March 9, 2008

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Myril Hoag. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Hoag was an outfielder with the New York Yankees (1931-1932, 1934-1938); St. Louis Browns (1939-1941); Chicago White Sox (1941-1942, 1944); and Cleveland Indians (1944-1945), batting .271 with 28 home runs and 401 runs batted in in 1,020 games, and played 11 seasons in the minor leagues (1926-1930, 1933, 1946-1951). He helped the Yankees win World Series in 1932, 1937, and 1938, batting .320 with 1 homer and 3 RBIs in 8 World Series games. Mr. Hoag died of emphysema on July 28, 1971 at the age of 63.

70 years ago
1938

Politics and government
In a last attempt to prevent his country from losing its independence to Nazi Germany, Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg scheduled a referendum for March 13. Mr. Schuschnigg set the minimum voting age at 24 in order to exclude younger voters, who were generally sympathetic to Nazi ideology.

60 years ago
1948

On the radio
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis, on MBS

Scandal
National Hockey League President Clarence Campbell suspended New York Rangers' forward Billy Taylor for life, and Boston Bruins' forward Don Gallinger indefinitely, for betting on games involving their own teams; six months later, Mr. Gallinger's suspension was extended to life. The two had been teammates with the Bruins that season until the trade of Mr. Taylor to the Rangers on February 6. Mr. Campbell lifted the suspensions on August 28, 1970. Mr. Taylor died in 1990; Mr. Gallinger died ten years later.

50 years ago
1958

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Right Kind of House, starring Robert Emhardt and Jeanette Nolan

Basketball
NBA
George Yardley of the Detroit Pistons scored 26 points in a loss to the Syracuse Nationals and became the first National Basketball Association player to score 2,000 points in a season, finishing with 2,001.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Nights in White Satin--The Moody Blues (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Canzone--Don Backy (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)--John Fred and his Playboy Band (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Words--The Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)
2 The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann
3 Mien Waar Is M'n Feestneus?--Toon
4 It's the End--The Buffoons
5 Pictures of Matchstick Men--The Status Quo
6 Nights in White Satin--The Moody Blues
7 The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde--Georgie Fame
8 De Kat Van Ome Willem--Wim Sonneveld with Hetty Blok, Leen Jongewaard, De Jonkies, and the Orchestra of Harry Bannink
9 Green Tambourine--The Lemon Pipers
10 Bend Me, Shape Me--The American Breed

Singles entering the chart were Prikkebeen by Boudewijn De Groot en Elly Nieman (#28); L'amour est Bleu by Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra (#31); Delilah, with versions by Tom Jones, and Gert Timmerman presenteert: Fred Jasper (#33); Golden Earrings by Frans Krassenburg (#34); No Money for Roses by the Shoes (#36); Corriamo, with versions by Isabella Iannetti, and Patricia (#37); and The Holy City by John Woodhouse and his Magic Accordion met Strijkorkest (#38).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra (5th week at #1)
2 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
3 (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls--Dionne Warwick
4 (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay--Otis Redding
5 I Wish it Would Rain--The Temptations
6 Spooky--The Classics IV
7 Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition was In)--The First Edition
8 Walk Away Renee--Four Tops
9 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
10 I Thank You--Sam & Dave

Singles entering the chart were Valleri (#36)/Tapioca Tundra (#81) by the Monkees; Jennifer Juniper by Donovan (#64); Rice is Nice by the Lemon Pipers (#71); Back on My Feet Again by the Foundations (#75); Take Time to Know Her by Percy Sledge (#80); Jennifer Eccles by the Hollies (#83); If This World were Mine by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#88); It's Time to Say Goodbye by the Third Rail (#90); Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues (#94); The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus (#95); Sweet Inspiration by the Sweet Inspirations (#96); Till by the Tokens (#97); Springfield Plane by Kenny O'Dell (#98); and A Fool of Fools by Tony Bennett (#100). If This World were Mine was the B-side of If I Could Build My Whole World Around You, which had peaked at #18 on January 13, 1968.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Words--The Bee Gees
2 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
3 I Can Take or Leave Your Loving--Herman's Hermits
4 (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls--Dionne Warwick
5 Walk Away Renee--Four Tops
6 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
7 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra
8 Spooky--The Classics IV
9 We're a Winner--The Impressions
10 I Wish it Would Rain--The Temptations

Singles entering the chart were Valleri by the Monkees (#63); Everlasting Love by the Love Affair (#68); (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone by Aretha Franklin (#72); Cry Like a Baby by the Box Tops (#74); Scarborough Fair (Canticle) by Simon and Garfunkel (#76); The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp by O.C. Smith (#78); Sound Asleep by the Turtles (#81); In the Midnight Hour by the Mirettes (#83); Jennifer Juniper by Donovan (#84); Green Light by the American Breed (#85); Back on My Feet Again by the Foundations (#86); Dottie I Like It by Tommy Roe (#87); Security by Etta James (#89); Soul Serenade by Willie Mitchell (#91); Dr. Jon by Jon & Robin and the In Crowd (#92); Hey, Hey Bunny by John Fred and his Playboy Band (#94); Cotton Candy Sandman (Sandman's Coming) by Harpers Bizarre (#96); That's a Lie by Ray Charles (#97); Something I'll Remember by Sandy Posey (#98); Rice is Nice by the Lemon Pipers (#99); and Jennifer Eccles by the Hollies (#100).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay--Otis Redding
2 (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls--Dionne Warwick
3 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
4 The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde--Georgie Fame
5 Words--The Bee Gees
6 Walk Away Renee--Four Tops
7 Tell Mama--Etta James
8 Everything that Touches You--The Association
9 Skip a Rope--Henson Cargill
10 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs

Singles entering the chart were The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp by O.C. Smith (#24); Little Green Apples by Roger Miller (#25); Hey, Hey Bunny by John Fred and his Playboy Band (#26); A Question of Temperature by Balloon Farm (#28); Cry Like a Baby by the Box Tops (#29); and La-La - Means I Love You by the Delfonics (#30).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition was In)--The First Edition
2 Itchycoo Park--Small Faces
3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Hugo Montenegro, his Orchestra and Chorus
4 Love is Blue (L'Amour est Bleu)--Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra
5 Too Much Talk--Paul Revere and the Raiders
6 My, What a Shame--Dino, Desi and Billy
7 The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)--Manfred Mann
8 Words--The Bee Gees
9 Simon Says--1910 Fruitgum Company
10 Bottle of Wine--The Fireballs
Pick hit of the week: Summertime Blues--Blue Cheer

Defense
U.S. Air Force Captain Dale E. Noyd was sentenced to a year at hard labor and dismissed from the Air Force, a day after being convicted in Clovis, New Mexico of disobeying an order to train pilots for duty in Vietnam. Mr. Noyd, 34, a 12-year veteran, said that he wasn't a pacifist, but that he conscientously opposed the was in Vietnam. He had attempted to resign his commission, but the Air Force had refused to accept his resignation.

Protest
Two days of student rioting at the University of Warsaw, apparently inspired by the liberalizing trend in Czechoslovakia, concluded. The students clashed with police and shouted, "Down with censorship!" and "Long live Czechoslovakia!" Presumably, they shouted in Polish.

Disasters
19 people were killed when a DC-6 crashed at Saint-Denis, Reunion Island.

A storm in northern Congo killed 10 people.

9 people were killed and 44 injured when an express train hit a bus in Hyderabad, India.

Five people were killed in a fire in an apartment house in Meriden, Connecticut.

30 years ago
1978

On television tonight
James at 16, starring Lance Kerwin, on NBC
Tonight's episode: An Hour Before Midnight

World events
U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced that Somalia had agreed to withdraw its troops from Ethiopia's Ogaden region, following a swift Ethiopian advance through Ogaden that had included the recapture of the town of Jijiga, the most vital point that the Somalis had been able to take in earlier fighting. In agreeing to withdraw its troops, the Somali government requested the withdrawal of all foreign powers from the Horn of Africa, an apparent reference to Soviet and Cuban forces aiding the Ethiopians.

Transportation
Indonesian President Suharto inaugurated Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor and Ciawi, West Java.

25 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Faye Emerson, 65. U.S. actress. Miss Emerson appeared in a number of movies in the 1940s, including The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) and Nobody Lives Forever (1946).
She went on to greater success in television, hosting her own show (The Faye Emerson Show, 1950) and appearing as a panelist on the game shows Masquerade Party and I've Got a Secret. During this period, Miss Emerson was known as "the best-dressed woman on TV." Miss Emerson acted in a number of stage productions during the 1950s, including Back to Methuselah on Broadway in 1958, where she was paired with Tyrone Power. From the 1960s on, she spent most of her time living and travelling in Europe.

World events
The Soviet press agency TASS, reacting against U.S. President Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech of the night before, rebuked Mr. Reagan for his "bellicose, lunatic anticommunism." The Soviet position was the same as that of pseudo-Christian Ron Sider. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, in releasing a new edition of a Pentagon booklet titled Soviet Military Power, said that the United States was closing the military gap with the Soviet Union.

20 years ago
1988

War
The Soviet foreign ministry acknowledged that it had supplied short-range missiles to Iraq in that country's war against Iran.

World events
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and other Politburo members reportedly agreed to form a commission to consider uniting the Armenian Republic of the U.S.S.R. with a region of the Azerbaijan Republic of the U.S.S.R. that contained an Armenian majority.

10 years ago
1998

War
More than 80 people were reported dead in Kosovo as Serbian police renewed their counter-insurgency action. The United States and allies decided to impose modest diplomatic and economic sanctions on Yugoslavia for "unacceptable" use of force.