June 25, 2008

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Gail McGonigal!

750 years ago
1258

War
In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeated a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.

350 years ago
1658

War
Spanish forces failed to retake Jamaica from British forces in the Battle of Rio Nuevo.

330 years ago
1678

Academia
Elena Cornaro Piscopia of Venice became the first woman to be awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduated from the University of Padua.

250 years ago
1758

War
British forces commanded by General James Wolfe finally silenced Louisbourg, Nova Scotia's Island battery after six days of bombardment; all external batteries were now secure.

220 years ago
1788

Americana
Virginia entered the Union as the 10th state.

160 years ago
1848

Journalism
A photograph of the June Days uprising in Paris became the first known instance of photojournalism.

150 years ago
1858

Journalism
The Victoria Gazette and Anglo-American, British Columbia's first newspaper, published its first edition.

140 years ago
1868

Americana
Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union.

130 years ago
1878

Politics and government
George Walkem, who had served as Premier of British Columbia from 1874-1876, returned to power, replacing Andrew Elliott and forming his second government with a comfortable majority in the Legislative Assembly. He served until June 6, 1882.

120 years ago
1888

Politics and government
The U.S. Republican National Convention concluded at the Auditorium Building in Chicago. U.S. Senator Benjamin Harrison (Indiana) was elected on the eighth ballot as the party's 1888 U.S. presidential candidate. Former U.S. Representative and Minister to France Levi P. Morton was elected on the first ballot as the vice presidential nominee.

90 years ago
1918

Died on this date
Jake Beckley, 50. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Beckley was a first baseman with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys and Pirates (1888-1889, 1891-1896); Pittsburgh Burghers (1890); New York Giants (1896-1897); Cincinnati Reds (1897-1903); and St. Louis Cardinals (1904-1907), batting .308 with 87 home runs and 1,581 runs batted in in 2,392 games. He later coached and umpired in the minor leagues, and died of heart disease. Mr. Beckley was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

80 years ago
1928

World events
The ship Jervis Bay arrived at Colombo, Ceylon, where eight mutinous stowaways were tried and jailed.

Disasters
Flood waters covered 250,000 acres of crops in the St. Francis, Black, and White Rivers in Missouri and Arkansas.

70 years ago
1938

Politics and government
Dr. Douglas Hyde was inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.

60 years ago
1948

War
Greek government forces took the guerrilla stronghold of Mount Boufos after a week-long battle.

United Nations mediator Folke Bernadotte charged Egyptian forces with violating the Palestine truce, and sanctioned Israeli defensive actions in the Negev desert.

World events
The Berlin Airlift began, to counter the Berlin Blockade.

Diplomacy
Golda Myerson, former head of the Jewish Agency's political department in Israel, was named as Israeli minister to the U.S.S.R. She was later better known as Golda Meir.

Boxing
Joe Louis (58-1) retained his world heavyweight title with an 11-round knockout of Jersey Joe Walcott (44-13-2) at Yankee Stadium in New York. Mr. Louis had won a hotly-disputed 15-round split decision over Mr. Walcott six months earlier, and was ahead on the card of referee Frank Fullam but behind on the cards of both judges after 10 rounds in this fight.



50 years ago
1958

At the movies
Screaming Mimi, directed by Gerd Oswald, and starring Anita Ekberg, Phil Carey, and Gypsy Rose Lee, opened in theatres.





Died on this date
Alfred Noyes, 77. U.K. poet and author. Mr. Noyes was best known for his narrative poem The Highwayman (1906).

Space
The U.S. Air Force announced the names of the men selected to be astronauts in the Man in Space Soonest program: Neil Armstrong; Bill Bridgeman; Scott Crossfield; Iven Kincheloe; John B. McKay; Bob Rushworth; Joe Walker; Alvin White; and Bob White. The program was cancelled on August 1 and replaced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Project Mercury.

War
King Norodom Suramarit of Cambodia charged that South Vietnamese troops had crossed the Cambodian frontier and occupied villages four miles inside Cambodian territory.

Lebanese Prime Minister Sami es-Solh requested armed United Nations intervention to help seal Lebanon's borders against the flow of arms and munitions to Muslim guerrilla forces from Syria. Lebanese President Camille Chamoun warned that if the UN failed to meet Mr. Solh's request, he would request Western military aid.

Journalism
The French government seized current issues of the leftist weeklies France Observateur and L'Express, the latter for publishing an article by an FLN military leader and for charging that an inner junta of paratroop colonels exercised control of the Algerian administration of Raoul Salan.

Horse racing
Promised Land, with Pete Anderson up, won the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): A Man Without Love (Quando M'innamoro)--Engelbert Humperdinck (2nd week at #1)

Died on this date
Dan Dugan, 61. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Dugan played 1 game with the Chicago White Sox in 1928 and 19 games with the White Sox in 1929, compiling a record of 1-4 with an earned run average of 6.61.

Grant Bowler, 60. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Bowler played 13 games with the Chicago White Sox in 1931 and 4 games with the White Sox in 1932, compiling a record of 0-1 with an earned run average of 6.91.

Tony Hancock, 44. U.K. comedian. Mr. Hancock was best known as the star of the radio (1954-1961) and television (1956-1961) comedy series Hancock's Half Hour. He was hugely popular in his heyday, but the severing of various professional relationships and increasingly heavy drinking led to his professional and personal downfall. He went to Australia in March 1968 to star in the 13-episode series Hancock Down Under, but completed only three episodes before he committed suicide with an overdose of pills.

Abominations
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who had taken office as Prime Minister of Canada two months earlier, rode "Trudeaumania" in leading his Liberal Party to a majority in the House of Commons in the Canadian federal election. The Liberals won 154 of 264 seats, an increase from 128 at the dissolution of Parliament. The Progressive Conservatives dropped from 94 seats to 72, while the New Democratic Party, led by Tommy Douglas, remained at 22 seats. The Ralliement des créditistes, led by Réal Caouette, increased its total from 8 seats to 14, all in Quebec.

Politics and government
Giovanni Leone took office as Prime Minister of Italy, succeeding Aldo Moro.

Boxing
Al Jones (24-1-1) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Matt Blow (6-4) in a heavyweight bout at Miami Beach Auditorium.

Cleveland Williams (70-6-1) knocked out Les Borden (15-15-2) at 2:22 of the 1st round of a heavyweight bout at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston.

Baseball
Bobby Bonds hit a grand slam in the 6th inning of his first major league game and Ray Sadecki pitched a 2-hitter and struck out 10 batters as the San Francisco Giants routed the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-0 before 17,075 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

Tom Seaver pitched a 5-hitter and Cleon Jones hit a solo home run in the 6th inning to break a 0-0 tie as the New York Mets shut out the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 before 6,772 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

Wally Bunker pitched a 5-hitter for his first win of the season and scored the winning run as the Baltimore Orioles shut out the Boston Red Sox 6-0 before 25,610 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Mr. Bunker drew a base on balls to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning and scored on Frank Robinson's 2-run home run. Mr. Robinson also singled and doubled, finishing the game with 2 runs and 3 runs batted in.

The Detroit Tigers scored 6 runs in the 7th inning to overcome a 6-1 deficit and defeat the New York Yankees 8-5 before 17,117 fans at Yankee Stadium.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): You're the One that I Want--John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (3rd week at #1)

War
Ethiopian jets concluded several days of bombing Somali border towns.

Abominations
The rainbow flag representing sodomite/lesbian pride was flown for the first time, during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

Soccer
FIFA World Cup
Final @ Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
Argentina 3 Netherlands 1 (ET)

Mario Kempes scored his second goal of the game, in the 15th minute of extra time, and Daniel Bertoni scored 10 minutes later to give Argentina its first World Cup championship. The winning goal appeared to be an own goal, but Mr. Kempes was given credit.



Golf
Bruce Lietzke won the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario with a 1-under-par total score of 283, 1 stroke ahead of Pat McGowan. First prize money was $50,000.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Gimme Five--Jovanotti (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Theme From S'Express--S'Express

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You--Glenn Medeiros (5th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): N'importe quoi--Florent Pagny (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): The Boys in Green--Republic of Ireland Soccer Squad (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): I Owe You Nothing--Bros

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Foolish Beat--Debbie Gibson

U.S.A. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Foolish Beat--Debbie Gibson
2 Together Forever--Rick Astley
3 Dirty Diana--Michael Jackson
4 Make it Real--The Jets
5 One More Try--George Michael
6 The Valley Road--Bruce Hornsby and the Range
7 The Flame--Cheap Trick
8 Circle in the Sand--Belinda Carlisle
9 Alphabet St.--Prince
10 Mercedes Boy--Pebbles

Singles entering the chart were I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (#81); Boom! There She Was by Scritti Politti featuring Roger (#82); Here with Me by REO Speedwagon (#84); Joy by Teddy Pendergrass (#86); Knocked Out by Paula Abdul (#87); Please Don't Go Girl by New Kids on the Block (#88); and Sweet Child o' Mine by Guns 'N' Roses (#89). If I'm not mistaken, the last three new entries marked the first chart entries for all three artists.

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Together Forever--Rick Astley
2 Beds are Burning--Midnight Oil
3 One More Try--George Michael
4 Pink Cadillac--Natalie Cole
5 The Valley Road--Bruce Hornsby and the Range
6 Everything Your Heart Desires--Daryl Hall John Oates
7 Circle in the Sand--Belinda Carlisle
8 Dirty Diana--Michael Jackson
9 Foolish Beat--Debbie Gibson
10 Breakaway--Big Pig

Singles entering the chart were Sign Your Name by Terence Trent D'Arby (#72); Fast Car by Tracy Chapman (#77); Something to Live For by Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts (#81); Time and Place by Andrew Cash (#87); Hands to Heaven by Breathe (#89); Go Ahead 'N' Love Me by the Jitters (#93); and Love Changes (Everything) by Climie Fisher (#96).

Died on this date
Jimmy Soul, 45. U.S. singer. Mr. Soul, born James McCleese, was known for his single If You Wanna Be Happy, which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the last two weeks of May 1963. He died of a heart attack.

War
Iraq recaptured its Majnoon oil fields north of Basra from Iran.

Canadian Armand Roy was named by the United Nations to head a multinational peacekeeping force in Western Sahara ; 700 Canadian infantry were to monitor a cease-fire in Morocco.

10 years ago
1998

Law
In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decided that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 was unconstitutional.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Winnipeg (1-1) 18 @ Montreal (1-1) 44
Calgary (2-0) 26 @ Edmonton (1-1) 23
Saskatchewan (0-2) 18 @ British Columbia (1-1) 24

Baseball
Sammy Sosa set a major league record for home runs in a calendar month, hitting his 19th homer of June 1998 and his 32nd of the season in a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers before 30,688 fans at Tiger Stadium. Matt Anderson made his major league debut with the Tigers, coming into the game with runners on second and third bases and none out in the top of the 7th inning and Detroit leading 3-2. Mr. Anderson allowed a sacrifice fly to drive in the tying run and then a single, but retired the last 2 batters with no further scoring; he then left the game, but became the winning pitcher when the Tigers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th.

Mike Stanley's home run with 2 out in the top of the 4th inning provided all the scoring as the Toronto Blue Jays edged the Montreal Expos 1-0 before 9,256 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. As is so often the case, Mr. Stanley's homer followed a runner caught stealing, as Jose Canseco had been thrown out at second base after singling. Woody Williams pitched a 5-hit shutout to win the pitchers' duel over Carlos Perez, who also pitched a 5-hit complete game.

The Boston Red Sox scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning and withstood a 4-run rally in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 before 28,263 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phillies had the potential tying run at bat with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but Bobby Abreu struck out and was thrown out at first base to end the game. Darrin Winston, the third Philadelphia pitcher, pitched the last 2 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs--both earned--and making a wild pitch in the 34th and last game of his 2-year major league career.

Vinny Castilla led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a bunt single and Kurt Abbott followed with a double to drive him home with the winning run as the Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros 6-5 before 48,046 fans at Coors Field in Denver. Mike Saipe started on the mound for the Rockies, allowing 9 hits and 3 runs--all earned--in 6 innings, striking out 1 batter, walking none, and hitting 2 in his major league debut.