Antedating of Safire and OED on "Slam Dunk"

[Fred Shapiro]

In tomorrow's "On Language" column in the N.Y. Times, William Safire cites
the OED's 1976 first use for the term "slam dunk."  Here's earlier from
Newspaperarchive:

1971 _Kennebec Journal_ 14 Jan. 12  West's 20-foot jumper, only his second
field goal of the game, and Alcindor's slam dunk over Baltimore's West
Unself gave the West a 102-101 lead with 3 1 2 minutes to go.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
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