Top 10 February 24 Birthdays

10. February 24, 1942: Joe Lieberman. A 4-term U.S. Senator from Connecticut, in 2000 he became the 1st Jewish person nominated for Vice President by a major party. The less said about his political career from the moment he accepted that nomination onward, the better.

9. February 24, 1836: Winslow Homer. Painter known for his nautical scenes, especially New England beaches.

8. February 24, 1921: Abe Vigoda. He played gangster Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather, and moved to the other side of the law to play Detective Phil Fish on Barney Miller and Fish.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1931: Dominic Chianese. He played Johnny Ola in The Godfather Part II, and Corrado Soprano Jr., a.k.a. Uncle Junior, on The Sopranos. But he's no thug: He's a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, a Broadway veteran, and a fine singer even into his 90s.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1932: John Vernon. He played the Mayor of San Francisco in Dirty Harry, and Dean Vernon Wormer in Animal House.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1945: Barry Bostwick. He's played 2 Presidents: He played it straight as George Washington in a pair of CBS miniseries, and starred in FDR: American Badass!, an obvious ripoff of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. He also starred as the dimwitted but well-meaning Mayor Randall Winston of New York on Spin City.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1947: Edward James Olmos. He usually plays authority figures, including Commander William Adama in the 2000s reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1951: Debra Jo Rupp. She played Kitty Forman on That '70s Show.

7. February 24, 1932: Michel Legrand. One of the leading film composers of the 20th Century, he is best known in America for “The Windmills of Your Mind,” which became the theme song to the original 1968 version of The Thomas Crown Affair.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1941: Joanie Sommers. I probably should have listed her with the actors, but she's better known as a singer, having worked with some of the biggest names in jazz. That gets forgotten: She had a Top 10 hit with "Johnny Get Angry," but her best known songs are commercial jingles for Pepsi.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1942: Paul Jones. There he was, on the lead for Manfred Mann, singing, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy, dum diddy do."

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1944: Nicky Hopkins. He provided keyboards for The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who.

Dishonorable Mention: February 24, 1947: Rupert Holmes. He wrote and sang what could well be the worst song ever to hit Number 1 on America’s popular music charts: "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)." It was the last Number 1 hit of the 1970s, a decade that began with so much promise in music, some of it realized.

6. February 24, 1956: Eddie Murray. The switch-hitting 1st baseman, playing mostly for the Baltimore Orioles, with whom he won the 1983 World Series, collected 3,255 hits and 504 home runs. He was an 8-time All-Star and a 3-time Gold Glove.

5. February 24, 1940: Denis Law. Perhaps the greatest soccer player Scotland has ever produced, the forward helped Manchester United win the FA Cup in 1963, won the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) as World Player of the Year in 1964, and led United to win England's Football League in 1965 and 1967, and the European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) in 1968.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1940: Jimmy Ellis. From 1968 to 1970, in the wake of Muhammad Ali being unfairly stripped of the Heavyweight Championship of the World, he held a piece of the title before losing a unification bout with Joe Frazier.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1943: Gigi Meroni. The winger starred for soccer team Torino FC, becoming one of Italy's sporting idols for his spectacular goals and good looks, before being hit by a car in 1967. He was only 24 years old.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1963: Mike Vernon. A 5-time NHL All-Star, the goaltender won the Stanley Cup with the 1989 Calgary Flames and the 1997 Detroit Red Wings, on the latter occasion winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1972: Manon Rhéaume. A goaltender, she is the only woman to play in an NHL game, although she did so only in 2 preseason games, with the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, and with the Boston Bruins the next season.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1973: Alexei Kovalev. A 3-time NHL All-Star, the right wing helped the CIS (countries from the newly-broken-up Soviet Union) team win the Gold Medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France; and the New York Rangers win the 1994 Stanley Cup.

Somewhat Honorable Mention: February 24, 1977: Floyd Mayweather Jr. On the one hand, his boxing skill is undeniable: He is 50-0, first held a World Championship in 1998 (the WBC Super Featherweight title), and last held one in 2016 (the WBA Welterweight title). On the other hand, he was known for ducking good fighters, including famously avoiding Manny Pacquiao until the Pac-Man was well past his prime; and for domestic abuse. Great fighter, rotten person.

Honorable Mention: February 24, 1981: Lleyton Hewitt. He won the U.S. Open in 2001, and Wimbledon in 2002. That makes him the most recent Australian man to win a tennis major.

4. February 24, 1938: Phil Knight. As Nike boss, he -- and Michael Jordan -- turned a little-known sneaker company in Oregon into the biggest sportswear company in the world.

3. February 24, 1874: Honus Wagner. Nicknamed the Flying Dutchman, John Peter Wagner starred for 21 seasons, mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning 4 Pennants and the 1909 World Series. He won 8 National League batting titles, collected 3,430 hits, and led the NL in stolen bases 5 times. There were no fielding awards in his time, but he was said to be a great defensive shortstop. Over a century past his last game, he is still widely considered the greatest shortstop in baseball history.

2. February 24, 1955: Steve Jobs. Not a good guy, but a brilliant innovator.

1. February 24, 1885: Chester Nimitz. One of the four U.S. Navy officers, all in World War II, to achieve the rank of Fleet Admiral, equivalent in the other branches of the service to a General of the Army, 5 stars. The others were William Leahy, Ernest King and William Halsey.

Still alive as of this writing: Chianese, Bostwick, Olmos, Rupp, Sommers, Jones, Holmes, Murray, Law, Mike Vernon (but not John), Rhéaume, Kovalev, Mayweather, Hewitt, Knight.