Today in Sports History: September 20th

(Patrick Ewing. Photos by Dan Levine and Tony Ranz, Getty Images)

9/20/1924 - Alexander joins 300 club

Pete "Grover Cleveland" Alexander wins the 300th game of his career, adding his name to an illustrious group of pitchers to reach the plateau. Alexander was one of the greatest pitchers of his generation; from 1911 to 1920, he led the league in wins five times, ERA four times, games started three times, complete games six times, shutouts six times, innings pitched seven times, and strikeouts six times. He won 30 games in a row from 1915 to 1917 and finished with 373 wins, tying him for Christy Mathewson for the third most ever.

But Alexander was also famous for his vices. In 1917, he did what many baseball players did and enlisted in the army to fight in World War I. Alexander became shell shocked from the experience, took the hitting the bottle regularly, and suffered a partial hearing loss in one of his ears. While he was able to return to the majors and had several fantastic seasons, he was never the same again.

9/20/1973 - King beats Riggs in historic battle

Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in a match dubbed as the "Battle of the Sexes." In the end, the younger King toppled Riggs and made life for women a little better inside the United States.

To read more about this story, click here for an in-depth Inhistoric article:

9/20/2000 - Knicks trade Ewing to Sonics

Patrick Ewing's 15-year career with the New York Knicks comes to a sudden end, as the Knicks swap him to the Seattle SuperSonics in one of the largest deals in league history. The four-team, 12-player deal sent Ewing to Seattle, Glen Rice, Travis Knight, and Luc Longley to New York, and Horace Grant to the L.A. Lakers. Ewing had been lobbying for a trade since the end of the season, and at 38 years old and with only a year left on his contract, the team was willing to cut him loose.

"It became clear that he was looking for a change, and when he requested a trade, we respected his request," said Scott Layden, who had just taken over as the Knicks GM. "It was important in doing so, however, that we had the ability to add value, and with Glen and his All-Star credentials, as well as two veteran big men and draft picks, we believe we have done that."

The deal did little for the Seattle SuperSonics, who were initially thrilled when they heard news of the transaction. The one thing Gary Payton had never had in Seattle was a great center, and some of the Sonics were optimistic that Ewing would make them an instant contender. "This puts us among the elite," Sonics forward Vin Baker said prior to the season. "Patrick's one of the best centers of all time."

But in a new system, on a new coast, on a new team, Ewing struggled. He averaged 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 2000-01, numbers that were miles below his averages in New York. He played only one season in Seattle before finishing his career with the Orlando Magic. Seeing Ewing -- who was widely viewed as the greatest Knick of all time -- completely marginalized in a Magic and Sonics uniform was a bad way to wrap up a career, especially for someone as proud as him.

For the Knicks, getting Rice was the beginning of a long series of moves where they brought in player after player with an exorbitant salary. The Knicks later traded Glen Rice for two players with huge contracts: Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley. Eisley was later traded to the Phoenix Suns in a move that brought both Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway on board -- two players with even greater salaries. The Knicks soon became a disastrously bad team, and each of their horrible decisions could be mapped to the deal that sent Ewing to Seattle.