Bert Trautmann (born 1923) is a German football goalkeeper who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper. He fought at the Eastern Front for three years, earning five medals including an Iron Cross. Later in the war he was transferred to the Western Front, where he was captured by the British as the war drew to a close. One of only 90 of his original 1,000-man regiment to survive the war, he was transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. Following his release in 1948 he settled in Lancashire, combining farm work with playing as goalkeeper for local football team St Helens Town. In October 1949 he signed for Manchester City, a club playing in the highest level of football in the country, the First Division. The club's decision to sign a former Axis paratrooper sparked protests, with 20,000 people attending a demonstration. Over time he gained acceptance through his performances in the City goal, playing all but five of the club's next 250 matches. Trautmann entered football folklore with his performance in the 1956 FA Cup Final. Despite suffering a serious injury after diving at the feet of Birmingham City's Peter Murphy, he continued to play, making crucial saves to preserve his team's 3–1 lead. His neck was noticeably crooked as he collected his winner's medal; three days later an X-ray revealed it to be broken.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Trautmann

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1836:

Sam Houston became the first president of the Republic of Texas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston

1844:

Millerites, including future members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, were greatly disappointed that Jesus did not return as predicted by American preacher William Miller . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Disappointment

1934:

Pretty Boy Floyd, an American bank robber and alleged killer who was later romanticized by the media, was gunned down by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents near East Liverpool, Ohio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Boy_Floyd

1964:

After the Nobel Committee announced that he had won the Nobel Prize in Literature, French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre became the first Nobel Laureate to voluntarily decline the prize, saying that he did not wish to be "transformed" by such an award. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Sartre

2006:

An expansion project to double the Panama Canal's capacity was approved by Panamanian voters in a national referendum by a wide margin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

palatable (adj): 1. Pleasing to the taste, tasty. 2. Tolerable, acceptable http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palatable

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I often observed to my brother, You see now how little nature requires to be satisfied. Felicity, the companion of content, is rather found in our own breasts than in the enjoyment of external things; And I firmly believe it requires but a little philosophy to make a man happy in whatsoever state he is. This consists in a full resignation to the will of Providence; and a resigned soul finds pleasure in a path strewed with briars and thorns. --Daniel Boone http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_Boone