February 14, 2008

150 years ago
1858

Born on this date
Arthur Irwin. Canadian-born U.S. baseball player and manager. A native of Toronto, Mr. Irwin played shortsop and third base with six major league teams (1880-1894), and managed five major league teams (1889-1899). He batted .241 with 5 home runs and 396 runs batted in in 1,010 games, and was known for pioneering the use of gloves for infielders. Mr. Irwin managed the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Eastern League pennant in 1897, and managed various minor league teams from 1900-1921, with little success. In 1921 he signed to manage the Hartford Senators of the Eastern League, which turned out to be his final assignment. Mr. Irwin jumped to his death from a ship in the Atlantic Ocean between New York and Boston on July 16, 1921 at the age of 63; it was soon revealed that he had a wife and family in both cities, and he had recently been told that he would die unless he underwent serious surgery for stomach cancer. Two months before his death, Mr. Irwin succeeded in persuading young Lou Gehrig to play for the Senators under an assumed name, and Mr. Gehrig almost lost his eligibility to play at Columbia University as a result. Mr. Irwin was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

75 years ago
1933

Died on this date
Ernie Schaaf, 24. U.S. boxer. Mr. Schaaf was a heavyweight contender who died four days after being knocked out in the 13th round by Primo Carnera at Madison Square Garden, New York. Mr. Schaaf's death was largely attributed to damage received in a loss to Max Baer on August 31, 1932; Mr. Baer knocked Mr. Schaaf out cold with a punch that he landed with two seconds left in the fight, and Mr. Schaaf was saved by the bell from being officially knocked out. However, some reports indicate that in the months between the fights, Mr. Schaaf had suffered from a bad case of influenza, resulting in meningitis.

60 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, 71. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Brown's nickname derived from a childhood farm accident. In 14 years in the major leagues from 1903-1916, mostly with the Chicago Cubs, Mr. Brown won 239 games and lost 129. His career earned run average of 2.06 is the third best in history. Mr. Brown posted six straight seasons of 20 or more wins from 1906-1911; in 1906 he went 26-6, and led the league with a 1.04 ERA. Mr. Brown was a key member of the Cubs teams that won the National League pennant in 1906, and the World Series in 1907 and 1908, and went 17-8 for the Chicago Whales when they won the Federal League pennant in 1915. Three Finger Brown was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Story of My Life--Michael Holliday

On television tonight
Harbor Command, starring Wendell Corey
Tonight's episode: The Big Hoax

World events
The Arab Federation, a confederation of Iraq and Jordan, was formed when King Faisal II of Iraq and his cousin, King Hussein of Jordan, sought to unite their two Hashemite kingdoms, as a response to the formation of the United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria) on February 1.

Politics and government
Onésime Gagnon was installed as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec; he served until his death on September 30, 1961.

30 years ago
1978

On the radio
In Calgary, the CBS Radio Mystery Theater version of The Speckled Band, starring Kevin McCarthy as Sherlock Holmes and Court Benson as Dr. Watson, was broadcast on CFCN. It originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1977.

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Crossing Over



Defense
The United States government announced that it would sell $4.8 billion worth of jet warplanes to Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. The decision, which would require Congressional approval, included selling Saudi Arabia 60 F-15 jets for $2.5 billion and Israel 15 F-15s for $400 million and 75 F-16 fighter-bombes for $1.5 billion. Egypt would get 50 F-5 fighters for $400 million.

Politics and government
Republican Party candidate S. William Green defeated Democratic Party candidate and former Congresswoman Bella Abzug in a special election to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat formerly occupied by Democrat Ed Koch, currently Mayor of New York. Former New York city councilman Carter Burden had originally won the Democratic nomination, but Ms. Abzug had won an appeal to the New York State Supreme Court, quashing the nomination of Mr. Burden.

25 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Lloyd "Sonny" Dove, 37. U.S. basketball player. He was a star with St. John's University from 1964-67, then played for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA from 1967-69, and the New York Nets of the ABA from 1969-72. Mr. Dove was killed in a car accident.

20 years ago
1988

Movies
The Garbo/Dietrich film festival at the University of Western Ontario concluded with screenings of two silent films: Gosta Berling's Saga, a Swedish Greta Garbo feature from 1924, and Die Frau, a German film starring Marlene Dietrich, from 1929. The print of Die Frau, with German titles, was from the collection of American film historian William K. Everson, who hosted the festival. According to Professor Everson, this was one of just two prints of the film known to exist. When Die Frau was released in the United States, it was under the title of Three Loves.

Olympics
Canada defeated Poland 1-0 in men's hockey at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary.