July 3, 2009

200 years ago
1809

Died on this date
Joseph Quesnel, 62. French-born Canadian composer and poet. Mr. Quesnel joined the French Navy and visited various countries before eventually settling in Boucherville, Quebec. He was perhaps best known for writing Colas et Colinette (1790), regarded as the first Canadian opera. Mr. Quesnel also wrote songs and poems; he died of pleurisy, three months after diving into the Saint Lawrence River to rescue a drowning child.

190 years ago
1819

Economics and finance
The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in the United States, opened.

170 years ago
1839

Education
The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today's Framingham State College, opened in Lexington, Massachusetts with three students.

160 years ago
1849

War
France invaded the Roman Republic and restored the Papal States.

140 years ago
1869

Born on this date
Svend Kornbeck. Danish actor. Mr. Kornbeck appeared in plays, and in movies such as The Saga of Gosta Berling (1924). He died on October 30, 1933 at the age of 64.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Richard Cramer. U.S. actor. Mr. Cramer appeared in low-budget Western movies and comedies with Laurel and Hardy and others. He died on August 9, 1960 at the age of 71.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Stavros Niarchos. Greek shipping tycoon. Mr. Niarchos, like rival Aristotle Onassis, became wealthy from petroleum shipping. Mr. Niarchos owned the world's largest supertankers, and later became a successful owner of race horses. He died on April 16, 1996 at the age of 86.

Disasters
A forest fire in the Porcupine District left one-third of Cobalt Ontario's 6,000 residents homeless.

80 years ago
1929

Died on this date
Bill McClellan, 73. U.S. baseball player. Mr. McClellan was an infielder with the Chicago White Stockings (1878); Providence Grays (1881); Philadelphia Quakers (1883-1884); Brooklyn Grays/Bridegrooms (1885-1888); and Cleveland Blues (1888), batting .242 with 6 home runs and 304 runs batted in in 792 games. He played at least 13 seasons in minor and independent leagues from 1877-1894.

Baseball
The New York Yankees came from behind to beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5 at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth’s grand slam off Red Ruffing climaxed a 5-run 7th inning to tie the score, and relief pitcher Lefty Heimrach won his own game with an inside-the-park solo home run off Mr. Ruffing in the 8th. Mr. Ruffing, whose 1929 record dropped to 2-15, hit a home run for the Red Sox.

Art Shires singled home 2 runs in the top of the 10th inning and Carl Reynolds followed with a steal of home plate as the Chicago White Sox scored 3 runs to break a 3-3 tie and defeated the Cleveland Indians 6-3 at League Park in Cleveland.

Bill Terry batted 5 for 5 with a base on balls, double, home run, 1 run, and 4 runs batted in to help the New York Giants beat the Boston Braves 11-3 at Braves Field. New York third baseman Andy Reese batted 5 for 6 with 2 doubles, 3 runs, and an RBI. The Braves hurt their own cause by making 6 errors.

Paul Waner, Charlie Hargreaves, and Burleigh Grimes each batted 4 for 5 to help the Pittsburgh Pirates rout the St. Louis Cardinals 13-2 before 3,000 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Pirates scored 7 runs in the 1st inning. Mr. Grimes pitched an 8-hit complete game victory, improving his record for the season to 13-1. Bill Sherdel pitched a complete game for the Cardinals, allowing 21 hits and 13 earned runs. Amazingly, the game was played in 1 hour 40 minutes.

75 years ago
1934

Baseball
Roy Johnson’s two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning provided the winning margin as the Boston Red Sox ended the New York Yankees’ 8-game winning streak with a 10-9 win at Yankee Stadium.

70 years ago
1939

Baseball
Bob Feller improved his record for the season to 13-3 and Ben Chapman tied a major league single-game record with 3 triples to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers before 15,474 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.

60 years ago
1949

World events
Yugoslavia annexed its occupation zone of the Istrian peninsula, charging "gross violation" of the Italian peace treaty by the U.K., U.S.A., and Italy.

Defense
Western air forces completed a nine-day mock air war over Britain to test the islands' defenses against nuclear attack.

Politics and government
The Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) (PRI) won 142 of 147 seats in the Chamber of Deputies in the Mexican legislative election. The PRI total was an increase of 1 from before the election. The Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party) (PAN) was second with 4 seats, and the Partido Popular Socialista (Popular Socialist Party) (PPS) took the other seat.

Religion
The Czechoslovakian government reported widespread resistance among Slovakian peasants to measures against the Roman Catholic clergy.

Academia
Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, dedicated the new $3-million Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City.

Baseball
The New York Giants amassed 20 hits in routing the Brooklyn Dodgers 16-0 before 36,014 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Johnny Mize and Willard Marshall each had 4 hits, and winning pitcher Monte Kennedy hit a grand slam. Ralph Branca (10-2) took the loss.

Robin Roberts pitched a 5-hitter to win the pitching matchup over Johnny Sain as the Philadelphia Phillies shut out the Boston Braves 7-0 before 10,540 fans at Braves Field. Philadelphia right fielder Stan Hollmig batted 4 for 5 with a double, triple, run, and run batted in.

Joe Garagiola hit a solo home run, drew a base on balls, was hit by a pitch, and scored 3 runs to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-1 before 15,334 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Mr. Garagiola's homer was his first of the season, and opened the scoring in the 3rd inning. Gerry Staley pitched an 8-hit complete game victory.

Clyde Vollmer singled home Sam Mele with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Washington Nationals a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees before 16,768 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

The Cleveland Indians scored 3 runs in the 5th inning and held on to defeat the St. Louis Browns 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader before 34,586 fans at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Early Wynn allowed 8 hits and 3 earned runs in 8+ innings to get the win, but he was relieved by Satchel Paige after Jack Graham hit a home run to lead off the 9th. Mr. Paige retired the Browns in order to earn his first save of the season. In the second game, Mickey Vernon singled home Thurman Tucker and Bobby Avila with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th to tie the score 3-3, and Jim Hegan singled home Joe Gordon with the bases loaded and none out in the 10th to give the Indians a 4-3 win to complete the sweep. Mr. Paige pitched a scoreless 10th inning and got the win.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Dream Lover--Bobby Darin

Died on this date
Abraham Stone, 68. U.S. physician. Dr. Stone was a pioneer in birth control and marriage counselling.

Red Barnes, 54. U.S. football and baseball player. Emile Deering Barnes played quarterback for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in 1925-1926, leading the team to the Rose Bowl in his second season. He was an outfielder with the Washington Nationals (1927-1930) and Chicago White Sox (1930), batting .269 with 8 home runs and 97 runs batted in in 286 games. Mr. Barnes played at least 1,418 games in at least 14 seasons in the minor leagues from 1927-1944.

Society
Prince Philip, on a tour of Canada with Queen Elizabeth II, angered temperance leaders by urging Ontario legislators to change their "obsolete liquor laws."

Golf
Gary Player shot a 4-under-par 68 to win the British Open at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, Scotland with a 4-under-par total score of 284, 2 strokes ahead of Fred Bullock and Flory Van Donck. First prize money was £1,000 ($2,800).



Tennis
Alex Olmedo of Peru defeated Rod Laver of Australia in the men's singles final at Wimbledon, England.

Boxing
Former world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles (95-23-1) was knocked down twice, but recovered and scored a technical knockout of Dave Ashley (7-15-1) in the 7th round at Lincoln Heights High School in Lincoln Heights, Ohio. It was Mr. Charles' last win, and Mr. Ashley's last fight.

Baseball
The Boston Red Sox, in 8th and last place in the American League with a 31-42 record, fired manager Pinky Higgins, replacing him with coach Rudy York for one game. Former Red Sox' first baseman Walt Dropo's 3-run double climaxed a 5-run 1st inning as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Red Sox 6-1 before 13,997 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

With 2 out in the bottom of the 6th inning, Whitey Ford doubled and Tony Kubek singled him home to break a 3-3 tie as the New York Yankees edged the Washington Senators 4-3 before 28,586 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Al Smith hit a solo home run with 2 out in the top of the 10th inning to break a 5-5 tie as the Chicago White Sox edged the Detroit Tigers 6-5 before 11,729 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.

Herb Score gave up a grand slam to Bob Cerv in the 1st inning, but settled down and struck out 14 batters as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Athletics 8-4 before 7,989 fans at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. Mr. Cerv's homer drew the Athletics to within 1 run, as the Indians had opened the game with 5 runs in their half of the 1st.

Juan Pizarro pitched a 2-hitter and struck out 11 batters, while Hank Aaron and Joe Adcock both hit 2-run home runs in the 8th inning for the Milwaukee Braves as they shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 before 34,093 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Skinner singled twice for the Pirates and drew a base on balls.

The Cincinnati Reds scored all their runs in the last 3 innings to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 before 7,184 fans at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.

Johnny Antonelli pitched a 5-hitter to improve his 1959 record to 12-4 as trhe San Francisco Giants shut out the Chicago Cubs 4-0 before 19,386 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Willie Kirkland's solo home run with 2 out in the 1st inning provided the necessary scoring, and Orlando Cepeda added a solo homer in the 8th.

Gino Cimoli singled home 2 runs in the 8th inning to provide the deciding runs as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 before 15,384 fans at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Dodgers scored 2 runs in the 9th and had the potential tying run on second base with 1 out, but Lindy McDaniel relieved Marshall Bridges and struck out Duke Snider and retired Wally Moon on a fly ball to end the game. Mr. Bridges allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings to improve his 1959 record to 2-0, while Sandy Koufax allowed just 2 hits and 1 earned run in 7 innings, but was charged with the loss, falling to 5-2. Lee Tate played the 9th inning at third base for the Cardinals and had no chances in the 51st and last game of his 2-year major league career.

40 years ago
1969

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC 2
Tonight's episode: The Red Circle

Died on this date
Hunky Shaw, 84. U.S. baseball player. Royal N. Shaw batted 0 for 1 in 1 game as a pinch hitter with the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 16, 1908. He was an outfielder and third baseman who played at least 1,361 games in at least 14 seasons in the minor leagues from 1904-1924.

Harry Spratt, 80. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Spratt was an infielder with the Boston Rustlers/Braves (1911-1912), batting .247 with 5 home runs and 28 runs batted in in 89 games. He played at least 238 games in 4 seasons in the minor leagues from 1910-1914.

Brian Jones, 27. U.K. musician. Mr. Jones, who played guitar and other instruments with the Rolling Stones until shortly before his death, was found unconscious at the bottom of his swimming pool in Hartfield, England. He was the founder of the group and gave them their name, but was eventually eclipsed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard. As Mr. Jones’ popularity and influence diminished, his drug use and drinking increased (or maybe it was the other way around).

Space
The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurred when the Soviet N-1 rocket exploded shortly after launch and subsequently destroyed Launch Complex 110 East at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The rocket was carrying the lunar probe Zond L1S-2.



War
The 24th session of the Vietnam War peace talks in Paris produced no visible signs of movement.

Society
After five months of internal debate, the United States administration of Richard Nixon issued a policy statement on school desegregation in which it announced that the administration planned to hold southern districts to the September 1969 deadline, except for some districts with "bona fide educational and administrative problems." NAACP executive director Roy Wilkins denounced the decision to modify the September deadline, accusing the administration of "breaking the law."

Protest
Civil rights activist Rev. Ralph Abernathy was released from jail in Charleston, South Carolina, where he spent 13 days in connection with protests in support of striking hospital workers. The strike had been settled six days before Rev. Abernathy’s release.

Six female antiwar demonstrators, who apparently had vandalized the offices of 13 local draft boards, were arrested at Rockefeller Center, New York City, as they scattered sliced-up draft records.

Baseball
The Chicago Cubs overcame a 3-0 deficit with a run in the 6th inning and 7 in the 7th as they defeated the Montreal Expos 8-4 before 12,194 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal.

Lee May’s 23rd home run of the season, a 2-run blast in the top of the 11th inning, provided the winning margin as the Cincinnati Reds held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 before 21,238 fans at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers scored a run in the bottom of the 11th and had runners on second and third bases with 2 out, but Maury Wills grounded out to Mr. May at first base to end the game.

Bill Melton led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a home run to give the Chicago White Sox a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Twins before 2,946 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

30 years ago
1979

Died on this date
Louis Durey, 91. French composer. Mr. Durey was a member of the group of composers known as les Six. He wrote choral, chamber, and piano works, but became a dedicated Communist, which hurt his career.

World events
U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed a presidential finding, authorizing the CIA to carry out Operation Cyclone, secretly aiding the mujahideen of Afghanistan against the Soviet Union.

Law
The Bundestag in West Germany voted to lift the statute of limitations on murder, allowing prosecution of Nazi war criminals beyond the previous 1979 limit.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Hamilton (0-4) 8 @ Montreal (4-0) 21
British Columbia (3-1) 1 @ Calgary (3-1) 32

25 years ago
1984

Diplomacy
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz concluded two days of meetings with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, and sought to reassure him that the United States had accepted the Soviet proposal to open space weapons talks in Vienna in September, and that no preconditions had been set.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Wind Beneath My Wings--Bette Midler (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): The Look--Roxette (2nd week at #1)

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Good Thing--Fine Young Cannibals
2 Satisfied--Richard Marx
3 Pop Singer--John Mellencamp
4 Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry
5 Wind Beneath My Wings--Bette Midler
6 Express Yourself--Madonna
7 Cry--Waterfront
8 I Won't Back Down--Tom Petty
9 The Doctor--The Doobie Brothers
10 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red

Singles entering the chart were Let the Day Begin by the Cult (#70); Who Do You Give Your Love To by Michael Morales (#72); Stranger than Paradise by Sass Jordan (#75); Sacred Emotion by Donny Osmond (#83); All I Want is You by U2 (#87); Cold Hearted by Paula Abdul (#93); How Many Times by Erasure (#95); Soul Provider by Michael Bolton (#97); and My Paradise by the Outfield (#99).

Died on this date
Jim Backus, 76. U.S. actor. Mr. Backus provided the voice for the cartoon character Mr. Magoo, and played Thurston Howell III in the television comedy series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967). Perhaps his best-known movie role was as the father of Jim Stark, the character played by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Mr. Backus suffered from Parkinson's disease and agoraphobia in his later years.

Law
The United States Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold a Missouri law that restricted a woman’s right to have an abortion. The court majority, in the case of Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, upheld a Missouri law prohibiting public employees from performing abortions unless the mother’s life was endangered; barring abortions in public buildings; and requiring medical tests on any fetus more than 20 weeks old in order to determine if it could live outside the womb. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, writing for the majority, said that any restriction on abortion should be judged by whether it "permissibly furthers the state’s interest in protecting potential human life." The reader will notice that Mr. Rehnquist actually weakens the pro-life case with his use of the term "potential human life" to describe a fetus rather than "human life," which is what a fetus actually is. "Justice" Harry Blackmun, author of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made up a woman’s "right" to an abortion, wrote in dissent, "I fear for the future...The signs are evident and very ominous, and a chill wind blows." The reader will notice that "Justice" Blackmun’s argument is emotional rather than legal.

10 years ago
1999

War
In Yugoslavia, British soldiers shot and killed two Kosovo Albanians.

Baseball
The Philadelphia Phillies scored 8 runs in the 1st inning and 7 with 2 out in the 4th as they beat the Chicago Cubs 21-8 before 58,086 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Third baseman Gary Gaetti finished the game as the Cubs’ pitcher. Steve Schrenk, the third of four Philadelphia pitchers, pitched the 8th inning, allowing 1 hit and 1 earned run, with 1 strikeout in his major league debut.

The Colorado Rockies swept 2 games from the San Diego Padres 12-10 and 8-6 before 38,375 and 48,750 fans, respectively, at Coors Field in Denver. Larry Walker hit a home run in the first game and 2 in the second game for the Rockies, while Neifi Perez also homered in each game for Colorado, and Ruben Rivera homered in each game for San Diego.

Scott Brosius hit a 3-run home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the New York Yankees a 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles before 42,859 fans at Yankee Stadium.

The Cleveland Indians overcame an 8-0 2nd-inning deficit to defeat the Kansas City Royals 9-8 before 43,086 fans in the first of 2 games at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The Indians scored 7 runs in the 2nd inning en route to a 9-5 win before 40,707 fans in the second game. Scott Leius played part of both games for the Royals, batting 0 for 2 in the 556th and 557th and last games of his 9-year major league career.