From top left, clockwise, some not-so-famous No. 2s in history, as displayed on 1C.
1. Amerigo Vespucci
Who discovered America? That’s debatable. Christopher Columbus gets the holiday, even though he landed nowhere near the United States. At least “America” was probably named after Amerigo, another Italian explorer.
2. John Landy
A mere 46 days after Roger Bannister became the first runner to break the four- minute mile with a 3:59.4 in 1954, his rival John Landy (trailing Bannister in this photo) became the second with a world record of 3:58.0.
3. Larry Doby
The second African-American player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier, Doby had more career homers (253 to 197), RBIs (970 to 734) and only three fewer hits (1,518 to 1,515) than Jackie Robinson. In 1997, when baseball honored the late Robinson by retiring No. 42 from every club, Doby’s accomplishments were largely ignored.
4. Apollo 12
Anyone remember Pete Conrad? He commanded the second Apollo mission to put a man on the moon. Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong said: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Conrad said: “Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me.”
5. Aniston’s split
Jennifer Aniston’s breakup with Brad Pitt was huge tabloid news. Her split with Vince Vaughn, and a parade of other men since then? Not so much.
Mike Klis, The Denver Post
