December 9

From Hoopedia

• 1899 - Hall of Fame coach Tony Hinkle, who won 561 games at Butler University, is born in Logansport, Indiana.

• 1931 - Hall of Famer Cliff Hagan, who won a national championship at Kentucky and played in five NBA All-Star games and one ABA All-Star game, is born in Owensboro, Kentucky.

• 1953 - World B. Free, who averaged over 20 ppg over 13 NBA seasons, is born as Lloyd B. Free in Atlanta, Georgia.

• 1955 - Otis Birdsong, who appeared in four NBA All-Star games over a twelve year career, is born in Winter Haven, Florida.

• 1977 - In the most serious brawl in NBA history, Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers punches the Houston Rocket's Rudy Tomjanovich, sending him to the hospital with serious eye and face injuries. Tomjanovich needed facial reconstruction and collected $2 million from the Lakers in a settlement. Washington was fined $10,000 and suspended for 60 days.

• 1978 - Above: The Chicago Hustle beat the Milwaukee Does, 92-87, in the first regular-season game for the Women's Professional Basketball League. The first pro league for women, the WBL lasted until 1981.

• 1988 - Jerry Sloan is named head coach of the Utah Jazz, replacing Frank Layden. Sloan’s coaching tenure with the Jazz is the longest current term of service among head coaches in the NBA.

• 2006 - North Carolina Tar Heels coach Roy Williams collects his 500th career coaching win, this one against High Point University.