May 14, 2008

175 years ago
1833

Died on this date
Johann Wilhelm Cornelius von Konigslow, 88. Composer. I don’t know who he was, but I do know this...

Law
In England, the Whig government introduced the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery, formally saluting William Wilberforce in the process. Mr. Wilberforce, by then on his deathbed, had been leading the political battle in Britain against slavery for several decades.

150 years ago
1858

Born on this date
Bill Tierney. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Tierney played one game at first base with the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the American Association in 1882, and one game with the Baltimore Monumentals of the Union Association in 1884. He had 1 hit in 8 at bats in the 2 games, a .125 average. Mr. Tierney died in 1898 at the age of 40.

130 years ago
1878

Baseball
A crowd of 1‚500 attended the first National League game in Milwaukee and saw the Cream Citys end the Cincinnati Reds' 6-game winning streak with an 8-5 decision.

110 years ago
1898

Baseball
Manager Bill Joyce hit two home runs off Gus Weyhing to lead the New York Giants to a 6-2 win over the Washington Senators.

100 years ago
1908

Died on this date
John O'Connell, 35. U.S. baseball player. An infielder, Mr. O’Connell played 8 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 1891 and 8 games with the Detroit Tigers in 1902, with a career batting average of .176. He died two days before his 36th birthday.

Aviation
At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur Wright took one of his mechanics, Charles Furnas, on the world’s first airplane passenger flight. The flight lasted four minutes.

90 years ago
1918

Law
Sunday baseball was made legal in Washington‚ D.C. District commissioners rescinded the ban in view of the large increase in the city's wartime population and the need for recreation and amusement facilities.

80 years ago
1928

Law
The Court of Errors and Appeals of New Jersey reversed the convictions of Roger N. Baldwin, a director of the American Civil Liberties Union, and four others in connection with an alleged unlawful assembly during the silk strike in Paterson in 1924.

Crime
The U.S. Court at New York City fined 24 theatre ticket gougers $5,000 each. They had pled guilty in 1927.

Politics and government
In Washington, former Illinois Governor Frank O. Lowden told the U.S. Senate Campaign Fund Committee that his 1928 presidential primary fight costs would not exceed $60,000.

Religion
At St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston, a Universalist clergyman, Rev. Clarence E. Rice, was ordained to the Episcopal ministry by Bishop Charles L. Slattery of the Massachusetts diocese.

Oddities
The court at Eastland, Texas ordered the release of a horned toad from the cornerstone of the new Court House, in which it was sealed on May 12. The toad hopped out okay. It’s not known by this blogger if this was the same horned toad that had been found alive on February 18, 31 years after it had been sealed alive in the cornerstone.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs, behind the pitching of Charlie Root, beat the New York Giants 8-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Fred Fitzsimmons took the loss. Outside the park after the game‚ Giants’ manager John McGraw was knocked down by a taxicab and suffered a broken leg that kept him out of the dugout for six weeks. Roger Bresnahan took over for him.

75 years ago
1933

Baseball
With rain pelting down at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn‚ Hack Wilson pounded a 9th-inning pinch grand slam‚ the first in Dodgers' history‚ to beat the Philadelphia Phillies’ Ad Liska 8-6. The home run was inside-the-park‚ just the third pinch inside-the-park grand slam homer in history‚ and the first since 1910.

70 years ago
1938

Died on this date
Jacobus C J "Jacques" Hermans, 81. Actor. He appeared in a production called Ghetto; other than that, I know nothing about him.

Soccer
England defeated Germany 6-3. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler was presumably unhappy with the result.

Baseball
After a 7-6 10-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals‚ the Cincinnati Reds filed a protest regarding a disputed hit by the Reds’ Dusty Cooke. Mr. Cooke hit a ball that bounced off the part of the right field pavilion at Sportsman's Park that jutted out over the playing field. The ball bounced back in play, and Mr. Cooke reached third base. Reds’ manager Bill McKechnie contended that it should have been a home run‚ stating that if it had been hit lower it would have missed the pavilion and been a homer. On June 3‚ National League President Ford Frick ruled that the game should be replayed as part of an August 20 doubleheader. The Reds went on to win the first game 4-2‚ then lost the nightcap 5-4.

60 years ago
1948

Radio
Israeli Radio Station Kol Yisrael made its first broadcasts.

Television
WBEN (now WIVB) TV channel 4 in Buffalo, New York (CBS) began broadcasting. This was one of the stations that was available to Canadian viewers, if they had an antenna (not to mention a television set).

World events
Israel declared her independence from British administration. The United States granted immediate recognition.

War
Jordan's Arab League captured Atarot, north of Jerusalem.

Defense
The United States performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Eniwetok.

Baseball
Andy Pafko of the Chicago Cubs hit a home run in the 8th inning to break up a pitching duel between the Cubs’ Russ Meyer and Kent Peterson of the Cincinnati Reds. Chicago won 1-0.

50 years ago
1958

Died on this date
Billy Clingman, 68. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Clingman was an infielder with 6 major league teams in 10 seasons from 1890 to 1903. In 816 career games he batted .246 with 8 home runs and 301 runs batted in. His best season was 1898, when he played in all 154 of the Louisville Colonels’ games, batting .257.

Boxing
Sonny Liston (18-1) knocked out Julio Mederos (21-19-3) in 2 rounds in their heavyweight bout at Chicago Stadium.

Baseball
The Washington Senators sold outfielder Whitey Herzog to the Kansas City Athletics and bought pitcher Al Cicotte from the New York Yankees. Mr. Herzog had played 8 games with the Senators in 1958, with 0 hits in 5 at bats.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Delilah--Tom Jones (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Husband Kimmel, 86. U.S. military officer. Rear Admiral Kimmel was commander of the Pacific Fleet at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. For an interesting debate on Adm. Kimmel’s role in the attack, see Pearl Harbor Responsibilities by Thomas H. Kimmel, Jr. and Frederic L. Borch III in Military History Quarterly, 14:2, Winter 2002.

World events
The Czechoslovakian government, under Communist Party First Secretary Alexander Dubcek, announced the beginning of liberalizing reforms which became known as the "Prague Spring."

Protest
Student protesters in Paris occupied the Sorbonne. An epidemic of wildcat strikes was starting to sweep France, halting nearly all of the country's industrial production, commerce, and transportation.

Business
The Beatles announced the formation of Apple Corporation.

Boxing
Zora Folley (76-9-6) and Al Jones (23-1-1) fought a 10-round draw in a heavyweight bout at Miami Beach Convention Center.

Baseball
With the score tied 4-4 and none out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Ken Harrelson hit into a force play at home plate, but catcher Paul Casanova made a throwing error, allowing Carl Yastrzemski to score, giving the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 win over the Washington Senators before 19,439 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Washington left fielder Frank Howard batted 3 for 4 with a home run, 2 runs, and 3 runs batted in.

Willie Horton hit 2 home runs and Ray Oyler added another, while Earl Wilson pitched a 4-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Dave McNally as the Detroit Tigers shut out the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 before 18,123 fans at Tiger Stadium.

The Chicago White Sox scored 5 runs in the first 2 innings and held on to defeat the California Angels 7-6 before 8,708 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Chicago starting pitcher Gary Peters tripled in 2 runs in the 2nd. Marty Pattin, the sixth California pitcher of the game, allowed 1 hit and had 1 strikeout in pitching a scoreless 8th inning in his first major league game.

The Oakland Athletics overcame a 5-0 1st-inning deficit to defeat the Minnesota Twins 13-8 before 13,357 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Catfish Hunter, in his first game since pitching a perfect game against the Twins in Oakland five days earlier, surrendered a home run to Rod Carew to lead off the game; walked Cesar Tovar; and then allowed a home run by Tony Oliva. Mr. Hunter allowed 8 hits and 8 earned runs in 6 innings, but was still the winning pitcher.

Don Drysdale pitched a 2-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Ferguson Jenkins as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Chicago Cubs 1-0 before 14,671 fans at Dodger Stadium. The run scored in the 6th inning when Wes Parker singled with 1 out, advanced to third base on a single by Willie Davis, and scored when Ron Fairly grounded into a force play. Mr. Jenkins, who allowed 5 hits in 7 innings, had one of the Chicago hits. It was the fifth game in a row in which the Dodgers scored but one run‚ tying a major league record held by four other teams. They broke that streak the next night when they scored 3 in a loss to the Cubs.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Wuthering Heights--Kate Bush (2nd week at #1)

World events
The Chinese Communist Party warned that war with the Soviet Union was inevitable.

Golf
Lee Trevino won the Colonial National Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas with a score of 268. First prize money was $40,000.

Nancy Lopez won the Greater Baltimore Classic with a score of 212; it was her second victory of the year. First prize money was $9,750.

Hockey
WHA
Avco World Trophy
Finals
New England 2 @ Winnipeg 5 (Winnipeg led best-of-seven series 2-0)

IIHF Men's World Championship
Final
U.S.S.R. 3 C.S.S.R. 1

Basketball
NBA
Western Conference
Finals
Seattle 114 @ Denver 123 (Seattle led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Baseball
Bob Sykes‚ in his second start for the Detroit Tigers‚ tossed his second straight shutout‚ beating the Oakland A's 15-0 on 4 hits. Pete Broberg retired just 5 batters in taking the loss.

Dave Kingman drove in 8 runs with a single and 3 home runs‚ including a 15th-inning 3-run shot to give the Chicago Cubs a 10-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was the second time he had enjoyed a 3-homer‚ 8-RBI day at Dodger Stadium.

25 years ago
1983

Died on this date
Miguel Aleman Valdes, 82. President of Mexico, 1946-1952. Before becoming President, Mr. Aleman was a Senator from the state of Veracruz (1934-1936), Governor of Veracruz (1936-1939), and Minister of the Interior (1940-1945). His presidential administration pursued improvements in transportation and industrial development, and made Baja California a state, but was characterized by corruption and crony capitalism. As well, Mr. Aleman made the horrible mistake of allowing women to vote in municipal elections.

Protest
About 1,000 people were arrested in Santiago for demonstrating against the Chilean government of Gen. Augusto Pinochet; many were soon released.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Edmonton 1 @ New York Islanders 5 (Mew York led best-of-seven series 3-0)

Baseball
Ben Oglivie slugged 3 home runs as the Milwaukee Brewers came from behind to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-7 in 10 innings. Mr. Oglivie’s third homer tied the score at 6-6 in the bottom of the 9th.

Luis Leal and Roy Lee Jackson of the Toronto Blue Jays combined to one-hit the Cleveland Indians 8-1‚ allowing only an 8th-inning single to Chris Bando. Starter Leal pitched 5 innings‚ and was replaced by Jackson after a 1:42 rain delay.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): I'm Not Scared--Eighth Wonder

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Gimme Hope Jo'anna--Eddy Grant (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Yé ké yé ké--Mory Kanté

#1 single in France (SNEP): N'importe quoi--Florent Pagny (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Perfect--Fairground Attraction (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Perfect--Fairground Attraction

This was the last week in which New Musical Express published its own chart.

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Perfect--Fairground Attraction

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Anything for You--Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Anything for You--Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
2 Wishing Well--Terence Trent D'Arby
3 Angel--Aerosmith
4 Where Do Broken Hearts Go--Whitney Houston
5 Pink Cadillac--Natalie Cole
6 One More Try--George Michael
7 Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys
8 Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)--Samantha Fox
9 Shattered Dreams--Johnny Hates Jazz
10 Electric Blue--Icehouse

Singles entering the chart were New Sensation by INXS (#71); I Should Be So Lucky by Kylie Minogue (#73); Paradise by Sade (#77); Blue Monday 1988 by New Order (#80); Broken Land by the Adventures (#83); Route 66/Behind the Wheel by Depeche Mode (#85); Love Changes (Everything) by Climie Fisher (#86); Just Got Paid by Johnny Kemp (#87); Forgive Me for Dreaming by Elisa Fiorillo (#88); Rooty Toot Toot by John Cougar Mellencamp (#89); Wild, Wild West by Kool Moe Dee; and My Love by Julio Iglesias featuring Stevie Wonder (#91).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Wishing Well--Terence Trent D'Arby (2nd week at #1)
2 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car--Billy Ocean
3 Devil Inside--INXS
4 Always on My Mind--Pet Shop Boys
5 I'm Still Searching--Glass Tiger
6 Where Do Broken Hearts Go--Whitney Houston
7 Push It--Salt-N-Pepa
8 I Saw Him Standing There--Tiffany
9 Never Gonna Give You Up--Rick Astley
10 Electric Blue--Icehouse

Singles entering the chart included Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson (#76); Rooty Toot Toot by John Couger Mellencamp (#87); and Magic Carpet Ride by Bardeux (#96).

Died on this date
Willem Drees, 101. Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 1948-1958. Mr. Drees was leader of the Dutch Labour Party. His government presided over decolonization and the introduction of the modern welfare state.

Diplomacy
The Soviet commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Boris Gromov, said that one-fourth of the Soviet force would be pulled out of the country by the end of May in order to create "an atmosphere of trust" at the summit between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, scheduled to begin May 29 in Moscow.

Politics and government
French President Francois Mitterand dissolved the National Assembly and scheduled parliamentary elections for June.

Crime
A pickup truck and a bus returning from a church outing crashed head-on near Carrollton, Kentucky, causing the deaths of 27 of the 67 people on the bus. Most of the dead were teenagers; all the deaths were attributed to smoke inhalation. The truck had been travelling north in a southbound lane of Interstate 71; the truck’s driver, Larry Mahoney, was found to be legally drunk at the time of the crash. Two days later, he was charged with 27 counts of murder.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference
Finals
New Jersey 2 @ Boston 6 (Boston won best-of-seven series 4-3)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
Detroit 101 @ Chicago 79 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Denver 107 @ Dallas 105 (Denver led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals’ infielder Jose Oquendo became the first non-pitcher in 20 years to get a major league decision in the Cardinals' 7-5 19-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves. St. Louis had used 7 pitchers when Mr. Oquendo came in to pitch the 16th inning. He shut out the Braves for 3 innings before surrendering the game-winning runs.

10 years ago
1998

On television tonight
The last episode of Seinfeld was broadcast on NBC. Commercials sold for $2 million each for the hour-long special.

Died on this date
Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 108. U.S. author and environmentalist. Her book The Everglades: River of Grass (1947) was very influential in promoting the Florida Everglades as an ecosystem worthy of protection.

Bill Sodd, 83. U.S. baseball player. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Mr. Sodd played in the minor leagues from 1935-1941, hitting 107 home runs, and driving in 524 runs. His best season was with Zanesville in the Mid-Atlantic League in 1936, when he hit .333, with 30 home runs and 120 runs batted in. Mr. Sodd made one appearance in the major leagues: he struck out as a pinch hitter with the Cleveland Indians on September 27, 1937. Mr. Sodd served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He later worked for Consolidated Aircraft and was also the owner of a chain of six supermarkets in Fort Worth, retiring in 1977.

Frank Sinatra, 82. U.S. singer and actor. "Ol’ Blue Eyes" was one of the major figures in entertainment in the 20th Century. He first made his mark as a singer with the big bands of Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, and then became a heartthrob to the girls known as "bobby-soxers" during World War II. Mr. Sinatra’s achievements are too numerous to mention here, so the reader is invited to look them up for himself. My favourite songs of his include If You Are But a Dream (1945) and Softly as I Leave You (1964). In addition to his Academy Award-winning performance in From Here to Eternity (1953), his best movies included Suddenly (1954) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). One song of Mr. Sinatra’s that’s seldom heard today is a novelty item called Mama Will Bark, a duet with an actress named Dagmar from 1952. This one has to be heard to be believed.

Politics and government
Camille Thériault took office as Premier of New Brunswick, succeeding retiring Premier Frank McKenna as leader of the province's Liberal government.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Western Conference
Semi-Finals
Detroit 5 @ St. Louis 2 (Detroit led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Baseball
Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher Mike Mussina's nose was broken when he was hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of Cleveland's Sandy Alomar in a 5-4 Indian win at Oriole Park. Mussina had just recently returned from the disabled list, where he had been placed because of a wart on his right index finger.

The Colorado Rockies pounded out 21 hits‚ including 5 by third baseman Vinny Castilla‚ but still loses to the Chicago Cubs 9-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

Rusty Greer hit a 2-run home run in the 13th inning‚ and had 6 runs batted in‚ to lead the Texas Rangers to a 7-5 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. For New York‚ it ended a major league record streak of 25 straight wins in which they'd homered.

The St. Louis Cardinals ended the Atlanta Braves’ streak of at least one home run in each of 25 straight games.