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302 Motorsports
Today in History
December 27, 1943
Auto engineer and inventor dies
Curtis Veeder, the engineer who invented the modern automotive tachometer and odometer, died on this day. A tachometer is a device which indicates speed of rotation, and an odometer is an instrument for measuring distance traveled.
December 27, 1951
Postal Service puts Crosley into action
The Crosley car was put into use by the U.S. Postal Service in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first right-hand-drive car designed specifically for mail delivery. The Crosley put the driver on the mailbox-side of the car, and changed mail delivery forever.
December 27, 2004
Peyton Manning breaks single-season touchdown pass record
On December 27, 2004, in a game against the San Diego Chargers, quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts finds wide receiver Brandon Stokely in the end zone for his 49th touchdown pass of the season, breaking the previous National Football League (NFL) single-season record held by Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins.
Born in 1976, Manning is the son of the former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, who played for the New Orleans Saints, the Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings during the 1970s and early 1980s. His younger brother, Eli, plays quarterback for the New York Giants. After a stellar college career at the University of Tennessee, Peyton Manning was selected by the Colts as the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft. From the beginning, Manning performed at a consistently high level, passing for at least 3,000 yards in every season and becoming the first player to top 4,000 for six consecutive years. After the Colts finished 3-13 in his rookie season, Manning turned that record around, leading his team to American Football Conference (AFC) division titles in 1999 and 2003.
The 2004 season proved to be Manning’s best yet, as evidenced by his record-breaking night on December 27 before 57,330 fans at Indianapolis’ RCA Dome. He began poorly, fumbling twice and throwing an interception over the first two and a half quarters. In the middle of the third quarter, he completed a touchdown pass to fullback James Mungro and tied Marino’s mark. Finally, with one minute remaining in the game and the Colts down by eight points, Manning fooled the Chargers with a post play and threw to Stokely, who caught the ball in the end zone and left Manning alone at the top of the record book. The Colts got a two-point conversion to tie the score and a 30-yard field goal in overtime to win 34-31. Manning was later selected as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and the Offensive Player of the Year for 2004.
December 27, 1968
Apollo 8 returns to Earth
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, returns safely to Earth after an historic six-day journey.
On December 21, Apollo 8 was launched by a three-stage Saturn 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard. On Christmas Eve, the astronauts entered into orbit around the moon, the first manned spacecraft ever to do so. During Apollo 8's 10 lunar orbits, television images were sent back home and spectacular photos were taken of the Earth and the moon from the spacecraft. In addition to being the first human beings to view firsthand their home world in its entirety, the three astronauts were also the first to see the dark side of the moon. On Christmas morning, Apollo 8 left its lunar orbit and began its journey back to Earth, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean on December 27.
On July 20 of the following year, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission, became the first men to walk on the moon.
December 27, 1943
Auto engineer and inventor dies
Curtis Veeder, the engineer who invented the modern automotive tachometer and odometer, died on this day. A tachometer is a device which indicates speed of rotation, and an odometer is an instrument for measuring distance traveled.
December 27, 1951
Postal Service puts Crosley into action
The Crosley car was put into use by the U.S. Postal Service in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first right-hand-drive car designed specifically for mail delivery. The Crosley put the driver on the mailbox-side of the car, and changed mail delivery forever.
December 27, 2004
Peyton Manning breaks single-season touchdown pass record
On December 27, 2004, in a game against the San Diego Chargers, quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts finds wide receiver Brandon Stokely in the end zone for his 49th touchdown pass of the season, breaking the previous National Football League (NFL) single-season record held by Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins.
Born in 1976, Manning is the son of the former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, who played for the New Orleans Saints, the Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings during the 1970s and early 1980s. His younger brother, Eli, plays quarterback for the New York Giants. After a stellar college career at the University of Tennessee, Peyton Manning was selected by the Colts as the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft. From the beginning, Manning performed at a consistently high level, passing for at least 3,000 yards in every season and becoming the first player to top 4,000 for six consecutive years. After the Colts finished 3-13 in his rookie season, Manning turned that record around, leading his team to American Football Conference (AFC) division titles in 1999 and 2003.
The 2004 season proved to be Manning’s best yet, as evidenced by his record-breaking night on December 27 before 57,330 fans at Indianapolis’ RCA Dome. He began poorly, fumbling twice and throwing an interception over the first two and a half quarters. In the middle of the third quarter, he completed a touchdown pass to fullback James Mungro and tied Marino’s mark. Finally, with one minute remaining in the game and the Colts down by eight points, Manning fooled the Chargers with a post play and threw to Stokely, who caught the ball in the end zone and left Manning alone at the top of the record book. The Colts got a two-point conversion to tie the score and a 30-yard field goal in overtime to win 34-31. Manning was later selected as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and the Offensive Player of the Year for 2004.
December 27, 1968
Apollo 8 returns to Earth
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, returns safely to Earth after an historic six-day journey.
On December 21, Apollo 8 was launched by a three-stage Saturn 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard. On Christmas Eve, the astronauts entered into orbit around the moon, the first manned spacecraft ever to do so. During Apollo 8's 10 lunar orbits, television images were sent back home and spectacular photos were taken of the Earth and the moon from the spacecraft. In addition to being the first human beings to view firsthand their home world in its entirety, the three astronauts were also the first to see the dark side of the moon. On Christmas morning, Apollo 8 left its lunar orbit and began its journey back to Earth, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean on December 27.
On July 20 of the following year, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission, became the first men to walk on the moon.
