Philadelphia in both college, in 1954 at La Salle University; and in the NBA, in 1956 with the Warriors. Later, he came back to La Salle after a scandal got them put on probation. He led them to a 23-1 season in 1969, but their punishment kept them out of the NCAA Tournament. La Salle named their new arena after him. He later served in the Pennsylvania legislature and as Philadelphia City Comptroller.
3. January 13, 1961: Julia Louis-Dreyfus.Seinfeld Curse? What Seinfeld Curse? After starring as Elaine Benes, she starred in The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1949: Brandon Tartikoff. The executive who saved NBC in the early 1980s.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1964: Penelope Ann Miller. One of the top dramatic actresses of the 1980s and '90s.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1972: Nicole Eggert. A fine actress? Well, she was fine enough to appear as a regular on Baywatch.
2. January 13, 1970: Shonda Rhimes. She created Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and Station 19. She's the female (or perhaps the black) George R.R. Martin: She can't be on Twitter because she's already killed more than 280 characters. Including Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd on Grey's, portrayed by...
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1966: Patrick Dempsey. He's also played the Prophet Jeremiah, Rodion Ralskonikov, Pierre Arronax, mob boss Meyer Lansky, and President John F. Kennedy.
1. January 13, 1886: Art Ross. It was said about Doug Harvey and later Bobby Orr, but Ross was hockey's 1st modern defenseman. He was the 1st one to take the puck up the ice himself, rather than pass it to a forward.
In 1907, he played for the Kenora Thistles and helped them win the Stanley Cup, dethroning the Montreal Wanderers, the team known as "The Little Men of Iron." So the Wanderers offered him more money, and he jumped, and they won the Cup. in 1908. He starred with them until they folded in 1918.
In 1924, he was named the 1st head coach and general manager of the Boston Bruins, and led them through the 1954 season, including winning the Stanley Cup in 1929, 1939 and 1941. In 1947, he donated the Art Ross Trophy to the NHL, to be awarded to its leading scorer.
I have Honorable Mentions after my Number 1 choice, in this case because they are, or were, in the same line of work.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1973: Nikolai Khabibulin. A 4-time NHL All-Star, he was the goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won the 2004 Stanley Cup.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1974: Sergei Brylin."Sarge" was with the New Jersey Devils for all 3 of their Stanley Cups: 1995, 2000 and 2003.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1987: Marc Staal. He played 13 seasons for the New York Rangers and didn't lose his mind. He now plays for the Detroit Red Wings.
Honorable Mention: January 13, 1997: Connor McDavid. No, he hasn't yet gotten the Edmonton Oilers into the Stanley Cup Finals. But he's scored his 200th career goal in only his 7th season, and has already won 2 Hart Trophies as NHL Most Valuable Player and 4 Ross Trophies as leading scorer.
Still alive as of this writing: Simpson, Scherbo, Mangold, Yang, Mitchell, Bloom, Dreyfus, Miller, Eggert, Rhimes, Dempsey, Khabibulin, Brylin, Staal and McDavid.