FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

A shot clock is a countdown timer used in basketball that provides a set amount of time (24–35 seconds, depending on the league) that a team may possess the ball before attempting to score a field goal. It is distinct from the game clock, which displays the time remaining in the period of play. It may be colloquially known as the 24-second clock, particularly in the NBA and other leagues where that is the duration of the shot clock. If the shot clock reaches zero before the team attempts a field goal, the team has committed a shot clock violation, which is penalized with a loss of possession.

At most professional and collegiate basketball courts the shot clock is displayed to the players and spectators in large red numerals below the game clock on a display mounted atop each backboard. In some collegiate and amateur facilities this display might be located on the floor or mounted to a wall behind the end line. The shot clock was originally introduced in the NBA in 1954 as a way to increase scoring and reduce stalling tactics that were commonly used before its inception. It has been credited with increasing fan interest in the then-fledgling league, and has since been adopted at most organized levels of basketball.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

1730s

• BORN 1735: JOHN ADAMS (2ND U.S. PRESIDENT)

1850s

• BORN 1857: GERTRUDE ATHERTON (AUTHOR)

1880s

• BORN 1885: EZRA POUND (POET)

1890s

• BORN 1892: CHARLES ATLAS (BODYBUILDER)
• 1894: PATENT GRANTED TO DANIEL COOPER FOR “WORKMAN’S TIME RECORDER”
• BORN 1896: RUTH GORDON (ACTRESS)

1910s

• DIED 1910: HENRI DUNANT (FOUNDER OF THE RED CROSS)

1930s

• 1938: THE BROADCAST OF ORSON WELLES’ RADIO DRAMA, “WAR OF THE WORLDS,” CAUSED A NATIONAL PANIC
• BORN 1939: GRACE SLICK (SINGER)

1940s

• BORN 1943: JOANNA SHIMKUS (ACTRESS)
• BORN 1945: HENRY WINKLER (ACTOR, DIRECTOR)
• BORN 1946: ANDREA MITCHELL (NEWSCASTER)
• 1947: TORONTO’S FIRST STREET VACUUM DEBUTED

1950s

• 1954: THE 24-SECOND SHOT CLOCK MADE ITS NBA DEBUT

1960s

• 1963: FIRST LAMBORGHINI CAR DEBUTED
• 1968: THE FILM THE LION IN WINTER DEBUTED, STARRING KATHARINE HEPBURN AND PETER O’TOOLE

1970s

• 1972: ELTON JOHN APPEARED IN A ROYAL COMMAND PERFORMANCE FOR THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND
• 1974: MOHAMMAD ALI KNOCKED OUT GEORGE FOREMAN IN 8 ROUNDS FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

2000s

• DIED 2000: STEVE ALLEN (COMEDIAN)
• 2003: SPECTACULAR NORTHERN LIGHTS DISPLAY WAS SEEN AS FAR SOUTH AS FLORIDA
• DIED 2007: ROBERT GOULET (SINGER & ACTOR)

2010s

• 2013: THE BOSTON RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES VS THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS. IT MARKED THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1918 THAT THE RED SOX WON A WORLD SERIES ON HOME TURF AT FENWAY PARK.
• DIED 2015: AL MOLINARO (ACTOR)
• 2019: THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS WON THE WORLD SERIES (AGAINST THE HOUSTON ASTROS) FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE CLUB’S HISTORY
• DIED 2019: BERNARD SLADE (TELEVISION WRITER AND PLAYWRIGHT)

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