Robin Friday (1952–1990) was an English football forward who played for Reading and Cardiff City during the mid-1970s. Born and raised in Acton in west London, Friday joined Reading in 1974, quickly becoming a key player and helping Reading win promotion to the Third Division during the 1975–76 season. Friday won Reading's player of the year award in both of his full seasons there as their leading goal scorer. Many contemporaries would later assert that he was good enough to play for England, but his habit of unsettling opponents through physical intimidation contributed to a heavily tarnished disciplinary record, and his personal life was one of heavy smoking, drinking, womanising and drug abuse. His intensifying drug habit led Reading to sell him to Cardiff in 1976. Following incidents on and off the field—including kicking Mark Lawrenson in the face mid-game—Friday retired from football in 1977. He died in Acton in 1990, aged 38, after suffering a heart attack. Despite his short career, Friday remains prominent in the memory of Reading and Cardiff supporters, as a player and a personality. He has been voted Reading's best ever player three times.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Friday
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1149:
Second Crusade: An army led by Nur ad-Din Zangi destroyed the forces of Antioch led by Prince Raymond. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Inab
1444:
Albanians led by Skanderbeg scored a resounding victory in their rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Torvioll
1776:
Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu founded Mission San Francisco de Asís, the oldest surviving building in San Francisco. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Francisco_de_As%C3%ADs
1985:
The European Economic Community adopted the Flag of Europe, a flag previously adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Europe
1995:
The Shuttle–Mir Program began when Space Shuttle Atlantis became the first space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle%E2%80%93Mir_Program
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
enterolith: A mineral concretion in the intestinal tract. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enterolith
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Confuse not love with the raptures of possession, which bring the cruelest of sufferings. For, notwithstanding the general opinion, love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love's opposite. --Antoine de Saint Exupéry https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry