Seasons

SEASON: 28 | YEAR: 1976
HEAD COACH: HOWARD T. FOX JR.

Game 241 | January 13, 1976 | Gene Mauch
With Mauch at manager the Twins improved to a third-place finish, just five games out of first in the Western Division. For Mauch, who had first appeared at Dunkers as manager of the Minneapolis Millers, it was a job that was to last for more than four and one-half seasons before he was replaced with Johnny Goryl.

Game 242 | April 23, 1976 | Butch Wynegar, Don McMahon
Wynegar had just turned 20 when he made his major league debut as the Twins catcher in 1976. He earned All-Star and Rookie of the Year honors that year and is best remembered by Twins fans for the television commercial where he said, "I like this game so much I'd play for free." Tight-fisted owner Calvin Griffith smiled and said, "I like this kid." McMahon was the pitching coach in 1976 and 1977.

Game 243 | May 4, 1976 | Jim McKay
Best-known for his television coverage of 10 Olympic games, McKay is remembered for his marathon description of the 1972 Munich games in which he announced to the world that Arab terrorists had captured 11 Israeli athletes, coaches and trainers. He stayed on the air for 16 hours before he said, "They're all gone." That reporting brought him the first of 13 Emmys. He died in January 2008 at age 86.

(LtoR) Jerry Utley, Jim McKay, Norm McGrew

Game 244 | May 24, 1976 | Bob Mathias
Eighteen years after his first Dunkers' appearance, the former U.S. Olympic Decathlon champion was back. He served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and as Deputy Director of the Selective Service. He reconnected with the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1976 and became the first director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center when it opened in 1977.

Game 245 | August 5, 1976 | Eddie Arcard
One of America's most famous jockeys, Arcaro won his first Kentucky Derby in 1938 aboard Lawrin. He is tied with Bill Hartack for most Derby wins with five, and has the most wins in the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes with six. He won horse racing's Triple Crown in 1941 on Whirlaway and again in 1948 on Citation.

Game 246 | September 2, 1976 | Cal Stoll, Tony Dungy
A second-team All Big Ten selection, Dungy quarterbacked the Gophers to a third-place finish in the Big Ten in 1976. A great high school athlete in Michigan, Dungy also lettered in basketball in 1974.

Game 247 | September 14, 1976 | Chuck Tanner
Charles Finley hired Tanner to manage his Oakland A's before the start of the 1976 season. With blazing speed from the likes of Bert Campaneris, Bill North and Don Baylor, Tanner turned the A's into a running team, stealing a major league record 341 bases. When the A's lost out to Kansas City that season, the impatient Finley traded Tanner to Pittsburgh for catcher Manny Sanguillen.

Game 248 | November 30, 1976 | Glen Sharpley, Alex Pirus
The Minnesota North Stars won just 23 of 80 games in 1976-77, and management decided to play a number of its younger players. Sharpley, the third player in the first round of the amateur draft that year, was third in team scoring with 25 goals and 32 assists. Prius, take in the third round in the 1975 draft, was seventh in scoring with 20 goals and 17 assists.

Seasons

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