September 15, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Don Percy!

220 years ago
1789

Politics and government
The U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs changed its name to the Department of State.

125 years ago
1884

Baseball
Zero fans showed up at Wilmington Grounds to watch the Wilmington Quicksteps play their Union Association game against the Kansas City Unions. Quicksteps’ manager Joe Simmons elected to forfeit the game rather than play, and the Quicksteps disbanded. Their record of 2-16 produced the worst winning percentage (.111) of any major league team.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Robert Benchley. U.S. humourist. Mr. Benchley was known for his articles in Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, and his starring roles in short films in the 1930s and 1940s. His best known movies were How to Sleep (1935) and A Night at the Movies (1937). Mr. Benchley drank himself to death at the age of 56 on November 21, 1945.

Baseball
In the Western Association, Sioux City swept a double doubleheader from visiting St. Joseph, winning 6-1 and 12-7 in 5-inning games in the morning, and 12-5 in 5 innings and 5-4 in 7 innings in the afternoon. The scheduling allowed St. Joseph to catch their train to Milwaukee.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Phil Arnold. U.S. actor. Mr. Arnold had small roles in many movies and television shows, too numerous to mention here. His last appearance was in Otto Preminger’s stinker Skidoo (1968). Mr. Arnold died of a heart attack on May 9, 1968 at the age of 59; it’s unknown if his death was caused by appearing in such a turkey.

C. N. Annadurai. Indian politician. Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, a member of the Justice Party, sat in the Madras General Assembly from 1957-1962 and the Indian Rajya Sabha from 1962-1967. He was Chief Minister of Madras from 1967-1969, when the state's name was changed to Tamil Nadu. Mr. Annadurai was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for just 20 days before his death in office, from cancer, on February 3, 1969 at the age of 59.

Betty Neels. U.K. authoress. Miss Neels was a nurse before embarking on a literary career at the age of 60, publishing at least 134 romantic novels from 1969 until her death on June 7, 2001 at the age of 91.

90 years ago
1919

Baseball
With the Chicago White Sox leading the Philadelphia Athletics 11-7 with 2 out in the 9th inning, Athletics’ pitcher Jimmy Zinn was sent to bat as a pinch hitter, and hit a 3-run home run, his first home run in the major leagues, to reduce the lead to 11-10. The next batter hit a long drive that Chicago outfielder Joe Jackson caught at the fence for the final out, preserving a victory for pitcher Red Faber.

80 years ago
1929

Baseball
The Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees split a doubleheader, with each team posting a shutout. Tom Zachary improved his record to 11-0, giving up 4 hits in the opener as the Yankees won 1-0. Willis Hudlin gave up just 3 hits in the second game as the Indians won 10-0.

The Detroit Tigers were leading the Washington Nationals 12-2 after 5 innings at Griffith Stadium in Washington, when Ed Wineapple was brought in to pitch for Washington. He pitched the last 4 innings, giving up 4 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits, with 3 bases on balls and 1 strikeout. He went 0 for 2 at bat and made 2 errors. It was Mr. Wineapple's only appearance in a major league game, and his story is one of those told in the book Once Around the Bases by Richard Tellis (1998).

70 years ago
1939

Economics and finance
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King created the Foreign Exchange Control Board. The board administered a 10% War Exchange Tax on non-British Empire imports.

Boxing
Tony Galento (77-24-5) scored a technical knockout of Lou Nova (22-2-3) at 2:44 of the 14th round of a heavyweight bout at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia. Mr. Galento reportedly thumbed Mr. Nova repeatedly in the right eye, and won the fight when Mr. Nova was fouled for the last time. The December issue of The Ring ranked this as the third-dirtiest fight in history.





Football
CRU
WIFU
Calgary (1-3) 18 @ Winnipeg (4-0) 19
Edmonton (1-3) 5 @ Regina (2-2) 18

Greg Kabat's 25-yard field goal in the last minute of the game gave the Blue Bombers their win over the Bronks before a capacity crowd of 5,000 at Osborne Stadium.

Howard Cleveland scored a touchdown and convert, and Morris Williams returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the game, as the Roughriders beat the Eskimos at Park de Young. Bill Matheny scored a touchdown for the Eskimos.

Baseball
The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers 10-3 before 10,538 fans at Yankee Stadium to clinch the American League pennant for the fourth straight season. Winning pitcher Steve Sundra improved his record for the season to 10-0, pitching a complete game and batting 2 for 4 with a single, double, base on balls, and 3 runs batted in.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
The Lone Ranger, starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, was broadcast on ABC for the first time. 221 episodes were broadcast from 1949-1957, and the series inspired feature films in 1956 and 1958.

Died on this date
Ernie "Tiny" Bonham, 36. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Bonham, credited as the first successful pitcher to use the forkball, was one of the American League’s best pitchers in the early 1940s with the New York Yankees. Arriving in the major leagues in the middle of the 1940 season, Mr. Bonham threw 10 complete games in 12 starts with a 9-3 record and a 1.90 earned run average. In 1942 he won 21 and lost just 5, leading the AL in winning percentage (.808), complete games (22), and shutouts (6). Perhaps the highlight of his career was his 4-hit complete game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the deciding game of the 1941 World Series. Mr. Bonham was bothered by back problems from 1945 on, and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 1946 season. After losing 4 of his first 5 decisions in 1949, he won 6 straight, the last coming against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 28. He was then admitted to hospital, and underwent an appendectomy and stomach surgery, complications from which proved fatal. Mr. Bonham’s career record was 103-72. His widow became the first recipient of benefits under the players’ pension plan, $90/month for 10 years.

50 years ago
1959

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, hosted by John Newland, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Delusion, starring Norman Lloyd, Suzanne Pleshette, and David White

This was the first episode of the season.



Diplomacy
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower welcomed U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev as he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland to begin his first visit to the United States.





Mexico and Guatemala resumed diplomatic relations after an eight-month break.

Politics and government
Retired military officer and diplomat Georges Vanier was installed as Governor General of Canada, succeeding Vincent Massey.

Heinrich Luebke took office as President of West Germany, succeeding Theodor Heuss.

Crime
Ex-convict Paul Orgeron threw an explosive-filed suitcase into the schoolyard of Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School in Houston, killing himself, his son, two other children, and two adults.

Transportation
The world's first nuclear-powered surface vessel, the U.S.S.R.'s 16,000-ton civilian icebreaker Lenin, sailed from Leningrad on its maiden voyage in the Baltic Sea.

Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Dorji disclosed the conclusion of an agreement with India on construction of a road network linking Bhutan with India and giving it access to the outside world for the first time.

Baseball
International League
Finals
Richmond 0 @ Havana 1 (Havana led best-of-seven series 1-0)

American Association
Semi-Finals
Minneapolis 4 @ Omaha 3 (Minneapolis led best-of-seven series 3-2)

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ikebukuro no Yoru--Mina Aoe (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): María Isabel--Los Payos (7th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Pretty Belinda--Chris Andrews
2 Give Peace a Chance--Plastic Ono Band
3 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet
4 Honky Tonk Women--The Rolling Stones
5 Oh Happy Day--The Edwin Hawkins Singers
6 The Ballad of John and Yoko--The Beatles
7 Er steht im Tor--Wencke Myhre
8 In the Ghetto--Elvis Presley
9 Bad Moon Rising--Creedence Clearwater Revival
10 Israelites--Desmond Dekker and the Aces

Singles entering the chart were Saved by the Bell by Robin Gibb (#12); Dynamite Woman by Sir Douglas Quintet (#15); Je t'aime...moi non plus by Jane Birkin avec Serge Gainsbourg (#16); Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love is Hot) by Donovan with the Jeff Beck Group (#17); Heather Honey by Tommy Roe (#18); Mendocino by Michael Holm (#19); and Pretty Belinda by Bernd Spier (#20).

On the radio
The Challenge of Space, on Springbok Radio
Tonight’s episode: The Sample

On television tonight
My World...and Welcome to It, starring William Windom, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Man Against the World

This was the first episode of the series.



World events
British paratroops ended their six-month occupation of the Caribbean island of Anguilla. Ronald Webster, political leader of the island which bolted a British-inspired three-island federation, said that Anguilla wanted to be an associated United Kingdom state with semi-independent status.

Football
CIAU
Pre-season
Waterloo 20 @ Alberta 22

Jim Dallin rushed for 126 yards and touchdowns of 2 and 30 yards after Terry Lampert had completed a 48-yard TD pass to Mel Smith to open the scoring, helping the Golden Bears defeat the Warriors befoer 7,500 fans at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton.

Baseball
Steve Carlton of the St. Louis Cardinals established a major league record for a 9-inning game when he struck out 19 New York Mets, but lost the game 4-3 when Ron Swoboda hit a pair of 2-run home runs off him. The Mets opened up a 4½-game lead in the National League East Division over the fading Chicago Cubs, who lost to the Montreal Expos.

Denny McLain hurled his 9th shutout of the season as the Detroit Tigers blanked the New York Yankees 2-0 at Yankee Stadium.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Zimbabwe Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Well All Right--Santana (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Tu Sei l'Unica Donna Per Me--Alan Sorrenti (13th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard (4th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 El Lute--Boney M.
2 Pop Muzik--M
3 Ring My Bell--Anita Ward
4 Gloria--Umberto Tozzi
5 Bright Eyes--Art Garfunkel
6 Do to Me--Smokie
7 Sunday Girl--Blondie
8 Bomba o non bomba--Antonello Venditti
9 Some Girls--Racey
10 Hot Stuff--Donna Summer

Singles entering the chart were El Lute; Bomba o non bomba; Tu sei l'unica donna per me by Alan Sorrenti (#13); Are 'Friends' Electric? by Tubeway Army (#15); A Walk in the Park by the Nick Straker Band (#21); The Logical Song by Supertramp (#22); and Bad Girls by Donna Summer (#23).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Quiereme Mucho--Julio Iglesias (3rd week at #1)
2 El Lute/Gotta Go Home--Boney M.
3 I Don't Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats
4 We Don't Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
5 Don't Bring Me Down--The Electric Light Orchestra
6 I was Made for Lovin' You--Kiss
7 Surf City/Dead Man's Curve--Jan & Dean
8 Give Up Your Guns--The Buoys
9 You Can't Change That--Raydio
10 Can't Stand Losing You--The Police

Singles entering the chart were Esmeralda by De Lenco's (#28); You Make it Alright by Jacques Kloes m.m.v. Patricia Paay (#31); Arumbai/Air Mata Tumpa by Massada (#32); Sail On by the Commodores (#34); The Worker by Fischer-Z (#35); and 999 by Vader Abraham & 5 PK (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 My Sharona--The Knack (4th week at #1)
2 After the Love Has Gone--Earth, Wind & Fire
3 The Devil Went Down to Georgia--The Charlie Daniels Band
4 Don't Bring Me Down--Electric Light Orchestra
5 Lead Me On--Maxine Nightingale
6 Sad Eyes--Robert John
7 Lonesome Loser--Little River Band
8 I'll Never Love this Way Again--Dionne Warwick
9 Good Times--Chic
10 Sail On--Commodores

Singles entering the chart were Hell on Wheels by Cher (#81); Plain Jane by Sammy Hagar (#87); Rainbow Connection by Kermit (Jim Henson) (#88); Beautiful Girls by Van Halen (#89); All Things are Possible by Dan Peek (#90); If You Want It by Niteflyte (#92); and You Stepped Into My Life by Wayne Newton (#98). Rainbow Connection was from The Muppet Movie (1979).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 My Sharona--The Knack (5th week at #1)
2 Good Times--Chic
3 After the Love Has Gone--Earth, Wind & Fire
4 Sad Eyes--Robert John
5 Lead Me On--Maxine Nightingale
6 Don't Bring Me Down--Electric Light Orchestra
7 The Devil Went Down to Georgia--The Charlie Daniels Band
8 I'll Never Love this Way Again--Dionne Warwick
9 Lonesome Loser--Little River Band
10 Sail On--Commodores

Singles entering the chart were You're Only Lonely by J.D. Souther (#78); Gotta Serve Somebody by Bob Dylan (#83); Come to Me by France Joli (#86); Hell on Wheels by Cher (#90); Do You Think I'm Disco? by Steve Dahl and Teenage Radiation (#96); Starry Eyes by the Records (#98); and I Just Want to Be by Cameo (#99). Do You Think I'm Disco? was a parody of Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?, a major hit by Rod Stewart earlier in 1979.

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 My Sharona--The Knack (2nd week at #1)
2 Good Times--Chic
3 Born to Be Alive--Patrick Hernandez
4 Gold--John Stewart
5 The Main Event/Fight--Barbra Streisand
6 I was Made for Lovin' You--Kiss
7 When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman--Dr. Hook
8 Don't Bring Me Down--Electric Light Orchestra
9 Let's Go--The Cars
10 Is She Really Going Out with Him?--Joe Jackson

Singles entering the chart were A Million Vacations by Max Webster (#80); Gotta Serve Somebody by Bob Dylan (#86); Dim All the Lights by Donna Summer (#92); Shaka Skaka by Zwol (#97); We'll Find a Way by Patsy Gallant and Dwayne Ford (#98); and Slow Down Boy by Tycoon (#100).

Journalism
The Daily Californian, a student-run newspaper at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, was barred from publishing a letter that Charles Hansen had written to U.S. Senator Charles Percy which contained information about the hydrogen bomb that the U.S. government considered "restricted."

Disasters
At least 50 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a freight train crashed into an express train filled with army recruits near Stalac, Yugoslavia.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (5-4-1) 22 @ Winnipeg (3-7) 19

Gerry Organ's field goal on the last play of the game at Winnipeg Stadium completed a stunning comeback for the Rough Riders, who had tied the game with just 1:03 remaining on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Jones to Jeff Avery.

CIAU
Saskatchewan 9 @ Alberta (3-0) 26

Baseball
Bob Watson hit for the cycle to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 10-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Mr. Watson had previously accomplished the feat with the Houston Astros, and became the first player to hit for the cycle in both major leagues.

Dan Driessen’s long drive to center field with 2 out in the 9th inning bounced off Derrel Thomas’s glove, and went over the wall for a home run, giving the Cincinnati Reds a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

25 years ago
1984

Religion
Pope John Paul II continued his Canadian tour in Ontario. One of the things he did that day was to give a blessing to Brian Mulroney, two days before Mr. Mulroney took office as Prime Minister. John Paul II’s papal blessing may have had a positive effect on Mr. Mulroney, but the result was disastrous for Canada.

Politics and government
The latest public opinion surveys of potential voters in the United States showed President Ronald Reagan leading Democratic challenger Walter Mondale by 15-18 percentage points. An Associated Press survey put Mr. Reagan ahead in 41 states with 420 electoral votes, 150 more than the number required for victory.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (8-2) 17 @ Montreal (4-6) 33



Hamilton (2-8-1) 16 @ Winnipeg (9-2) 48

Willard Reaves rushed for 4 touchdowns to lead the Blue Bombers to their rout of the Tiger-Cats at Winnipeg Stadium.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Swing the Mood--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers (3rd week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Swing the Mood--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
2 Flamenco Turistico--Stefanie Werger
3 A Cry in the Night--Lory "Bonnie" Bianco
4 Das Omen (Teil 1)--Mysterious Art
5 Sealed with a Kiss--Jason Donovan
6 The Best--Tina Turner
7 Love is Free--Bilgeri
8 Lullaby--The Cure
9 Blame it on the Rain--Milli Vanilli
10 Dressed for Success--Roxette

Singles entering the chart were The Best; Dressed for Success; Tell it Like it Is by Don Johnson (#15); and Me Myself and I by De La Soul (#21).

Died on this date
Robert Penn Warren, 84. U.S. novelist and poet. Mr. Warren was best known for his novel All the King’s Men (1946), which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1947. He also won Pulitzer Prizes for poetry in 1958 and 1979. In 1986 Mr. Warren was named the first Poet Laureate of the United States.

Environment
As winter approached in Alaska, Exxon Corporation halted its cleanup of the 11 million-gallon oil spill from the tanker Exxon Valdez, which had occurred in March. Exxon said the cost of the cleanup was approaching $2 billion. Although the company said that 1,100 miles of the shoreline had been made "environmentally stable," Alaska Governor Steve Cowper said "plenty more" had to be done, and that Alaska would bill Exxon for the cleanup being continued by the state.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that the index of producer prices for finished goods had fallen 0.4% in August.

Football
CFL
Toronto (4-7) 16 @ Calgary (6-5) 36

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Cleveland Williams, 66. U.S. boxer. Mr. Williams, nicknamed "Big Cat," was a heavyweight who compiled a record of 80-13-1, with 60 wins by knockout, in a professional career from 1951-1972. He was regarded as one of the hardest punchers of his day, and one of the best not to win a world title. Mr. Williams was a title contender in the early 1960s, but was shot and wounded in an incident with a policeman in November 1964. He made a remarkable recovery and resumed his career in 1966, climaxing with a fight against world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Mr. Williams was knocked out in 3 rounds. He died 12 days after being run down by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the street.

War
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to deploy a multinational force in an attempt to restore peace to the Indonesian region of East Timor. Australia, a neighbour of Indonesia, was to ultimately supply about half of the projected 8,000 troops, with 200 U.S. military personnel providing logistical support.

Crime
Larry Ashbrook, armed with two semi-automatic handguns, shot seven people to death and wounded seven others in a Baptist church in Fort Worth, Texas before shooting himself to death. At the time, 150 congregants were attending a service for young people; three of the dead were teenagers.

Business
Baseball approved the sale of the Cincinnati Reds to Carl Lindner for $67 million‚ ending Marge Schott's 15-year reign as owner.

Baseball
Baseball owners voted to merge the administrative operations of the American and National Leagues. National League President Leonard Coleman‚ concluding that his job had become irrelevant‚ announced his resignation effective after the World Series. He went on to become a senior adviser to Commissioner Bud Selig.