December 29, 2007

80 years ago
1927

Aviation
French aviators Dieudonne Costes and Joseph Lebrix, in their Breguet biplane Nungesser-Coli, departed La Paz, Bolivia, for Lima, Peru. They had left paris on October 10 and had gone to Senegal, before crossing the South Atlantic Ocean, landing in Brazil, and visiting other South American cities.

60 years ago
1947

At the movies
The Paradine Case, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Gregory Peck, Alida Valli, Charles Laughton, Ann Todd, and Ethel Barrymore, opened at theatres in Los Angeles.

50 years ago
1957

Football
Before 55,263 fans at Briggs Stadium, the Detroit Lions routed the Cleveland Browns 59-14 to win their third National Football League championship in six years. Tobin Rote, who had split the quarterbacking duties with Bobby Layne before Layne broke his leg late in the season, completed 12 of 19 passes for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns, and rushed 7 times for 27 yards. Steve Junker caught 5 passes for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Lions.

The game was virtually over by halftime, with the Lions having built up a 31-7 lead. The Browns scored early in the third quarter, but Rote answered with a 78-yard scoring strike to Jim Doran to put the game away. Rookie (and league rushing champion) Jim Brown carried 20 times for 69 yards and ran 29 yards for the Browns' first score in the second quarter.

George Wilson was in his first year as head coach of the Lions, having taken over when Buddy Parker suddenly quit two days before the first pre-season game, complaining that the 1957 Lions were the worst team he'd ever seen in training. To get to the championship game, the Lions had to get past the San Francisco 49ers in a playoff for the Western Conference title. Y.A. Tittle passed the 49ers to a 27-7 halftime lead, but the Lions came back for a 31-27 win.

The 1957 championship remains the Lions' most recent title, and Messrs. Layne and Rote are now dead.

40 years ago
1967

Died on this date
Paul Whiteman, 77. U.S. bandleader, known as the "King of Jazz" (he starred in a 1930 movie by that title). His orchestra included such names as Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Bix Beiderbecke, Bing Crosby, and Ferde Grofe.

Hit parade
Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Hello Goodbye--The Beatles
2 Daydream Believer--The Monkees
3 Next Plane to London--The Rose Garden
4 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
5 Massachusetts--The Bee Gees
6 (Alone) In My Room--Willie and the Walkers
7 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band
8 Neon Rainbow--The Box Tops
9 Jezebel--The Witness Inc.
10 Different Drum--The Stone Poneys
Pick hit of the Week: Some Velvet Morning--Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood
New this week: Zabadak--Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
She Says--The 49th Parallel
My Baby Must be a Magician--The Marvelettes
Deep in the Night--The Candymen
Cherie--James Darren

30 years ago
1977

Diplomacy
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in Poland during his world tour, experienced an embarrassing incident when a State Department interpreter mistranslated his remarks into Polish so that Mr. Carter seemed to have "abandoned" (left) Washington, and spoke of the "lusts" (desires) of the Polish people.