title: Hawker Hurricane

text: The increasing number of British aircraft on the island, at last, prompted the Italians to employ German Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers to try to destroy the airfields. Finally, in an attempt to overcome the stiff resistance put up by these few aircraft, the Luftwaffe took up base on the Sicilian airfields, only to find that Malta was not an easy target. After numerous attacks on the island over the following months, and the arrival of an extra 23 Hurricanes at the end of April 1941, and a further delivery a month later, the Luftwaffe left Sicily for the Russian Front in June that year.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: As Malta was situated on the increasingly important sea supply route for the North African campaign, the Luftwaffe returned with a vengeance for a second assault on the island at the beginning of 1942. It was not until March, when the onslaught was at its height, that 15 Spitfires flew in off the carrier to bolster the defence, but many of the new aircraft were lost on the ground and the Hurricane bore the brunt of the early fighting until further reinforcements arrived.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: The Hawker Hurricane was the first Allied Lend-Lease aircraft to be delivered to the Soviet Union with a total of 2,952 Hurricanes eventually delivered, becoming the most numerous British aircraft in Soviet service. Many Soviet pilots were disappointed by the Hawker fighter, regarding it as inferior to both German and Soviet aircraft.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: During 1941, Mk II Hurricanes played an important air defence role when the Soviet Union found itself under threat from the approaching German Army, who were advancing across a broad front stretching from Leningrad and Moscow to the oil fields in the south. Britain's decision to aid the Soviets meant sending supplies by sea to the far northern ports, and as the convoys needed to sail within range of enemy air attack from the Luftwaffe based in neighbouring Finland, it was decided to deliver a number of Hurricane Mk IIBs, flying with Nos. 81 and 134 Squadrons of No. 151 Wing RAF, to provide protection. Twenty-four were transported on the carrier "Argus", arriving just off Murmansk on 28 August 1941, and another 15 crated aircraft on board merchant vessels. In addition to their convoy protection duties, the aircraft also acted as escorts to Soviet bombers.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: Enemy attention to the area declined in October, at which point the RAF pilots trained their Soviet counterparts to operate the Hurricanes themselves. By the end of the year, the RAF's direct role in the region had ended, but the aircraft themselves remained behind and became the first of thousands of Allied aircraft that were accepted by the Soviet Union. Although Soviet pilots were not universally enthusiastic about the Hurricane, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Lt. Col. Boris Safonov "loved the Hurricane", and RAF Hurricane Mk IIB fighters operating from Soviet soil in defence of Murmansk, destroyed 15 Luftwaffe aircraft for only one loss in combat. However, in some Soviet war memoirs, the Hurricane has been described in very unflattering terms.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: The "Soviet" IIB Hurricane as a multi-role fighter-bomber had quite a few drawbacks. First of all, it was slower than its main opponent, the Bf 109E interceptor, at low and medium height, and had a slower rate of climb. The Messerschmitt could outdive the Hurricane because of the thicker wing profile of the British fighter. But the main source of complaints was the Hurricane's armament. On occasion, the eight or 12 rifle-calibre machine guns did not damage the sturdy and heavily armoured German aircraft; consequently, Soviet ground crews started to remove the Brownings. Retaining only four or six of the 12 machine guns, two Berezin UBs or two or even four ShVAK cannons were substituted, but overall performance deteriorated as a result.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: The British archives file AIR 22/310 reports 218 mark IIA sent to the Soviet Union or handed over, 22 lost before arrival, 1,884 mark IIB sent or handed over, 278 lost before arrival, 1,182 mark IIC sent or handed over, 46 lost before arrival, 117 rejected, 60 IID sent or handed over, 14 rejected, 30 mark IV handed over, total 3,374 Hurricanes sent or handed over, 346 lost before delivery, 2,897 accepted by the Soviets, 131 rejected.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: Following the outbreak of the war with Japan, 51 Hurricane Mk IIBs en route to Iraq were diverted to Singapore; 10 were in crates, the others partially disassembled, these and the 24 pilots (many of whom were veterans of the Battle of Britain), who had been transferred to the theatre, formed the nucleus of five squadrons. They arrived on 13 January 1942, by which time the Allied fighter squadrons in Singapore, flying Brewster Buffalos, had been overwhelmed during the Malayan campaign. The fighters of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, especially the Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar, had been underestimated in its capability, numbers and the strategy of its commanders.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: Thanks to the efforts of the 151st Maintenance Unit, the 51 Hurricanes were assembled and ready for testing within 48 hours and of these, 21 were ready for operational service within three days. The Hurricanes were fitted with bulky 'Vokes' dust filters under the nose and were armed with 12, rather than eight, machine guns. The additional weight and drag made them slow to climb and unwieldy to manoeuvre at altitude, although they were more effective bomber killers.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: The recently arrived pilots were formed into 232 Squadron and 488 (NZ) Squadron, flying Buffaloes, converted to Hurricanes. On 18 January, the two squadrons formed the basis of 226 Group; 232 Squadron became operational on 22 January and suffered the first losses and victories for the Hurricane in Southeast Asia. Between 27 and 30 January, another 48 Hurricanes Mk IIB arrived with the aircraft carrier , from which they flew to airfields code-named P1 and P2, near Palembang, Sumatra in the Netherlands East Indies.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: Because of inadequate early warning systems (the first British radar stations became operational only towards the end of February), Japanese air raids were able to destroy 30 Hurricanes on the ground in Sumatra, most of them in one raid on 7 February. After Japanese landings in Singapore, on 10 February, the remnants of 232 and 488 Squadrons were withdrawn to Palembang. Japanese paratroopers began the invasion of Sumatra on 13 February. Hurricanes destroyed six Japanese transport ships on 14 February but lost seven aircraft in the process. On 18 February, the remaining Allied aircraft and aircrews moved to Java, with only 18 serviceable Hurricanes out of the original 99. That month, 12 Hurricane Mk IIB Trops were supplied to the Dutch forces on Java. With dust filters removed and fuel and ammo load in wings halved, these were able to stay in a turn with the Oscars they fought. After Java was invaded, some of the New Zealand pilots were evacuated by sea to Australia.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: When a Japanese carrier task force under the command of Admiral Chūichi Nagumo made a sortie into the Indian Ocean in April 1942, RAF Hurricanes based on Ceylon saw action against Nagumo's forces during attacks on Colombo on 5 April 1942 and on Trincomalee harbour on 9 April 1942.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: On 5 April 1942, Captain Mitsuo Fuchida of the Imperial Japanese Navy, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, led a strike against Colombo with 53 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and 38 Aichi D3A dive bombers, escorted by 36 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters. They were opposed by 35 Hurricane I and IIBs of 30 and 258 Squadrons, together with six Fairey Fulmars of 803 and 806 Naval Air Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. The Hurricanes mainly tried to shoot down the attacking bombers, but were engaged heavily by the escorting Zeros. A total of 21 Hurricanes were shot down (although two of these were repairable), together with four Fulmars and six Swordfish of 788 Naval Air Squadron that had been surprised in flight by the raid. The RAF claimed 18 Japanese aircraft destroyed, seven probably destroyed and nine damaged, with one aircraft claimed by a Fulmar and five by anti-aircraft fire. This compared with actual Japanese losses of one Zero and six D3As, with a further seven D3As, five B5Ns and three Zeros damaged.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: On 9 April 1942, the Japanese task force sent 91 B5Ns escorted by 41 Zeros against Trincomalee port and the nearby China Bay airfield. Sixteen Hurricanes opposed the raid, of which eight were lost with a further three damaged. They claimed eight Japanese aircraft destroyed with a further four probably destroyed and at least five damaged. Actual Japanese losses were three A6Ms and two B5Ns, with a further 10 B5Ns damaged.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: The battles over the Arakan in 1943 represented the last large-scale use of the Hurricane as a pure day fighter. But they were still used in the fighter-bomber role in Burma until the end of the war and they were occasionally caught up in air combat as well. For example, on 15 February 1944, Flg Off Jagadish Chandra Verma of No. 6 Squadron of the Royal Indian Air Force shot down a Japanese Ki-43 Oscar: it was the only RIAF victory of the war. The Hurricane remained in service as a fighter-bomber over the Balkans and at home as well where it was used mainly for second-line tasks and occasionally flown by ace pilots. For example, in mid-1944, ace Squadron Leader "Jas" Storrar flew No 1687 Hurricane to deliver priority mail to Allied armies in France during the Normandy invasion.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: The Sea Hurricane became operational in mid-1941 and scored its first kill while operating from on 31 July 1941. During the next three years, Fleet Air Arm Sea Hurricanes were to feature prominently while operating from Royal Navy aircraft carriers. The Sea Hurricane scored an impressive kill-to-loss ratio, primarily while defending Malta convoys, and operating from escort carriers in the Atlantic Ocean. For example, on 26 May 1944, Royal Navy Sea Hurricanes operating from the escort carrier HMS "Nairana" claimed the destruction of three Ju 290 reconnaissance aircraft during the defence of a convoy.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: During the Winter War, Finnish Air Force were in dire need of modern fighters and sourced them from several countries, including the United Kingdom. Finland bought 12 Hurricanes and the delivery commenced on 2 February 1940. The Hurricanes were flown from St Athan, Wales to Västerås, Sweden, via Scotland and Norway by Finnish pilots in two batches. The first batch arrived in Västerås on 29 February, with the last aircraft arriving on 10 March. During the second batch flight, two Hurricanes were lost, with one crashing in Norway and the other being damaged during landing in Scotland and left there. The Hurricanes were initially deployed to LLv 22. Later they were transferred to LLv 28 and finally moved to LLv 30. During the period of Interim Peace, two further Hurricanes were lost in accidents.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: At the start of the Continuation War on 25 June 1941, the Hurricanes were allocated to LLv 30. On 2 July 1941, a Hurricane were mistakenly shot down by friendly anti-aircraft at Vainikkala. The Finnish Hurricanes' first combat came on 3 July, when three Hurricanes encountered several Soviet fighters and shot down an I-153 ""Chaika"". In the next day, the Hurricane shot down a Tupolev SB bomber. Another encounters with Soviet fighter took place on 15 July above the Karelian Isthmus, with two I-153 claimed as being shot down. The last aircraft shot down by Finnish Hurricanes was an I-15 on 6 January 1942.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: Due to its lightweight, yet robust, construction and ease of maintenance, the Hurricane had a long operational life in many theatres of war. It was also built by, or exported to, several other countries. The Hurricane was unusual in that it was flown operationally by both the Allies and the Axis during the war. In some cases (e.g., Portugal and Ireland) the Hurricane was pressed into service after being forced to land in a neutral country.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: In 1939 Latvia ordered and paid for 30 Hurricane fighters, but due to the start of the Second World War later that year, the aircraft were never delivered.


title: Hawker Hurricane

text: Of more than 14,583 Hurricanes that were built, approximately sixteen (including three Sea Hurricanes) are in airworthy condition worldwide, although many other non-flying examples survive in various air museums.


title: Joe Root

text: Joseph Edward Root, (born 30 December 1990) is an English international cricketer, who plays for the England Test and One Day International (ODI) teams, and formerly captained the Test team. He also represents Yorkshire in English domestic cricket.


title: Joe Root

text: Root made his Test debut in 2012, his ODI debut in 2013, and played for the England Twenty20 International team between 2012 and 2019. He captained England's Test team between February 2017 and April 2022, and holds the records for most Test matches (64), wins (27) and losses (26) as England captain. On the occasion of England's 1,000th Test in 2018, Root was named in the country's greatest all-time Test XI by the England and Wales Cricket Board. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and was England's leading run-scorer at the tournament. He was named both the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year and the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for 2021. In June 2022, he became the second batsman for England, and fourteenth overall, to score 10,000 Test runs.


title: Joe Root

text: A right-handed batsman, Root originally played as an opener but has played the majority of his cricket for England in the middle order. He is England's second-highest run-scorer in Tests behind Alastair Cook, and England's second-highest run-scorer in ODIs behind Eoin Morgan. He holds the record for most ODI centuries for England with 16 and, along with James Anderson, holds the world record for highest tenth-wicket stand in Tests: 198 against India during their 2014 tour of England. Root also bowls occasional off spin.


title: Joe Root

text: Root is the eldest son of Helen and Matt Root and grew up in Dore, Sheffield. His younger brother Billy plays cricket for Glamorgan. Root attended Dore Primary and King Ecgbert School in Sheffield, and at 15, on a cricket sports scholarship, Worksop College as a weekly boarder.


title: Joe Root

text: Root followed in his father’s footsteps by joining Sheffield Collegiate CC, in Abbeydale Park. Former Yorkshire batsman and England captain Michael Vaughan also plied his trade at Collegiate and was a source of inspiration for Root, who became a protégé of his. Root won Player of the Tournament in the prestigious Bunbury Festival. Root is a supporter of the association football club Sheffield United.


title: Joe Root

text: Root became engaged to his girlfriend Caroline Cotterell in March 2016 and they married on 1 December 2018. Their son, Alfred William, was born on 7 January 2017, and daughter Isabella, was born on 8 July 2020.


title: Joe Root

text: Root made his Yorkshire second team debut on 18 July 2007 against Derbyshire at Abbeydale Park. He scored 57, putting on a 133 first-wicket stand with Adam Lyth. He continued to represent the academy side and was named player of the tournament as Yorkshire’s Academy won the ProARCH Trophy in Abu Dhabi. After success at second team level, Root was given an opportunity in the first team in Yorkshire’s final Pro40 match of the season at Headingley against Essex. Root scored 63 and was top-scorer in Yorkshire’s 187-7. Although his half-century could not inspire Yorkshire to victory, Root described his debut as a “dream come true”.


title: Joe Root

text: After another man of the series performance, this time on England Under-19 duty in Bangladesh, Root signed a three-year professional contract with Yorkshire. Root was selected for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, making an unbeaten 70 in a victory against Hong Kong as England progressed to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by the West Indies. Later that winter, he was sent to the Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy in Adelaide, South Australia, to fine tune his game.


title: Joe Root

text: In 2011, Root’s County Championship debut against Worcestershire at New Road in April was one of 15 matches he played that year on top of his England Lions cricket team debut against Sri Lanka A. At Scarborough in August, he scored his maiden Championship hundred against Sussex. Root captained Yorkshire in the match that they won the 2014 County Championship title and helped them retain it the following year.


title: Joe Root

text: In the fourth Test against India, Root became the 655th player to represent England at Test level, receiving his cap from former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood. Coming in as the number six batsman rather than his usual position as an opener, he scored 73 from 229 balls, top-scoring jointly with Kevin Pietersen. In the second innings he made 20 not out to help England bat out the match and secure a first Test series win on Indian soil since 1984-85.


title: Joe Root

text: Root made his T20 debut in the second of a two-match series that followed, although he was not requited to bat. He was also included in the ODI squad after Jonny Bairstow withdrew. Root was not required to bat on his ODI debut either, but did bowl nine overs, collecting figures of 0-51, as England won by nine runs. He made scores of 36 and 39 in the next two matches, before making his maiden ODI fifty in the fourth match of the series, although England lost by five wickets. Root finished the series with 163 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Following the successful tour of India, Root was retained in the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand and was added to the previously announced ODI and T20 squads. After being an unused batsman in the third T20, he started the ODI series with two half-centuries, contributing 56 in the first game before top-scoring with 79 off 56 balls in the second. In doing so, Root became the first batsman to start his ODI career with six consecutive scores of over 30 and finished the series with 163 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: In the Test series, Root continued to bat in the middle-order and in the third Test he made 45 of 176 balls before being bowled by Tim Southee. The series ended 0-0 and Root finished the series with 88 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: New Zealand travelled to England in the summer of 2013 and Root’s first involvement was to captain the England Lions against the Black Caps in a four-day warm-up match, where he scored 179 runs. After scoring 40 and 71 runs in the first Test at Lord’s, Root scored his maiden Test century at his home ground of Headingley, hitting 104 runs off 167 balls and became the first Yorkshire player to score their first Test century at Headingley. He finished the series as England’s top scorer with 243 runs and helped his side to a 2-0 series victory. In the ODI series that followed, Root made scores of 30, 28 and 33 as England lost the series 2-1.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was named in the England squad for the Champions Trophy. He featured against Sri Lanka and hit 68 runs off 55 balls in a seven-wicket loss. Root helped England to a 10-run win over New Zealand by making 38 runs off 40 balls, which secured them a place in the semi-finals. In the last four against South Africa, Root scored 48 off 71 balls as England eased to a seven-wicket win and advanced to the final. Following England’s loss to India, he was named as 12th man in the Team of the Tournament by the ICC.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was asked to opening the batting with captain Alastair Cook for the Ashes after the selectors decided to drop Nick Compton from the England side. In the first Test he made scores of 30 and 5, and took his first Test wicket when he had Ed Cowan caught in the second innings. In the second innings of the second Test, Root made 180 before England declared to set Australia a target of 583. In the final innings Root took the wickets of Usman Khawaja and Australia captain Michael Clarke in consecutive overs with both batsmen well set on 50-plus scorers. This saw Root named Man of the Match for his performance with bat and ball. England retained the Ashes after a drawn third Test and victory in the fourth saw the series won, though Root did not contribute significantly to either result. He top-scored for England in the final Test to finish the series with 339 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was selected to bat at number four for the first T20I, with Australia setting England 249 to win. Root came in with England 37-3 and scored a career-best 90 not out from 49 balls, but this was not enough to prevent a 39-run defeat. Root also played in the second game, which England won, to split the series. England lost the ODI series 2-1, with Root finishing the series with 36 runs from four matches.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was selected for the return Ashes in Australia. He was moved back to number six for the first Test with Michael Carberry given the opening batsman role alongside Alastair Cook. Root only managed two runs from seven balls in the first innings before being caught off a Mitchell Johnson delivery. In the second innings Root made 26 not out off 86 balls before running out of partners as England collapsed to defeat. The second Test saw Root move up to number three, filling the spot vacated by Jonathan Trott, who had returned home due to a stress related illness. He scored only 15 runs, which was the third highest number of runs scored by an England batsman in the first innings, in a collapse by England. However, Root’s second innings showed some fight as he top scored with 87 and was unfortunate not to make a century. England went on to lose and trailed 2-0. Root was out controversially for just four in the first innings of the third Test and made 19 in the second as England lost the match and as a result relinquished the Ashes. When England lost the fourth Test, Root was dropped for the final Test, with Yorkshire teammate Gary Ballance making his Test debut. England went on to lost the series 5-0 and Root finished the series with 192 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Root batted at three in the first ODI, however, he only made three runs before getting out LBW. He managed to take the wicket of David Warner as Australia cruised to a six-wicket victory. England kept faith despite Root’s waning form and he played in the second ODI, but only made two runs before Mitchell Johnson trapped him in front. Root did contribute with the ball by taking the wickets of Shaun Marsh and Michael Clarke. Root was dropped for third and fourth ODIs due to his poor run of scoring, but returned for the final match, adding 55 from 86 balls. Root finished the series part of a side that lost 4-1, making 60 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was named in the T20 side and in the first match made 32 off 24 before being caught by Aaron Finch. In the second T20 he made 18 runs in another loss, England finishing the series 3-0 losers. Root scored 61 runs in three matches.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was picked in the squad for the 2014 tour of West Indies. He was selected for the first ODI, he took the wicket of Kieran Powell before making 37 runs off 48 balls in England's failed attempt to chase the score. In the second ODI Root took 2 wickets before hitting 23 runs off 43 balls in the successful run chase. Root batted at number 4 in the third ODI where he made his maiden ODI century hitting 107 runs off 122 balls and also taking 1 wicket in England's 25 run win. He finished the series as a 2–1 winner and ended up with 167 runs (the highest run scorer of both teams) and 4 wickets. For this performance, Root received the Man of the Match for the third ODI and also received the Player of the Series award. Due to sustaining a broken thumb in the final ODI, Root was ruled out of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20.


title: Joe Root

text: During the first ODI against Sri Lanka as part of the Sri Lankan tour in 2014, Root made 45 runs and also took 1 catch in the 81 runs win. During the fourth ODI he made 43 off 68 balls in England's loss. England lost the series 3–2 and Root finished up with 98 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Following the ODI series, in the first Test Match at Lords, Root scored an unbeaten 200 off 298 balls with 16 fours and guided England to their highest Test score against Sri Lanka of 575-9d. He is the fourth youngest English batsman to score a double century. The series finished 1–0 to Sri Lanka and Root top scored for England with 259 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Root scored his 4th Test century for England in the first Test Match against India at Trent Bridge. His unbeaten 154 helped England recover from 298–9 to post 496 as he and James Anderson shared a world record 10th wicket stand of 198. Although England went into the second innings with a lead, they were unable to force a result. In the second Test of the series, Root made 66 in England's second innings but was unable to prevent a defeat. In the third match of the series, Root made a quick fire 66 in England's second innings to help them force a result and level the series at 1–1. He hit yet another half century in the fourth Test, as England won by an innings to take a 2–1 series lead. In the final Test at the Oval, Root scored his 5th Test century scoring an unbeaten 149 to help England post a first innings score of 486 all out in reply to India's 148 all out. Root won the Man of the Match award for his performance in that Test. This resulted in England winning the match by an innings and secured a 3–1 series win. He finished the Test series with 518 runs and 1 wicket. For his performances in 2014, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.


title: Joe Root

text: Root had an indifferent time in the ODI series, after the first match was abandoned he made scores of 4 and 2 in the second and third ODI's. However, he made 44 in the fourth game before hitting a match winning 113 in the final game of the series. The series finished 3–1 to India and Root top scored for England making 163 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Now an integral part of the English set-up, Root was selected in the 2014–15 tour to Sri Lanka to play in the 7 game ODI series. He put in a match of the match performance in the 5th ODI by making an unbeaten 104 and helping to guide England to a win that kept the series alive. In the sixth match of the series Root was again one of England's stand out performers, hitting 55. Despite this, England suffered another defeat meaning they trailed 4–2 in the series with just one game left to play. In the final game of the series, Root was again England's top scorer, this time hitting 80 although England went on to lose the match and the series 5–2.


title: Joe Root

text: In the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Root scored five against Australia. 46 (out of England's total of 123) versus New Zealand, a single against Scotland. He made 121 against Sri Lanka and in doing so became the youngest English player to score a century at a World Cup. However, England again suffered a heavy defeat, this time by nine wickets.


title: Joe Root

text: In the first Test Root continued his good run of form as he hit 83 in England's 399 first innings total. During the second innings Root scored his 6th consecutive half-century score in Tests by posting 59 before being bowled. He also bowled 13 overs and took the wickets of Darren Bravo and key man Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the last innings as the match was drawn. In the second Test Root scored his 6th Test century (also his 1st overseas) when he smashed 182* in 229 balls to help England reach a total of 464. This also took him past 2,000 Test runs. England wrapped the match up to win the Test and take a 1–0 lead in the series. For his performance Root was awarded the Man of the Match. He finished the series with 358 runs and 3 wickets.


title: Joe Root

text: In the first Test against New Zealand in 2015, Root continued his impressive form for England. He scored 98 in the first innings to help England recover from a precarious position to post 389. He again contributed in the second innings, scoring 84 to help put England in a strong position. He picked up a wicket in New Zealand's second innings as England won the match by 124 runs. In the second Test, Root was dismissed for one in the first innings and was then dismissed for a duck in the second as England lost the game, meaning the series was drawn at 1–1. He finished the Test series with 183 runs and 1 wicket.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was selected in a revamped ODI squad for the five-match series. In the first ODI, Root batted at 3 and scored his 5th ODI century hitting 104 off 78 balls to help England to a record 408/9 and a 210 run win. He performed more strongly in the third ODI, scoring 54, but England lost again, this time by 3 wickets. In the fourth ODI, he made his 6th ODI century by scoring 106* off 97 to help England chase a target of 350 to win the match and level the series. During this innings he passed 2,000 ODI career runs. In the fifth ODI he scored 4 in England's successful chase giving England a 3–2 series win. Root finished the series with 274 runs. In the only T20 match between the two sides he scored 68 as England went on to win by 56 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Before the 2015 Ashes series began, Root was made England vice-captain. In the first Test he made a record breaking century on the first day of the Ashes series. He scored 134 off 166 balls, helping England to a total of 430. In the second innings he hit 60 runs and took the wickets of Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc before making the winning catch, all of which earned him the man of the match award. England won the Test by 169 runs. In the second Test, He took the wickets of Steve Smith and Peter Nevill in the first innings. The third Test was positive for Root as he made 63 in the first innings to give England a lead before hitting 38* from 63 balls to chase England's target of 121 runs to win the Test. In the fourth Test, Root made three catches as Australia were all out for 60 in 18.3 overs, he then went on to make 130 (his eighth Test century) which made him the youngest ever English batsman to make three Ashes centuries and help England to a 3–1 Ashes win. After this Test, Root reached the number one position in the ICC Test batting rankings, overtaking AB de Villiers and Steve Smith. After helping England to win the series 3–2, Root was named Man of the Series. He finished the series as England's highest run scorer making 460 runs and taking 4 wickets.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was selected for the England squad on the tour to the UAE in 2015 to face Pakistan. This was the first time that Root faced this opposition.


title: Joe Root

text: In the first Test, Root came in at number 4 and managed to score 85 off 143 balls, to help England to a total of 598/9d. In the second innings England were set 99 to win, after a shuffle in the batting order Root came in at number 3 and finished 33* off 29 balls however bad light stopped play with England needing 25 to win and the match ended as a draw. This performance elevated him from No. 3 in the ICC Player Rankings to No. 2 rising above AB de Villiers. During the second Test, Root scored 88 off 141 balls however he threw away the opportunity to convert this into a century. Root also went on to score 71 off 171 balls in the second innings and this put him up to No. 1 on the ICC Player Rankings for a second time rising above Steve Smith. This also took Joe past 3,000 Test runs. During the third Test Root made scores of 4 and 6 in England's collapse and England succumbed to a 2–0 series loss. Root finished the series with 287 runs, England's second highest run scorer. He was also named in the Test XI of the year 2015 by Cricinfo.


title: Joe Root

text: Having been reinstated into the ODI squad, Root batted at number 3 in the first ODI however he was out for 0. In the second ODI he supported Alex Hales's century with 63 from 77 balls to help England to a 95 run win. The third ODI Joe provided 11 runs in England's successful chase, however in the fourth ODI Root scored another half century, this time hitting 71 runs from 71 balls in England's total of 355/5, as England went on to win the game by 84 runs. Root finished a 3–1 series winner and scored 145 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Joe was not selected for the first T20I as England fielded an experimental side. However he was included in the second T20I and came in to bat at number 4 behind James Vince. Root made 20 runs off 16 balls in the narrow 3 run win. For the third T20, Root was promoted to bat at number 3 with Alex Hales being rested and James Vince opening. Joe scored 32 runs off 22 balls to help England to a total of 154/8. Pakistan reached this total and took the match to a Super Over which England won. Root finished the series as a 3–0 winner and scored a total of 52 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was selected for the England squad on the 2015–16 tour to South Africa. This would be the first time Joe would face South Africa in a Test series. In the first warm up game, against an invitational XI, he scored 26 in the first innings and 37 in the second. In the second warm up game against the South African second team, he was much more prolific scoring 117 off 125 balls helping England to a total of 414-6d.


title: Joe Root

text: In the first Test of the series, Root made 24 off 37 balls in the first innings before being trapped lbw to Dane Piedt. During the second innings he scored a 73 off 128 balls to help England to a total of 326 and a 241 run win, taking a lead in the series. In the second Test, Joe scored 50 and 29 in a match where both teams posted 600+ runs in the first innings. Root scored his 9th Test century, scoring 110 from 139 balls, in the third Test to help England to surpass South Africa's total of 313. In the second innings (chasing 73) he hit the winning runs to ensure England won the series. This marks the first time since 2004–05 that a team has won a series in South Africa. In the fourth and final Test, Root scored 76 off 128 balls to help England to a score of 342 all out in reply to South Africa's 475. He finished the series as a 2–1 winner and was England's second highest scorer with 386 runs. For his performances in 2015, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC and Cricbuzz.


title: Joe Root

text: In the first ODI, Root scored 52 from 58 balls to help back up Jos Buttler's century on the way to England's total of 399 (their third highest ever One Day score). In the second ODI he only made 38 before being bowled. Root backed this up with his 7th ODI century scoring 125 in a losing effort in the third ODI. During the fourth ODI, Root scored 109, his second consecutive century, in another losing effort leaving the series drawn 2–2 coming into the fifth ODI. South Africa went on to win the series 3–2. Root finished as England's second highest scorer with 351 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: In the second T20 match, Root scored a quickfire 34 coming from just 18 balls in another losing effort to South Africa. England lost the T20 series 2–0.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was selected in the England squad for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. He featured in the first match against the West Indies and scored 48 from 36 balls in a losing effort. In the second match against South Africa he scored 83 off 44 balls in England's record breaking chase of 230. Root was named man of the match for this effort. In England's narrow victory against Afghanistan, Root made 12 runs before being run out. In the final group match against Sri Lanka he managed to make 25 and take a crucial catch in England's 10 run win, ensuring their place in the semi final. England faced New Zealand in the semi final and were set to chase 154, Root scored 27* from 22 balls to secure a place in the final. In the final against the West Indies, Root scored 54 from 37 balls in England's 155–9 and took the key wickets of Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles. However this wasn't enough to secure a win. Root finished the tournament as the 3rd highest scorer with 249 runs. Joe Root became only the 3rd player after Shahid Afridi and Marlon Samuels to score a fifty and to take at least a wicket in an ICC World T20 final. He was also named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by Cricinfo and Cricbuzz.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was selected in the England squad for the Sri Lankan tour of England. In the second Test, he scored 80 to help England to a first innings total of 498/9d and eventually secure a 9 wicket win and with it, a series win.


title: Joe Root

text: In the fourth match of the series, Root scored 65 as England chased down Sri Lanka's target of 306 to win the match by six wickets. He played a crucial innings in the final match of the series, anchoring England's innings with 93 as they set Sri Lanka 325 to win, and England won the game by 122 runs, to win the series 3–0.


title: Joe Root

text: In the second Test of the series against Pakistan, Root scored 254, the highest total of his Test career and the second-highest of any English player (third-highest overall) at Old Trafford. Root went on to receive the man of the match award for his performance as England levelled the series at 1–1. The third Test at Edgbaston was not as memorable, making just 3 in the first innings but then playing a resilient 62 in the second to help England to a total of 445/6 and eventually, a 141 run victory. The final Test was lost by 10 wickets and the series ended in a 2–2 draw. In the ODI series, Root made 61 in the first match as England recorded an opening victory. England won the second match, with Root scoring 89. In the third match, Root scored 85 as England broke the record for the highest ever ODI score, finishing on 444/3.


title: Joe Root

text: Root was rested for the ODI series against Bangladesh, but was included in the Test squad. In the first Test against Bangladesh, Root made 40 in the first innings and followed this up with just a single in England's second innings, although they won by 21 runs. In the second Test, Root made 56 in the first innings as England built a first innings lead, but was out for just one in the second innings as England lost the game to draw the series 1–1.


title: Joe Root

text: Root made 124 in England's first innings of the first Test against India as England made 537, though the match ended in a draw. For his performances in 2016, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.


title: Joe Root

text: Root made scores of 90 not-out and 101 in the second and third ODIs of the away series against West Indies in March 2017, with England winning the series 3–0.Twin tons round off


title: Joe Root

text: Root was named as part of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 Champions Trophy by the ICC, after he finished as the fourth highest run-scorer with England making the semi-final.


title: Joe Root

text: 29 September 2017, during the fifth match of the subsequent ODI series, Root became the third-fastest batsman, in terms of number of innings (91), to score 4,000 runs in ODIs.


title: Joe Root

text: In April 2019, he was named in England's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He had a good start to the tournament, scoring two centuries (against Pakistan and West Indies) and three fifties in England's first six matches. On 21 June 2019, in the match against Sri Lanka, Root played in his 250th international match for England.


title: Joe Root

text: He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2019 World Cup by the ICC. They stated that "England's run machine over the years, Joe Root was the glue that held their famed batting together through the tournament. The Yorkshire batsman finished as the fifth highest run-scorer of the tournament, with 556 runs from 11 innings. Root's flawless technique and ability to keep the scoreboard moving by rotating the strike and finding the boundaries when required makes him a perfect No.3 in this line-up".


title: Joe Root

text: On 29 June 2021, in the opening fixture against Sri Lanka, Root played in his 150th ODI match. In the same match, Root also scored his 6,000th run in ODI cricket, making him the fourth fastest player (in terms of innings) to reach 6000 runs.


title: Joe Root

text: Root replaced Alastair Cook as the full-time Test captain on 13 February 2017 following the latter's resignation, making him England's 80th captain. In his first match as the captain, on 6 July 2017, against South Africa at Lord's, Root scored his 12th Test century with an innings of 190. He was the 6th (and highest scoring) England player to score a Test century on captaincy debut. He also had an influence on county teammate Gary Ballance's recall to the England squad.


title: Joe Root

text: Root captained England for the first time in Tests in the home series against South Africa, having been appointed to the role earlier in the year. In the first Test, he scored 190, which was a new record score for the first match as England captain, as England won the match to setup a 3–1 series victory. A Test-series victory over West Indies followed, in the second Test of which Root equalled AB de Villiers' record of scoring a half-century in 12 consecutive Test matches.


title: Joe Root

text: Root captained the English team in 2017–18 Ashes series in an unsuccessful defence of the Ashes, losing the four of the five Tests. In Brisbane England batted first and scored 302 and 195, with Root's scores being 15 and 51. In the second Test at Adelaide Root's scored 9 and 67 out of totals of 227 and 233. In Perth, England scored 403 and 218, Root's scores 20 and 14, while Australia made 662/9 declared, winning the match and the series before tea on the final day. In the final match, he retired at 59 in the second innings after succumbing to gastroenteritis. He failed to convert any of his five half-centuries into centuries in the series. His next century did not come until 10 September 2018 against India at The Oval in the second innings, where Alastair Cook also scored a century on his final Test match.


title: Joe Root

text: England bounced back and beat India 4–1. Root failed to make a score in the first 4 Tests, but scored 125 in the last Test. This was his first century of 2018 after going without a century in the last 3 Test series (Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan). This was also Root's last game with former captain Alistair Cook. Root impressed in the preceding ODI series against India, scoring 217 runs, which included two back-to-back centuries.


title: Joe Root

text: Root became the first English captain to win a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2001, ending a run of 3 series in Sri Lanka without a win. He scored 124 in the 2nd Test to secure a series win; his first ever Test series away win as captain. This was also the first away Test series win England had won since 2016.


title: Joe Root

text: Root captained England in the 2019 Ashes Series, as England and Australia drew 2–2 with Australia retaining the Ashes. Root's batting position was widely discussed in the build-up to the series, with Root eventually moving up the order to bat at three. Root made a half century in the first Test as Australia won by 251 runs, while the second Test at Lord's was drawn, with Root making 14 and 0. Steve Smith, who made twin hundreds in the first Test and was a thorn in England's side throughout the previous Ashes series, missed the third Test with a concussion. England capitalised by levelling the series courtesy of an incredible one wicket win at Headingley, with Ben Stokes making 135* in a record fourth innings chase for England, Joe Root scoring 0 and 77.


title: Joe Root

text: Australia retained the Ashes with a 185 run victory at Old Trafford in the fourth Test, helped by a first innings double hundred from the returning Steve Smith, as Root made scores of 71 and 0. England restored some pride at the Oval with a 135 run victory to conclude the series, which was drawn 2–2. Root again made a half-century but failed to score a century in the series, leading to further criticism of Root's conversion rate. Root averaged just 32.50 throughout the series.


title: Joe Root

text: In December 2019, in the second Test match against New Zealand, Root scored his first double century as captain of England, and became the first visiting captain to score a double century in New Zealand in Test cricket.


title: Joe Root

text: Root captained England to a 3–1 series victory in South Africa, which he described as his 'proudest result' as captain. England got off to a slow start, losing the first Test at Centurion, but came back to win the series comfortably. In the third Test he took career best bowling figures of 4-87 as England won on a turning Port Elizabeth pitch. Root had a consistent series with the bat, making three half-centuries, but was criticised once more for not converting his fifties into hundreds.


title: Joe Root

text: In order to be present for the birth of his second child, Root missed the first Test of the three match series against West Indies. England lost the match; Root returned to captain the side to a 2–1 series victory, with his most significant innings being a score of 68 not out to set up a declaration in the final Test.


title: Joe Root

text: Root captained England to a second series win of the summer with a 1–0 win in the three Test series against Pakistan: England won the first Test followed by two rain-affected draws.


title: Joe Root

text: In November 2020, Root was nominated for the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade and the award for Test cricketer of the decade.


title: Joe Root

text: Root led England for the two match Test series against Sri Lanka, which was previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first Test, Root scored 228, his 18th Test century and his first for 13 months. For his efforts (which led to England winning by 7 wickets), he was named Man of the Match. Root's run of form continued into the second, where, by scoring 186, he became the first Englishman since David Gower to pass 150 in consecutive Tests. During the innings he also overtook Geoffrey Boycott, Kevin Pietersen and Gower to become the fourth-highest Test run-scorer for England. Root led England for the four match Test series against India in India. In the first innings of the first Test against India he became the first player to score double hundred in his 100th Test Match Appearance was named the man of the match. But failed to win the series after winning the first match as they lost the series 3-1 to India. In the third Test against India, he got his first five wicket haul with figures of 5/8 in India's first innings.


title: Joe Root

text: Later in the summer, Root continued his good form in Tests, with centuries in each of the first three games in the series against India seeing him return to the top of the ICC Test batting rankings. As a team England fared less well, trailing the series 2–1 when the final Test was postponed due to Covid-19.


title: Joe Root

text: Root's good form did not continue into the 2021–22 Ashes series; though he was the leading run-scorer for England, he only managed three fifties and a top score of 89, as England lost the series 4–0. The result saw the sacking of Chris Silverwood as head-coach of the England team, and calls for Root to step down as captain. However, he was retained for the away series against West Indies, scoring a second-innings century in the drawn First Test, taking his tally of 100s to 24, and clear second place on the list England Test centurions.


title: Joe Root

text: On 4 January 2022, at the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney, he captained England for the 60th time taking the record for the most Test matches as England captain. On 15 April 2022, having captained England 64 times, Root resigned as Test captain stating: "It has been the most challenging decision I have had to make in my career but having discussed this with my family and those closest to me; I know the timing is right".


title: Joe Root

text: In May 2022, Root was named in England Test squad's for the New Zealand cricket team in England in 2022In first Test match second inning he scored 115* runs which help England to chase down 277 runs, he named Man of the MatchIn Second Test match, he scored 176 runs in first inning, In Third Test match second inning he scored 86* runs help England to chase down 296 runs, He scored a total 396 runs in 6 innings, at a average 99,00 including Two centuries and one Half century, He named Player of the Series


title: Joe Root

text: During the rescheduled 5th test against India, Joe Root scored the winning runs with his unbeaten 142. He finished the series with over 700 runs over five tests.


title: Joe Root

text: In July 2022, Root was named in England ODI and Test squad's for the South African cricket team in England in 2022In Test series, He scored a total 46 runs in 4 innings, at a Poor average 11,50


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: August: Osage County is a 2013 American tragicomedy film directed by John Wells. It was written by Tracy Letts and based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning . It is produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, and Steve Traxler.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, and Misty Upham as a dysfunctional family that reunites into the familial house when their patriarch (Sam Shepard) suddenly disappears.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: "August: Osage County" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2013 and was released in the United States on December 27, 2013. A modest commercial success, the film received mixed reviews from critics. While much praise was given to the cast, the screenplay was praised by some and seen by others as too dark and lacking in humor. For their performances in the film, Streep and Roberts received Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: The title designates time and location: an unusually hot August in a rural area outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Beverly Weston, an alcoholic, once-noted poet, interviews and hires a young Cheyenne woman, Johnna, as a live-in cook and caregiver for his strong-willed and contentious wife Violet, who has oral cancer and an addiction to narcotics. Shortly after this, he disappears from the house, and Violet calls her sister and daughters for support. Her sister Mattie Fae arrives with her husband Charles Aiken. Violet's middle daughter Ivy is single and the only one living locally; Barbara, her oldest, who has inherited her mother's mean streak, arrives from Colorado with her husband Bill and 14-year-old daughter Jean. Barbara and Bill are separated, but they put up a united front for Violet.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: After five days, the sheriff arrives with the news that Beverly took his boat out on the lake and has drowned. Youngest daughter Karen arrives with the latest in a string of boyfriends, Steve Huberbrecht, a sleazy Florida businessman whom she introduces as her fiancé. Mattie Fae and Charles's shy, awkward son "Little Charles" misses the funeral because he overslept and is met at the bus station by his father. Charles loves his son, whereas Mattie Fae constantly belittles him. Ivy confides to Barbara that she is in love with her cousin, Little Charles, who plans to move to New York, and she cannot have children because she had a hysterectomy. She feels this is her only chance to finally marry.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: The family sits down to dinner after the funeral, fueled by Violet's brutal "truth-telling", which results in Barbara pouncing on her mother. She decides she has had enough of her mother's drug addiction, attacks her, knocks her to the ground, and confiscates all her several kinds of pills. Later, after Violet has had a chance to sober up, she has a tender moment with her daughters and shares a story that demonstrates how cruel her own mother was when she longed for a new pair of cowgirl boots when she was in her early teens. Instead of giving Violet the boots she wanted, her mother gave her a beautifully wrapped box on Christmas morning containing old, filthy men's work boots as a vicious prank.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: As Little Charles sings Ivy a song he has written for her, Mattie Fae walks in and berates him. This exhausts Charles's patience with his wife's lack of love and compassion for her own son, and he threatens to leave her if she keeps it up. Mattie Fae subsequently reveals to Barbara, who unintentionally listened in, that long ago she had an affair with Beverly, and Little Charles is in fact their younger half-brother as well as their cousin and that is the true reason why he and Ivy cannot be together.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: That evening, Steve and Jean are sharing a joint. Steve comes on to Jean, gets her stoned, asks her to show him her breasts, and starts to assault her. Johnna is woken by their conversation, sees this, and attacks him with a shovel. The commotion wakes up Barbara, Bill, and Karen who rush outside. Barbara confronts Jean and slaps her. This compels Bill to take Jean back to Colorado, leaving Barbara. Karen also leaves with Steve.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: Later, Ivy tries to tell her mother about her love for Little Charles. Barbara tries to deflect the admission. Violet tells Ivy that Charles is actually her brother, something Violet knew all along. Ivy leaves and promises to never come back. In the last confrontation between Violet and Barbara, Violet admits she was contacted by Beverly from his motel the week after he had left home but did nothing to help him until after she removed money from the couple's joint safe deposit box. By that time, he had already drowned. This revelation leads Barbara to depart, realizing that her mother is far beyond help. Violet is left with only Johnna. Violet begins dancing to loud music but quickly becomes too upset and goes off to find Johnna for comfort.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: Barbara is driving through the plains, stops, gets out of the car, cries, then gets back in the car and follows signage showing highways and number of miles to Wichita, Salina, and Denver.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: John Wells directed, while George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, and Steve Traxler produced the film. Renée Zellweger and Andrea Riseborough were considered for a role. Riseborough was cast but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. Juliette Lewis replaced her. Chloë Grace Moretz also auditioned for the role of Jean Fordham.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: Principal photography took place between October 16 and December 8, 2012, in Bartlesville and Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and Los Angeles.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: "August: Osage County" premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2013, before its release in select cities on December 27, 2013, followed by a wide release on January 10, 2014, in the United States. It was also released on January 1, 2014, in Australia. In its limited box-office debut, the film grossed $179,475 from five theaters, a $35,895 per-screen average.


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: "August: Osage County" received mixed reviews with the entire cast being praised for their performances, especially Streep and Roberts. Rotten Tomatoes sampled 203 and judged 67% of them to be positive, with an average score of 6.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads "The sheer amount of acting going on in "August: Osage County" threatens to overwhelm, but when the actors involved are as talented as Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, it's difficult to complain." There was also significant praise for the performances of Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale, Juliette Lewis, and Julianne Nicholson, with some critics stating that this film gives the finest ensemble acting seen in years. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average of 58 out of 100, based on 45 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: August: Osage County (film)

text: Gustavo Santaolalla composed the original music for "August: Osage County". The soundtrack was released on January 7, 2014, through Sony Classical.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion San Diego Chargers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1994 season. The 49ers defeated the Chargers by the score of 49–26, becoming the first team to win five Super Bowl championships. The game was played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This game is regarded as 49ers quarterback Steve Young's final leap out of the shadow of his predecessor, Joe Montana, who had won four Super Bowls with the 49ers (in 1981, 1984, 1988, and 1989), two with Young as the backup quarterback. With Young at the helm, and a defense consisting of several veteran free agents who joined the team during the previous offseason, San Francisco finished the regular season with a league-best 13–3 record, and led the league in total points scored (505). The Chargers, on the other hand, were regarded as a "Cinderella" team, and advanced to their first Super Bowl after posting an 11–5 regular-season record and overcoming halftime deficits in both of their playoff wins.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This was the first Super Bowl in which both teams scored in all four quarters. The combined aggregate score of 75 points and the ten total touchdowns both remain Super Bowl records. Still, the 49ers controlled most of the game, with Young completing touchdown passes in each of the 49ers' first two drives. The Chargers were able to cut the deficit late in the first quarter, 14–7, on a 13-play, 78-yard drive, but could not slow down San Francisco afterwards. Young was named the Super Bowl MVP, throwing a Super Bowl-record six touchdown passes, and completing 24 out of 36 passes for 325 yards.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Despite the predicted blowout (18 1⁄2 points is the second largest margin a team has been favored by in a Super Bowl), the fact that San Diego did not have as much national appeal nor a relatively large core fan base, and two teams from California playing, which could have significantly diminished interest along the East Coast, the telecast of the game on ABC still had a Nielsen rating of 41.3.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXIX to Miami, Florida during a meeting on May 23, 1991. This was the seventh time that Miami hosted the game.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The Chargers were the biggest surprise of the 1994 season, with very few expecting them to even reach the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: San Diego suffered losing seasons in the 1980s until former Washington Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard joined the team in 1990. Beathard decided to rebuild the Chargers using the same model that he used to build the Redskins into Super Bowl contenders during the 1980s – a powerful running game built around big linemen, a passing game that helped sustain extremely long drives, and a bending but steady defense. After former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Ross was hired by the Chargers in 1992, the team won the AFC West with an 11–5 regular season record and won an opening round playoff game against Kansas City. But in 1993, they slumped back to 8–8 and did not reach the postseason.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Before the start of the 1994 season, San Diego was not expected to do well because they had so many newcomers via the draft and free agency; the Chargers ended up with 22 new players on their roster, and 10 of them became starters. However, they ended up winning their first six regular season games en route to an 11–5 record, the AFC West championship, and the #2 AFC playoff seed. The Chargers went into the final game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers needing a win to get the #2 seed (a loss would have given that spot to the Miami Dolphins), which came with a first-round bye and a home game in the divisional round of the playoffs. Backup quarterback Gale Gilbert, subbing for injured starter Stan Humphries, led the Chargers to a come-from-behind 37–34 win, with John Carney kicking a game-winning field goal in the game's final seconds.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The Chargers' offense was led by quarterback Stan Humphries, who was the Redskins' backup to Mark Rypien during the 1991 season, when they won Super Bowl XXVI. During the 1994 season for San Diego, Humphries completed 264 out of 453 attempts for 3,209 yards and 17 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. Wide receiver Mark Seay was the team's leading receiver with 58 receptions for 645 yards and 6 touchdowns. Wide receiver Tony Martin had 50 catches for 885 yards and 7 touchdowns, wide receiver Shawn Jefferson recorded 43 catches for 627 yards and 3 touchdowns, and tight end Alfred Pupunu had 21 receptions for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Running back Natrone Means led the team in rushing with 1,350 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also recorded 39 receptions for 235 yards, and was named to the Pro Bowl. Third-down back Ronnie Harmon was also a big contributor, catching 58 passes for 615 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Chargers' special teams was also a major threat with Andre Coleman, who returned 49 kickoffs for 1,293 yards (26.4 average yards per return) and 2 touchdowns.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The Chargers had an excellent defensive line, anchored by Pro Bowl defensive end Leslie O'Neal, who led the team with 12.5 sacks and forced four fumbles, defensive tackle Chris Mims, who recorded 11 sacks, and Shawn Lee, who added 6.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Their linebacking corps was led by Junior Seau, who was a Pro Bowl selection for the fourth consecutive year, recording 123 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries. Defensive back Stanley Richard was a major weapon in the secondary, recording 4 interceptions, 224 return yards, and 2 touchdowns. Defensive back Darrien Gordon was also a major asset to the team, recording 4 interceptions and 32 return yards, while also adding another 475 yards and 2 touchdowns returning punts. Safety Rodney Harrison was a rookie on the team.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Chargers backup quarterback Gale Gilbert became the first player to be a member of five consecutive Super Bowl teams. He had been a third-string quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, who had won AFC Championships in the four previous seasons (1990–1993).


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: From the 1988 to the 1993 seasons, the 49ers played in five out of six NFC Championship Games, winning Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. But after head coach George Seifert's team lost two consecutive NFC Championship games to the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993, San Francisco brought in several veteran free agents to strengthen their defense. Among the players signed were defensive linemen Richard Dent (the MVP of Super Bowl XX), Charles Mann, Rhett Hall, and Rickey Jackson; linebackers Ken Norton Jr. and Gary Plummer; and cornerback Deion Sanders.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The free agents enabled the 49ers to jump from the 18th-ranked defense in the league to the 8th, and to jump from the league's 16th-best defense against the run to the 2nd. Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield led the team with 8.5 sacks. Rookie defensive tackle Bryant Young was also a big threat to opposing quarterbacks and rushers, recording 42 tackles, 6 sacks, and a fumble recovery. Behind them, Norton played very effectively at the middle linebacker position, leading the team with 77 tackles and recording an interception. Pro Bowl safety Merton Hanks led the team with 7 interceptions for 93 return yards, while Sanders had 6 interceptions for 303 return yards and 3 touchdowns, earning him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. His 303 return yards was the third-highest total in NFL history, while his touchdown returns of 74, 93, and 90 yards made him the first player ever to have two 90-yard interception returns in one season. Pro Bowl safety Tim McDonald was also a big contributor, recording 2 interceptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The 49ers' offense was led by quarterback Steve Young, who replaced future Hall of Famer Joe Montana as the starter in 1991 and 1992 due to injuries. After Young led the league in passing in both seasons, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving Young as the undisputed starter in 1993. But even with his impressive passing statistics, Young was criticized as "not being able to win the big games" as Montana had done in leading the 49ers to Super Bowl victories in XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV. It also didn't help that the team had lost to Montana's Chiefs 24–17 during the regular season.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Still, Young again led the league in passing during the 1994 regular season with a passer rating of 112.8, breaking Montana's record for the highest regular season rating in NFL history. Young recorded 324 out of 461 completions for 3,969 yards, 35 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. He also had 58 rushes for 293 yards and 7 touchdowns, and earned the NFL Most Valuable Player Award.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: With Young at the helm, the 49ers led the league in total points scored (505) and helped them earn a league best 13–3 regular season record. Pro Bowl running back Ricky Watters was the team's leading rusher with 877 yards and 6 touchdowns, while also recording 66 receptions for 719 yards and 5 touchdowns. Rookie fullback William Floyd was the team's second-leading rusher with 305 yards and 6 touchdowns, while also having 19 receptions for 145 yards. The team's leading receiver was Pro Bowl wide receiver Jerry Rice, who had 112 catches for 1,499 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also gaining 93 yards and two more touchdowns rushing the ball. Receiver John Taylor was also a reliable target, catching 41 passes for 531 yards and 5 touchdowns. Pro Bowl tight end Brent Jones added 49 receptions for 670 yards and 9 touchdowns. The offensive line was led by Pro Bowl center Bart Oates, another offseason free agent pickup, and Pro Bowl guard Jesse Sapolu.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Running back Dexter Carter had a standout season as a returner on special teams, gaining a combined total of 1,426 yards and a touchdown returning both punts and kickoffs.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Chargers managed to overcome a 21–6 halftime deficit to defeat the Miami Dolphins, 22–21. In the first half, San Diego was limited to only two John Carney field goals, while Miami quarterback Dan Marino threw for over 180 yards and 3 touchdowns. However, the Chargers dominated the Dolphins in the second half, limiting their offense to just 16 plays. In the third quarter, after the Chargers were stopped on fourth and goal at the 1-yard line, Chargers defensive lineman Reuben Davis tackled Dolphins running back Bernie Parmalee in the end zone for a safety. San Diego then took the ensuing free kick and marched 54 yards to score on Means's 24-yard touchdown run. Then with time running out, Humphries threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Seay, giving his team a one-point lead. The Dolphins, aided by a pass interference call, responded with a drive to the Chargers' 31-yard line, but kicker Pete Stoyanovich's potential game-winning 48-yard field goal attempt sailed far to the right of the goal posts and sealed San Diego's stirring win.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: San Diego then faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Once again, the Chargers fell behind early as the Steelers built up a 13–3 halftime lead, but Humphries fooled the Steelers secondary with a 43-yard play-action touchdown pass to a wide open tight end Alfred Pupunu. The Chargers then took a 17–13 lead when Martin beat the Steelers secondary (particularly a badly overmatched Tim McKyer) down the right sideline for a 43-yard touchdown reception. On their final drive, the Steelers advanced to the San Diego 3-yard line, but Chargers linebacker Dennis Gibson sealed the victory on fourth down by deflecting quarterback Neil O'Donnell's pass intended for running back Barry Foster to turn the ball back over to San Diego. Just like the 49ers in the NFC title game, the Chargers advanced to the Super Bowl despite the fact that their opponent had outgained them in many key statistical categories such as total plays (80–47), total offensive yards (415–226), and time of possession (37:13–22:47).


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The 49ers first defeated the Chicago Bears, 44–15, in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. Although Chicago scored first with a field goal, San Francisco scored 37 unanswered points to put the game out of reach by the end of the third quarter. Floyd scored three rushing touchdowns, while Young rushed for a touchdown and threw for another.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: San Francisco then defeated their nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys, 38–28, in the NFC Championship Game. Expected to be a close game, the 49ers converted 3 Dallas turnovers into 21 points in the first quarter. On the third play of the game, cornerback Eric Davis returned an interception from Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman for a touchdown. Wide receiver Michael Irvin lost a fumble on Dallas' next drive, setting up Young's 29-yard touchdown pass to Watters. Then Cowboys returner Kevin Williams lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and it was recovered by kicker Doug Brien at Dallas' 35-yard line. Several plays later, Floyd scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give San Francisco a 21–0 lead less than 8 minutes into the game. With the score 24–14 in the closing minutes of the first half, Aikman threw 3 straight incompletions, and a short punt by the Cowboys set up Young's 28-yard touchdown completion to Rice with 8 seconds remaining in the first half. The Cowboys eventually cut their deficit to 38–28 with a touchdown run by Emmitt Smith and Aikman's 10-yard touchdown pass to Irvin in the final period, but they were unable to score again. Although the Cowboys outgained the 49ers in total offensive yards (451–294), Aikman broke an NFC Championship Game record with 380 yards passing, and Irvin also broke an NFC Championship Game record with 192 receiving yards, Dallas was ultimately unable to overcome their first-quarter turnovers.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Entering Super Bowl XXIX, most sports writers and fans thought the Chargers had absolutely no chance of defeating the 49ers. San Francisco was on track, winning 12 of its last 13 games (with their only loss in that span coming against the Minnesota Vikings in a meaningless regular season finale at Minnesota), including their playoff victories. Many people also thought that the NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and the Cowboys was "the real Super Bowl", because those two teams were commonly viewed as vastly superior to any AFC team. Furthermore, San Francisco defeated San Diego, 38–15, during the regular season. As a result, the 49ers entered the game favored to win by 18 1⁄2 points, surpassed only by the 19 1⁄2 points by which the Baltimore Colts were favored over the New York Jets in Super Bowl III more than two decades prior.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Many also speculated that Super Bowl XXIX would be the least watched game in Super Bowl history because the Chargers did not have as large of a core fan base as other AFC teams like the Chiefs, the Dolphins, or the Steelers. (This prediction ultimately turned out to be false. Although Super Bowl XXIX was viewed by 125.2 million people and had a Nielsen rating of 41.3, Super Bowl XXVI three years earlier was seen by 119.7 million viewers and recorded a 40.3 rating.)


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This was the seventh Super Bowl to be played in Miami, at the time tying both New Orleans, Louisiana and the Greater Los Angeles area for hosting the Super Bowl the most times. It remains the only Super Bowl played between teams that play their home games in the same state (although Super Bowl XXV was played between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills, two teams representing areas of New York, the Giants play their home games in New Jersey).


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The game was broadcast in the United States by ABC, with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentators Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf. Lynn Swann (Chargers sideline) and Lesley Visser (49ers sideline) served as sideline reporters. During that Super Bowl, Visser became the first woman assigned to a Super Bowl sideline. Visser had previously become the first woman sportscaster to cover the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony, when she covered Super Bowl XXVI for CBS. Brent Musburger hosted all the Super Bowl XXIX pregame (2 hours), halftime, and postgame events with the help of then-ABC Sports analyst Dick Vermeil, Musburger's regular color commentator on ABC's college football telecasts, and then-New York Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason. This would be the final Super Bowl hosted by Musburger, as all subsequent Super Bowls on ABC were hosted by ESPN's Chris Berman following the Disney purchase of ABC (which included ESPN), and the subsequent integration of ESPN and ABC Sports (now ESPN on ABC). Also, the trophy presentation for this game was the last to be held in the winning team's locker room, as all subsequent Vince Lombardi Trophy presentations would be held on the field.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This was the last Super Bowl broadcast by the "Monday Night Football" broadcast team of Michaels, Gifford and Dierdorf. This was the broadcast team for "Monday Night Football" from 1987 to 1997. They also worked ABC's coverage of Super Bowls XXII and XXV. This would also be the last Super Bowl aired on ABC until the 1999 season (when Al Michaels called the game with Boomer Esiason).


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: On the Tuesday prior to the Super Bowl, the ABC sitcom "Full House" aired an episode called "Super Bowl Fun Day" involving two main characters actually at the game. ("Full House" was set in San Francisco, and this was the only time during the show's run that the 49ers advanced to a Super Bowl aired on ABC.) A week earlier, the "Seinfeld" episode "The Label Maker" involved Jerry trying to give away his tickets to the game. He eventually decided to go, but unfortunately was stuck sitting next to Newman. Two days after the Super Bowl, the game was the main plot feature of an episode of the ABC sitcom "Home Improvement", "Super Bowl Fever", in which Jill was sick with the flu while Tim and his buddies tried to watch the game.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Thirty-second television advertisements for Super Bowl XXIX averaged $1.15 million in costs, the first time that Super Bowl ads exceeded the $1 million mark.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This Super Bowl aired in over 150 countries worldwide. It was simulcast in Canada on CTV and TVA (in French), in Mexico on Televisa's Canal 5, in Germany on Tele 5, in Australia on the ABC, in the Philippines on the GMA Network and later aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Following the game ABC premiered the television drama "Extreme" starring James Brolin; this was the last series to premiere following the Super Bowl until "Family Guy" premiered following Super Bowl XXXIII and is one of only four in the last 14 years to premiere following a Super Bowl (joining "Family Guy", its spinoff "American Dad!", and "Undercover Boss" which premiered following Super Bowl XLIV), since the networks have preferred to have new episodes of established shows to catch as much of the post-game audience as possible.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This Super Bowl would later be featured on "NFL's Greatest Games" under the title "Exercise in Excellence." The Super Bowl highlight film on which the episode was based was the only Super Bowl highlight film to be narrated by Harry Kalas.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The pregame show held before the game featured country music singer Hank Williams Jr., who performed his theme song for "Monday Night Football", which was based on his single "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight".


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Actress and singer Kathie Lee Gifford (Frank Gifford's wife) later sang the national anthem. She was accompanied by then-Miss America Heather Whitestone who signed the anthem for the hearing impaired.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: To honor the NFL's 75th season, four former players all Hall of Fame members, who were named to the league's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team joined the coin toss ceremony: Otto Graham, Joe Greene, Ray Nitschke, and Gale Sayers.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: A special 75th anniversary logo was painted at midfield. Each player also wore a patch on his jersey with the same logo; the 75th anniversary patch was worn by all players league-wide during the 1994 season. During the regular season, teams also wore "throwback" jerseys for selected games. The 49ers wore their throwbacks (which paid tribute to the 1957 Niners) for most of the season, this game included.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The halftime show was titled "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye" and was produced by Disney to promote their Indiana Jones Adventure attraction at Disneyland that opened later that year. The show featured actors playing Indiana Jones and his girlfriend Marion Ravenwood who were raiding the Vince Lombardi Trophy from the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. The show also had performances by singers Tony Bennett and Patti LaBelle, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, and the Miami Sound Machine. The show ended with everybody singing "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", the song featured in Disney's (which later acquired ABC) 1994 film "The Lion King". The dancers on the field were members of the Coral Gables Senior High marching band.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This halftime show also had a connection with past ABC programming: the first two "Indiana Jones" films had their broadcast premieres on ABC, and the network aired a TV series, "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", from 1992 to 1993 (actually serving as the lead-in to "Monday Night Football" at one point).


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The game was broadcast on nationwide radio by CBS with play-by-play announcer Jack Buck and color commentator Hank Stram. Jim Hunter hosted all of the events. Locally, Super Bowl XXIX was broadcast by XTRA-AM in San Diego with Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton and Jim Laslavic and by KGO-AM in San Francisco with Joe Starkey and Wayne Walker.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: On the opening kickoff, a 15-yard face-mask penalty on Chargers linebacker Doug Miller gave San Francisco the ball at their own 41-yard line. Then on the third play of the drive, 49ers quarterback Steve Young threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice. The 49ers became the second team to take the opening kickoff and score a touchdown on that first drive (the first being the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII), and also set a new Super Bowl record for the fastest touchdown (later broken by the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester in Super Bowl XLI). After forcing the Chargers to punt, the 49ers advanced 79 yards in four plays, with Young rushing for 21 yards and then throwing a 51-yard touchdown pass to running back Ricky Watters to give San Francisco a 14–0 lead less than 5 minutes into the 1st quarter, and set a Super Bowl record for the fastest second touchdown scored by a team.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The Chargers responded on their ensuing possession, marching 78 yards in 13 plays and taking more than 7 minutes off the clock. Running back Natrone Means finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut San Diego's deficit to 14–7. However, the 49ers quickly countered after the ensuing kickoff, driving 70 yards in 10 plays. Rice started off the drive with a 19-yard reception and 10-yard run on a reverse play, while Young added a 12-yard completion to John Taylor and a 15-yard scramble.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Young eventually finished the drive with his third touchdown pass, this one from five yards out to fullback William Floyd five plays into the 2nd quarter.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Later in the quarter, Chargers punter Bryan Wagner's 40-yard punt from his own 9-yard line gave the 49ers the ball at the San Diego 49. San Francisco then marched on a 9-play drive to score on Young's fourth touchdown pass, an 8-yard toss to Watters with 4:44 left in the half, making the score 28–7. The Chargers then took the ensuing kickoff and drove 62 yards from their own 25-yard line to the San Francisco 13, featuring a 33-yard gain on a screen pass from Stan Humphries to Eric Bieniemy, San Diego's longest play of the game. But after three incomplete passes, one of which was a perfectly thrown Humphries pass that Mark Seay dropped in the end zone, they were forced to settle for kicker John Carney's 31-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 28–10.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: A 33-yard completion from Young to tight end Brent Jones helped the 49ers reach the San Diego 29-yard line on their next possession, but Young's third-down pass to Jones was overthrown, and rookie kicker Doug Brien missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. The Chargers then drove to their own 46-yard line, but 49ers defensive back Eric Davis intercepted Humphries' third-down pass in the end zone with 10 seconds left in the half, and the score remained 28–10 at halftime. The Chargers' 18-point halftime deficit ended up being the closest scoring margin they would reach for the rest of the game.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Leading 28–10 in the 3rd quarter, the 49ers added 14 more points. The Chargers were forced to punt after three plays on the opening drive of the second half, and Dexter Carter returned the ball 11 yards to his own 38-yard line. Young subsequently completed three consecutive passes for 53 yards on a 7-play, 62-yard drive that ended with Watters' third touchdown on a 9-yard run. After a 33-yard kickoff return by Andre Coleman, the Chargers advanced to the San Francisco 33-yard line, but they turned the ball over on downs when Humphries' fourth-down pass was broken up by Davis. After the turnover, Young led his team on a 10-play, 67-yard drive, aided by a 22-yard pass interference penalty against Darrien Gordon on third and 14, to score on his fifth touchdown pass, a 15-yard completion to Rice. The Chargers' only highlight of the 3rd quarter was when Coleman returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Then, wide receiver Mark Seay caught a pass for a successful two-point conversion (the first in Super Bowl history; the rule had been adopted by the NFL at the start of the season), but it only cut the deficit to 42–18.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The 49ers were forced to punt on their next drive, but San Diego ended up turning the ball over on downs when Means was tackled for a 4-yard loss on a fourth down and 1 from their own 37-yard line.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Six plays later, Young threw his record-setting sixth touchdown pass to Rice with 13:49 remaining in the game to make the score 49–18. The Chargers responded with a 13-play, 59-yard drive to get to the San Francisco 7-yard line, but 49ers defensive back Deion Sanders intercepted backup quarterback Gale Gilbert's fourth-down pass in the end zone. After two San Francisco punts and another interception (defensive back Toi Cook picked off a pass from Humphries on the 49ers 28), the Chargers scored the final points of the game with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Humphries to wide receiver Tony Martin and another two-point conversion to make the score 49–26. San Francisco recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran time off the clock before punting to the San Diego 7. San Diego drove to the San Francisco 35 before time ran out, and the game ended in a 49ers victory.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: At the end of the game, Young showed his jubilation at finally being able to win "the big one" while accepting the MVP trophy. "There were times when this was hard! But this is the greatest feeling in the world! No one — "no one!" — can ever take this away from us! No one, "ever!" It's ours!" Young and his teammates were equally enthusiastic in the locker room afterwards. "We're part of history," said guard Jesse Sapolu. "This is probably the best offense people will see in their lifetimes." "Is this great or what?" Young added. "I mean, I haven't thrown six touchdown passes in a game in my life. Then I throw six in the Super Bowl! Unbelievable."


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Rice caught 10 passes for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns, tying his own record for most touchdown receptions in a Super Bowl, and becoming the first player ever to do it twice. He also recorded 10 rushing yards. Watters rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 3 passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Means, who rushed for 1,350 yards in the regular season, was held to just 33 yards in the game. Humphries finished 24 out of 49 for 275 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions. Seay was the Chargers' top receiver with 7 receptions for 75 yards, while Ronnie Harmon added 8 catches for 68 yards. Defensive end Raylee Johnson had two sacks. Coleman's 8 kickoff returns for 244 yards and a touchdown set the following Super Bowl records: most kickoff returns in a Super Bowl, most kickoff return yards in a Super Bowl, and most combined net yards gained in a Super Bowl.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: This was the first Super Bowl to have two players each score three touchdowns. Rice matched his Super Bowl XXIV performance with his three touchdown catches. Watters also had three touchdowns, matching Roger Craig's three touchdowns (two receiving and one rushing) in Super Bowl XIX. Watters also became the second running back to catch two touchdown passes in a game, matching Craig.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Ken Norton Jr. became the first player to win three straight Super Bowls, although as a member of two teams. Norton was a member of the Cowboys teams who won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII. Deion Sanders became the first player to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series, playing in the 1992 World Series with the Atlanta Braves.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Chargers quarterback Gale Gilbert became the first player to be a member of five straight Super Bowl teams. Gilbert was a member of the Bills who played in four straight Super Bowls (XXV–XXVIII). Gilbert was on the losing team in all five Super Bowl games.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The 49ers' spectacular performance led to their offensive coordinator, Mike Shanahan, and defensive coordinator, Ray Rhodes, earning head coaching positions in 1995 for the Denver Broncos and the Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. Bobby Ross became the second coach, after Jimmy Johnson in Super Bowl XXVII, to lead a team to a college football national championship (Georgia Tech in 1990) and a Super Bowl. One year later, Barry Switzer would join Johnson as the only head coaches to win championships in both NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) college football and the NFL.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Sources: NFL.com Super Bowl XXIX, Super Bowl XXIX Play Finder SF, Super Bowl XXIX Play Finder SD, USA Today Super Bowl XXIX Play by Play


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: The following records were set in Super Bowl XXIX, according to the official NFL.com boxscore and the Pro-Football-Reference.com game summary. Some records have to meet NFL minimum number of attempts to be recognized. The minimums are shown (in parenthesis).


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: Jerry Markbreit became the first official to serve as referee in four Super Bowls, a record that still stands.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: It is also the most recent Super Bowl title to date for the 49ers.They would make appearances in Super Bowls XLVII and LIV,but would lose both times.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: As for the Chargers, the implications of their defeat were worse in hindsight. This remains the only Super Bowl the Chargers have ever played in. Including the era before the AFL–NFL merger, it is the third championship game that the Chargers have lost. The AFL Championship in 1963 remains to this day as the only major sports championship the city of San Diego has won (and also the longest championship drought for any city that has at least two major sports franchises), so even though they were heavy underdogs, the loss still had great significance. The Chargers did not win another playoff game until the 2007 season, when they reached the AFC Championship Game but lost to the then-undefeated New England Patriots, 21–12. Super Bowl XXIX would be their only appearance while playing in San Diego before they moved to Los Angeles following the 2016 season.


title: Super Bowl XXIX

text: In addition, eight players from the 1994 Chargers Super Bowl team have died prior to reaching age 45. They include:


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Rurik dynasty (; , ; , ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was a noble lineage founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who established himself in Novgorod around the year AD 862. The Rurikids were the ruling dynasty of Kievan Rus' (after the conquest of Kiev by Oleg of Novgorod in 882) before it finally disintegrated in the mid-13th century, as well as the successor Rus' principalities and Rus' prince republics of Novgorod, Pskov, Vladimir-Suzdal, Ryazan, Smolensk, Galicia-Volhynia (after 1199), Chernigov, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow (from 1263).


title: Rurik dynasty

text: Following the disintegration of Kievan Rus', the most powerful state to eventually arise was the Grand Duchy of Moscow, initially a part of Vladimir-Suzdal, which, along with the Novgorod Republic, established the basis of the modern Russian nation. Ivan III threw off the control of the Golden Horde and consolidated the whole of central and northern Rus', ruling it as "Prince of All Rus. Ivan IV assumed the title "Tsar of All Rus and transformed the state into the Tsardom of Russia. The Rurik line ruled until 1598, following which they were succeeded by the House of Romanov, after the Time of Troubles.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Romanovichi branch of the dynasty ruled southwestern Rus' and part of central Rus'. These territories were unified by Roman the Great and his son Daniel Romanovich, who was in 1253 crowned by Pope Innocent IV as king of Galicia–Volhynia. After the line's extinction, the principality was annexed by Poland and Lithuania, and the title of its prince eventually passed to the ruler of Austro-Hungary. According to Ukrainian historiography continuous Rurikid sovereignty from the ninth century to the fourteenth represents part of Ukraine's historical process. In Ukrainian historiography of the 19th century, Ukrainian historiographer Mykhailo Hrushevsky, who wrote a book under a similar name, referred to Rus' civilization as Ukraine-Rus'. According to his studies Rus' is not considered to have ended in 1240, but merely to have shifted its centre slightly westward.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: As a ruling dynasty, the Rurik dynasty held its own in some parts of Rus' for a total of twenty-one generations in male-line succession, from Rurik (died 879) to Feodor I of Russia (died 1598), a period of more than 700 years. They are one of Europe's oldest royal houses, with numerous existing cadet branches.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Rurikid dynasty was founded in 862 by Rurik, a Varangian prince. The scholarly consensus is that the Rus' people originated in what is currently coastal eastern Sweden around the eighth century and that their name has the same origin as Roslagen in Sweden (with the older name being "Roden").


title: Rurik dynasty

text: According to the prevalent theory, the name "Rus", like the Proto-Finnic name for Sweden ("*Ruotsi"), is derived from an Old Norse term for "the men who row" ("rods-") as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and that it could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of Roslagen ("Rus-law") or "Roden", as it was known in earlier times.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The name "Rus" would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden: "Ruotsi" and "Rootsi".


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Primary Chronicle gives the following account of how the Rurik dynasty began, dating it to the Byzantine years of the world 6368–6370 (AD 860–862):


title: Rurik dynasty

text: There is some ambiguity even in the Primary Chronicle about the specifics of the story, "hence their paradoxical statement 'the people of Novgorod are of Varangian stock, for formerly they were Slovenes. However, archaeological evidence such as "Frankish swords, a sword chape and a tortoiseshell brooch" in the area suggest that there was, in fact, a Scandinavian population during the tenth century at the latest.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: Rurik and his brothers founded a state that later historians called "Kievan Rus′". By the middle of the twelfth century, Kievan Rus′ had dissolved into independent principalities, each ruled by a different branch of the Rurik dynasty. The dynasty followed agnatic seniority and the "izgoi" principle. The Rurik dynasty underwent a major schism after the death of Yaroslav the Wise in 1054, dividing into three branches on the basis of descent from three successive ruling Grand Princes: Iziaslav (1024–1078), Sviatoslav (1027–1076), and Vsevolod (1030–1093). In addition, a line of Polotsk princes assimilated themselves with the princes of Lithuania. In the 10th century the Council of Liubech made some amendments to a succession rule and divided Ruthenia into several autonomous principalities that had equal rights to obtain the Kievan throne.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: Vsevolod's line eventually became better known as the Monomakhovichi and was the predominant one. The line of Sviatoslav later became known as Olegovychi and often laid claim to the lands of Chernihiv and Severia. The Izyaslavychi who ruled Turov and Volhynia were eventually replaced by a Monomakhovychi branch.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: This caused the Rurik dynasty to effectively dissolve into several sub-dynasties ruling smaller states in the 10th and 11th centuries. These were the "Olgoviches" of Severia who ruled in Chernigov, "Yuryeviches" who controlled Vladimir-Suzdal, and "Romanoviches" in Galicia-Volhynia.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Olgoviches descended from Oleg I of Chernigov, a son of Sviatoslav II of Kiev and grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. They continued to rule until the early 14th century when they were torn apart by the emerging Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Moscow. The line continued through Oleg's son Vsevolod II of Kiev, grandson Sviatoslav III of Kiev, great-grandson Vsevolod IV of Kiev and great-great-grandson Michael of Chernigov, from whose sons the extant lines of the Olegoviches are descended, including the Massalsky, Gorchakov, Baryatinsky, Volkonsky and Obolensky, including Repnin.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: Vsevolod I of Kiev was the father of Vladimir II Monomakh, giving rise to the name Monomakh for his progeny. Two of Vladimir II's sons were Mstislav I of Kiev and Yuri Dolgorukiy.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Romanoviches (Izyaslavichi of Volhynia) were the line of Roman the Great, descended from Mstislav I of Kiev through his son Iziaslav II of Kiev and his grandson Mstislav II of Kiev, father of Roman the Great. The older Monomakhovychi line that ruled the Principality of Volhynia were eventually crowned kings of Galicia and Volhynia and ruled until 1323. The Romanovychi displaced the older line of Izyaslavychi from Turov and Volhynia as well as Rostyslavychi from Galicia. The last were two brothers of Romanovychi, Andrew and Lev II, who ruled jointly and were slain trying to repel Mongol incursions. The Polish king, Władysław I the Elbow-high, in his letter to the Pope wrote with regret: "The two last Ruthenian kings, that had been firm shields for Poland from the Tatars, left this world and after their death Poland is directly under Tatar threat." Losing their leadership role, the Rurikids, however, continued to play a vital role in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the later Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Most notably, the Ostrogski family held the title of Grand Hetman of Lithuania and strove to preserve the Ruthenian language and Eastern Orthodoxy in this part of Europe. It is thought that the Drutsk and related princely families may also descend from Roman the Great.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Rostislaviches were the line of Rostislav I of Kiev, another son of Mstislav I of Kiev, who was Prince of Smolensk and a progenitor of the lines descending from the princes of Smolensk and Yaroslavl.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Shakhovskoys were founded by Konstantin "Shakh" Glebovich, Prince of Yaroslavl, and traces its lineage to Rostislav I of Kiev through his son Davyd Rostislavich. This branch also descends cognatically of Ivan I of Moscow, through the latter's daughter Evdokia Ivanovna Moskovskaya (1314–1342), who married , Prince of Yaroslavl (died 1345). They were the great-grandparents of Andrey and Yuriy, the first Shakhovskoy princes. This is possibly the most senior extant branch of the Rurikids, with many Shakhovskoys living outside of Russia after having fled during the Russian Revolution.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The Yuryeviches were founded by Yuriy Dolgorukiy, the founder of Moscow and spread vastly in the north-east. Yuri's son Vsevolod the Big Nest was Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, a precursor state to the Grand Principality of Moscow and thus of the Russian Empire. Vsevolod's son Konstantin of Rostov was Prince of Rostov and the progenitor of various Rostov princely lines. Another son, Ivan Vsevolodich, was Prince of Starodub and progenitor of a number of extant lines, most notably the Gagarin line.