I don’t know how your Monday is going, but if it were On This Day in 1813, and if you were soldiering for the United States under Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, you helped see to the defeat of the British Fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie.
Perry’s capture of the British naval fleet under Lt. Robert Barclay gave the Americans command of Lake Erie for the rest of the War of 1812. Perry would immediately report to Washington: ‘We have met the enemy, and they are ours.’ What a text that was!
It’s hard to fill the shoes of that accomplishment, but try on a “Size 22”—wow, I’ve seen this man’s sneeeeeakers, glass encased (for their protection and/or ours?) at St Bonaventure University.…Happy Birthday to Buffalo’s Robert Jerry Lanier, Jr.
Bob Lanier was born and bred from On This Day in 1948 in Buffalo. He played competitively at Bennett High School, graduated in 1966, and then played collegiate at St Bonas, forever shining its star among the Little Three (St Bonas, Canisius and Niagara University). Some say you can sometimes still hear his sneaker screeches swerving on the playing floor of Reilly Center there.
Lanier was a three-time Converse All-America selection (1968-1970), and in 1970, he led St. Bonaventure to the NCAA Final Four. He was was named that year by Coach and Athlete Magazine player of the year, and the ECAC Player of the Year.
Lanier was drafted number one overall by the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and was named to the All-Rookie Team following the 1970-71 season. After starring for Detroit he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1980. In Lanier’s five seasons playing with the Bucks, they won the division championship each and every year. On the year he retired, in 1984, he was awarded the Oscar Robertson Leadership Award.
With 14 NBA seasons under his belt, Bob Lanier averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and shot a respectable 51.4 percent from the field. He competed in eight NBA All-Star Games, and in 1974 was named Most Valuable Player. Lanier was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. His #16 jersey was retired by both the Pistons and the Bucks. At the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, visitors are able to compare the size of their foot to that of Lanier’s.
And, finally, On The Day, Before This Day– in 1987, we go from cannon balls and basketballs to, well, basket cases. What do you think Osama Bin Laden was doing? He was, in review of fact, known to be working at his residence in Afghanistan, humming and mullah-ing away, for in one more day he would launch what Today we call the Twentieth Anniversary of the Start of “al Qaeda.”
That last item may not be On This Day from Buffalo news, but– let’s just pray to keep it that way.
Lorne Opler
Toronto born and raised, but with my roots solidly planted in Western New York, I have been visiting Buffalo and enamored with Buffalo ever since I was a kid. I love writing for BRO but equally enjoy writing about Buffalo for Southern Ontario audiences to introduce them to all the great things happening in the renaissance city. When I'm not writing, I'm teaching fitness and health promotion at a community college in Toronto and running my own personal training business. Visit my website at www.lorneopler.com