July 23, 2008

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Raymond Chandler. U.S. author. Mr. Chandler was one of the major figures in the genre of "hard-boiled" detective fiction. He created the private investigator Philip Marlowe, who was the main character in novels such as The Big Sleep (1939); Farewell, My Lovely (1940); and The Long Goodbye (1953), all of which were made into movies. Mr. Chandler also wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for Double Indemnity (1944); The Blue Dahlia (1946); and Strangers on a Train (1951), the first two of which earned him Academy Award nominations. He drank himself to death on March 26, 1959 at the age of 70.

110 years ago
1898

Politics and government
Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto was named as Governor General of Canada, to succeed the Earl of Aberdeen. The Earl of Minto took office on November 12.

100 years ago
1908

Politics and government
The Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire began, shortly after the Young Turk Revolution which forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the constitutional monarchy by the revival of the Ottoman Parliament, the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire, and the restoration of the constitution of 1876.

Olympics
Bobby Kerr of Canada won the gold medal in the men's 220-yard sprint at the Summer Olympic Games in London.

80 years ago
1928

Crime
Stanley Durmaj, 21, and three cronies were all sentenced in Chicago to life in prison for killing movie theatre usherette Pearl Eggleston, 17, in an attempted robbery.

60 years ago
1948

Died on this date
D.W. Griffith, 73. U.S. movie director and producer. David Wark Griffith pioneered modern cinematic techniques, and was more responsible than anyone else for the creation of the feature film. He was best known for The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). Mr. Griffith's movies were expensive, and too many financial failures shortened his career. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

John West. U.S. criminal. Mr. West, an ex-convict, was killed, and Robert Davis was captured by Ohio State Police, ending a two-week spree in which the pair had killed six people.

World events
The Egyptian government imposed a state of emergency in Cairo to prevent anti-American and anti-British outbreaks following the stoning and death of tourist Stephen Haas, a realtor of Philadelphia.

General Lucius Clay of the U.S. military government in Germany announced plans to double the size of the Berlin airlift by assigning more large-capacity U.S. C-54 transport planes to Germany.

Politics and government
The U.S. Progressive National Convention opened at Municipal Auditorium in Philadelphia.

U.K. authorities in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore outlawed the Malayan Communist Party as the "directing force" of recent nationalist disturbances.

Economics and finance
Financial experts from countries represented in the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, meeting in Paris, announced a plan for mutual convertability of European currencies to facilitate trade within Europe.

Hoping to attract more tourists and foreign sales, the Mexican government devalued the peso from 4.85 to 5.75-5.76 pesos to the U.S. dollar.

Soviet authorities in Germany announced plans to issue a new currency for their occupation zone, called the Deutsche Mark.

U.S. President Harry Truman named former U.S. Price Administrator Paul Porter as his special assistant in anti-inflation matters.

50 years ago
1958

War
1,100 armed nationalists of the minority Mon racial group surrendered to the Burmese government.

Terrorism
Cyprus Governor Sir Hugh Foot announced that British troops had arrested 1,450 Greek and 44 Turkish Cypriots in a 48-hour roundup of known or suspected terrorists.

Protest
Venezuelan labour unions staged a general strike in an attempt to head off an attempt by Defense Minister Jesus Maria Castro Leon and general staff officers to overthrow the government of President General Wolfgang Larrazabal.

Politics and government
Gordon Gray took office as U.S. presidential national security officer.

Transportation
The government of Canada nationalized Canadian Pacific Ferries.

Boxing
Joe Brown (88-19-11-1) retained his world lightweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Kenny Lane (53-6) at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston.

Football
CFL
WIFU
Pre-season
Winnipeg Blue Bombers intrasquad game
Blue 21 Gold 13

Saskatchewan Roughriders intrasquad game
Green 13 White 6

British Columbia Lions intrasquad game
Orange 28 White 7

Frank Tripucka directed Green to their win over White at Taylor Field in Regina. Halfback Sully Glasser suffered a heart attack during the game, ending his 13-year career.

George Herring directed Orange to their win over White in a 2-quarter game before 3,549 fans at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Jerry Gustafson, who had quarterbacked the Lions in 1956 and missed the 1957 season while serving in the U.S. Army, played poorly in attempting a comeback and quit the team after the game.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): A Man Without Love (Quando M'innamoro)--Engelbert Humperdinck (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Henry Hallett Dale, 93. U.K. pharmacologist and physiologist. Sir Henry shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Otto Loewi "for their discoveries relating to chemical transmission of nerve impulses."

Terrorism
The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft (so far) took place when a Boeing 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers was taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft was en route from Rome, to Lod, Israel, and was hijacked to Algiers.

Protest
A two-day gun battle in Cleveland between police and a Black Power group began, which in turn sparked three days of rioting.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (3rd week at #1)

Golf
Jack Nicklaus won the Philadelphia Classic with a total score of 270. First prize money was $50,000.

Baseball
With 2 out and nobody on base in the top of the 8th inning, Garry Templeton, Jerry Mumphrey, and George Hendrick hit consecutive singles to break a 0-0 tie as the St. Louis Cardinals shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 before 48,184 fans, including this blogger and his parents, at Dodger Stadium. Pete Vuckovich pitched a 3-hitter to win the pitchers' duel over Don Sutton, who allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs as they both pitched complete games. On the game's first pitch, Mr. Templeton hit a fly ball to shallow left field, and Los Angeles left fielder Dusty Baker and shortstop Bill Russell collided. Mr. Baker caught the ball for the out, but both players were out of the lineup for the rest of the game. The game was preceded by a 4-inning oldtimers' game between the 1959 Dodgers and National League players of that era. The players included Sandy Koufax, Jim Gilliam, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial.

Pete Rose drove in Rick Auerbach with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 14th inning to break a 4-4 tie as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Montreal Expos 5-4 before 28,391 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored a total of 10 runs in the middle 3 innings as they routed the Houston Astros 13-2 before 30,554 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Steve Carlton allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs in 8 innings to get the win, while driving in 2 runs.



Larry McWilliams and Gene Garber combined for a 4-hit shutout as the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 3-0 before 10,684 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.



Aurelio Rodriguez drew a bases loaded walk with 2 out to tie the score and Jason Thompson scored on a passed ball as the Detroit Tigers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the California Angels 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader at Tiger Stadium. In the second game, Don Baylor walked with 1 out in the top of the 9th, stole second base, and scored on a 2-out single by Dave Chalk to break a 3-3 tie as the Angels won 4-3. Nolan Ryan pitched a 4-hitter and struck out 11 batters towin the pitchers' duel over Jim Slaton, as both pitched complete games.

The Kansas City Royals scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning and went on to beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 before 39,425 fans at Royals Stadium. Marty Pattin allowed 1 hit and no runs in 6 1/3 innings of relief to get the win, while Jim Wright, who allowed 5 hits and 4 earned runs in just 1/3 inning, took the loss.

The Milwaukee Brewers outscored the Texas Rangers 6-5 in the 3rd inning as they went on to beat the Rangers 17-8 before 11,615 fans at Arlington Stadium. Larry Hisle had a home run, 3 singles, 3 runs, and 4 runs batted in for the Brewers, while Sal Bando added a home run, double, single, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs.

25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in France: L'Italiano--Toto Cutugno (7th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Stars on 45 Proudly Presents The Star Sisters (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)--Paul Young

#1 single in the U.K.: Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)--Paul Young

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Every Breath You Take--The Police (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Every Breath You Take--The Police (2nd week at #1)
2 Electric Avenue--Eddy Grant
3 Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara
4 Never Gonna Let You Go--Sergio Mendes
5 Too Shy--Kajagoogoo
6 Our House--Madness
7 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'--Michael Jackson
8 She Works Hard for the Money--Donna Summer
9 All This Love--DeBarge
10 Is There Something I Should Know--Duran Duran

Singles entering the chart were Human Nature by Michael Jackson (#63); Don't You Get So Mad by Jeffrey Osborne (#83); Tip of My Tongue by the Tubes (#84); Cold Blooded by Rick James (#87); Who's Behind the Door? by Zebra (#88); and Waiting for Your Love by Toto (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'--Michael Jackson
2 Every Breath You Take--The Police
3 Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara
4 Electric Avenue--Eddy Grant
5 White Wedding--Billy Idol
6 I'm Still Standing--Elton John
7 Puttin' on the Ritz--Taco
8 Come Dancing--The Kinks
9 Hot Girls in Love--Loverboy
10 Is There Something I Should Know--Duran Duran

Singles entering the chart were I'll Tumble 4 Ya by Culture Club (#44); The French Song by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (#45); All Time High by Rita Coolidge (#49); and Worlds Away by Strange Advance (#50). All Time High was from the movie Octopussy.

Died on this date
Georges Auric, 84. French composer. Mr. Auric, a member of Les Six, wrote avant garde classical music in the 1920s and film scores from the 1930s through the 1960s. His best known score is probably that of Moulin Rouge (1952), the title song of which was the biggest-selling single in the United States in 1953 in a version by Percy Faith and his Orchestra.

World events
Lebanese opposition leaders, backed by Syria, announced that they would administer areas of Lebanon controlled by the Syrian army.

War
13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Disasters
In what fortunately was only a near-disaster, an Air Canada Boeing 767 jet made an emergency landing in Gimli, Manitoba without loss of life after the crew was forced to glide the aircraft when it completely ran out of fuel. Misunderstanding of the conversion from imperial to metric mesaurement was part of the problem.



Football
CFL
Montreal (1-2) 13 @ Toronto (3-0) 28

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Tell Me--Nick Kamen (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Fast Car--Tracy Chapman

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Push It--Salt-n-Pepa

#1 single in France (SNEP): Nuit de folie--Début de Soirée (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Hold On to the Nights--Richard Marx

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Pour Some Sugar on Me--Def Leppard
2 The Flame--Cheap Trick
3 Hold on to the Nights--Richard Marx
4 Roll With It--Steve Winwood
5 New Sensation--INXS
6 Mercedes Boy--Pebbles
7 Dirty Diana--Michael Jackson
8 Hands to Heaven--Breathe
9 Make Me Lose Control--Eric Carmen
10 Sign Your Name--Terence Trent D'Arby

Singles entering the chart were Another Part of Me by Michael Jackson (#67); One Good Woman by Peter Cetera (#79); What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy) by Information Society (#81); Look Out Any Window by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (#83); Inside Outside by Cover Girls (#87); The Right Stuff by Vanessa Williams (#88); Make it Last Forever by Keith Sweat with Jacci McGhee (#89); and Summergirls by Dino (#90).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 New Sensation--INXS
2 The Flame--Cheap Trick
3 Foolish Beat--Debbie Gibson
4 Together Forever--Rick Astley
5 Roll With It--Steve Winwood
6 In Your Soul--Corey Hart
7 Make it Real--The Jets
8 One More Try--George Michael
9 Lost in You--Rod Stewart
10 Dirty Diana--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were Monkey by George Michael (#72); My Secret Place by Joni Mitchell (#76); Ain't Good Lovin' by Diamond in the Rough (#84); Baby Boom Baby by James Taylor (#90); Let it Begin Tonight by Liberty Silver (#92); Just Got Paid by Johnny Kemp (#94); Dancing Under a Latin Moon by Candi (#96); Similar Features by Melissa Etheridge (#97); and (Get Started) Start a Fire by Graham Parker (#99).

Personal
This blogger was in Calgary to attend the 10th anniversary reunion of the 1978 graduating class of Henry Wise Wood High School. The guys who had the most hair in 1978 seemed to have the least in 1988. There had been many pretty girls at Henry Wise Wood when I went there, and they looked even better 10 years later. Even those of average looks in 1978 looked great in 1988; of course, by the time I had the nerve to ask any of them out, they were almost all taken.

Politics and government
General Ne Win, Burma's leader since 1962, announced his resignation as chairman of the country's ruling party. Addressing the party on the opening day of its congress, Ne Win attributed his resignation to a lack of trust in the government following student-led riots in March and June.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (1-1) 15 @ Saskatchewan (2-0) 26

Dave Ridgway tied his own single-game record with 8 field goals, and the Roughriders added a safety touch as they beat the Eskimos at Taylor Field in Regina. Rookie Edmonton defensive back Danny Taylor scored the game's only touchdown on a 41-yard interception return. It was the first regular season game for Jim Sandusky in an Edmonton uniform since being acquired from the British Columbia Lions in a trade for quarterback Matt Dunigan. It was also the first regular season game as an Eskimo for quarterback Greg Vavra, who dressed in place of injured starter Damon Allen, with Tracy Ham now elevated to the starting role. Mr. Vavra had seen pre-season action for the Eskimos in 1983 and then gone to the Calgary Stampeders for 2 years; had dressed for 2 pre-season games for the Eskimos in 1986 and then played 2 seasons with the Lions; and had joined the Eskimos yet again in 1988.



10 years ago
1998

Football
CFL
Hamilton (3-1) 23 @ Montreal (3-1) 21
Edmonton (3-1) 30 @ Toronto (1-3) 27 (OT)

Sean Fleming's 21-yard field goal on the final play of the 2nd overtime period gave the Eskimos their win over the Argonauts at SkyDome. Troy Mills rushed 21 times for 121 yards for the Eskimos and caught 3 passes for 43 yards for the Eskimos, and accounted for all 62 yards in their drive to the winning field goal. Edmonton quarterback Jimmy Kemp completed touchdown passes to Joseph Rogers and Jamie Richardson; for Mr. Richardson, it was his only CFL touchdown.