September 21, 2009

160 years ago
1849

Born on this date
Maurice Barrymore. Indian-born U.S. actor. Mr. Barrymore, whose real name was Herbert Blythe, was born in Amritsar, Punjab, in what was then British India. He won the British middleweight boxing championship in 1872, and began his acting career in England before emigrating to the United States at the end of 1874, making his Broadway debut in 1875. Mr. Barrymore married actress Georgiana Drew in 1876, and the couple became the parents of actors Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore. Maurice survived an 1879 shooting in Marshall, Texas by a man whom he'd beaten in a card game, and was able to resume his career. He suffered a sudden mental breakdown on stage in 1901, and was committed to Bellevue Hospital in New York, where he was diagnosed with syphilis. Mr. Barrymore died on March 25, 1905 at the age of 55.

150 years ago
1859

Born on this date
Francesc Macià i Llussà. 122nd President of Catalonia, 1932-1933. Mr. Macià was a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish Army before entering politics. He represented Barcelona and Borges Blanques (Lleida) in the Spanish Congress of Deputies from 1907-1923, and founded the Catalonian independence party Estat Català in 1922. Mr. Macià led an unsuccessful insurrection against Spanish dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera in 1926, and served two months in prison before spending three years in exile in Brussels. The Catalan Republic was proclaimed in 1931, but negotiations with the Spanish government led to the establishment of the Generalitat of Catalonia, an autonomous region within the Spanish Republic, with Mr. Macià serving as its President from December 14, 1932 until his death on December 25, 1933 at the age of 74.

120 years ago
1889

Baseball
In the American Association, the St. Louis Browns made 4 errors in the 9th inning, allowing the Cincinnati Reds to come back and win 5-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

90 years ago
1919

Football
Wisconsin professional
Marinette Northerners 0 @ Green Bay Packers (2-0) 61

Baseball
Slim Sallee of the Cincinnati Reds threw just 65 pitches in 9 innings, but lost 3-1 to the Brooklyn Robins at Redland Field in Cincinnati. Mr. Sallee walked 1 batter in the game, which was played in just 55 minutes. Sherry Smith allowed 8 hits in improving his 1919 record to 6-12, while Mr. Sallee pitched a 6-hitter, allowing 2 earned runs, to fall to 20-7.

Grover Cleveland Alexander (15-11) pitched a 6-hitter to outduel Red Causey (13-7) as the Chicago Cubs shut out the Boston Braves 3-0 at Cubs Park in a game that was played in 58 minutes.

The Cleveland Indians scored 5 runs in the top of the 9th inning to overcome a 4-3 deficit and defeat the Washington Nationals 8-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Washington center fielder Buzz Murphy batted 0 for 4 with a base on balls and a run, making 6 putouts in the 88th and last game of his 2-year major league career.

Del Pratt batted 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 runs batted in to help the New York Yankees edge the Detroit Tigers 4-3 before 20,000 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Carl Mays (13-14) allowed 10 hits and 1 earned run in a complete game victory over Hooks Dauss (20-9).

80 years ago
1929

At the movies
The Lady Lies, directed by Hobart Henley, and starring Walter Huston, Claudette Colbert, and Charles Ruggles, opened in theatres.

Football
CRU
ARU
Calgary (1-0) 33 @ Edmonton (0-1) 8

Eric "Eck" Duggan scored the Eskimos' touchdown in their loss to the Altomah-Tigers at Renfrew Park. The Eskimos wore red and black for the 1929 season.

75 years ago
1934

Baseball
Dizzy and Daffy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals almost combined for a double no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. In the first game of a doubleheader, the Cardinals won 13-0; Dizzy Dean carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning, eventually giving up 3 hits. He had 2 hits of his own, including a double. In the second game, Daffy did pitch a no-hitter, winning 3-0. Said Dizzy after the second game: "If'n Paul had told me he was gonna pitch a no-hitter‚ I'd of throwed one‚ too." The Cardinals, who had 9 games remaining to play, were now 3 games behind the New York Giants in the National League pennant race. The Giants had 7 games remaining.

70 years ago
1939

On the radio
Washington, D.C. station WJSV, in collaboration with the National Archives, recorded its entire 19-hour broadcast day for posterity. Go here for free download.



Died on this date
Armand Călinescu, 46. Prime Minister of Romania, 1939. Mr. Călinescu, the leader of the Ntional Renaissance Party, was an opponent of both the Communist Party and Romania's pro-Fascist Iron Guard. He replaced ailing Miron Cristea as Prime Minister on March 7, 1939. Mr. Călinescu was assassinated when his Cadillac was ambushed in Bucharest by members of the Iron Guard acting under orders from leader Horia Sima. Mr. Călinescu was gunned down along with his driver, Miti Dumitrescu, and bodyguard Radu Andone. Gheorghe Argeşanu took over as interim Prime Minister for a week, before being replaced by Constantin Argetoianu.

Baseball
The National League announced that for the first time in the 20th century‚ games would be transferred from one city to another. The Dodgers' doubleheader scheduled to be played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia would be moved to Brooklyn in an effort to top one million in paid attendance at Ebbets Field.

The Cleveland Indians scored all their runs in the 8th inning as they beat the Washington Nationals 6-3 before 5,000 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Al Milnar pitched a 7-hit complete game victory to improve his 1939 record to 13-11, while Washington starter Dick Bass allowed 7 hits and 6 earned runs in 8 innings, walking 6 batters and striking out 1 to take the loss in his only major league game. Washington right fielder Alex Pitko batted 1 for 3 with a base on balls and a run batted in, making 2 putouts in the 11th and last game of his 2-year major league career.

Rudy York singled home 2 runs with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning to complete the Detroit Tigers' comeback from a 6-2 deficit as they beat the Philadelphia Athletics 7-6 before 5,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC

The series, starring new actors in the roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, returned to ABC with this broadcast after two seasons on MBS. Unfortunately, most of this season's episodes are lost (or at least awaiting rediscovery), and even the titles of most of the episodes are unknown.

Died on this date
Buck Danner, 58. U.S. baseball player. Henry Frederick Danne was a shortstop with the Philadelphia Athletics (1915), batting .250 with no home runs or runs batted in in 3 games.

Abominations
Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong) proclaimed the People’s Republic of China at the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Peking (Beijing).

Politics and government
West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer named his first cabinet, a Christian Democrat-Free Democrat coalition with Ludwig Erhard as Economics Minister.

Labour
Wildcat strikes involving 5,300 steel workers broke out near Pittsburgh as a result of the current pension dispute.

Swimming
Jose Cortinas of Cuba swam the Straits of Gibraltar in 10 hours 45 minutes.

Baseball
The Boston Red Sox moved to within 2 games of the New York Yankees in the American League pennant race when they overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Cleveland Indians 9-6 before 22,917 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams hit his 41st home run of the season for the Red Sox, and Ellis Kinder pitched the last 3 innings in relief to earn his 12th straight win, improving his 1949 record to 22-5.

Gus Zernial hit a 3-run home run off Joe Page with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 9-8 win over the New York Yankees before 10,441 fans at Yankee Stadium in a game in which the Yankees blew an 8-1 lead. New York starting pitcher Tommy Byrne carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning, gave up a double, and left one batter later with a sore shoulder.

Enos Slaughter doubled to lead off the bottom of the 9th inning for his third hit of the game and scored on a bases-loaded single by Joe Garagiola to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 1-0 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers before 31,468 fans in the first of two games at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Max Lanier (5-3) pitched a 5-hitter to outduel Don Newcombe (15-8), who allowed 8 hits. The Dodgers scored all their runs in the 4th inning as they won the second game 5-0 before 37,429 fans, with Preacher Roe (14-5) pitching a 2-hitter to win over Harry Brecheen (13-10). The split left the Cardinals 1½ games ahead of the second-place Dodgers in the National League pennant race.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Un Telegrama--Monna Bell (4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Sleep Walk--Santo & Johnny
2 The Three Bells--The Browns
3 I'm Gonna Get Married--Lloyd Price
4 ('Til) I Kissed You--The Everly Brothers
5 Sea of Love--Phil Phillips with the Twilights
6 Red River Rock--Johnny and the Hurricanes
7 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin
8 Broken-Hearted Melody--Sarah Vaughan
9 I Want to Walk You Home--Fats Domino
10 Put Your Head on My Shoulder--Paul Anka

Singles entering the chart were Got the Feeling by Fabian (#62); Ski King by E.C. Beatty (#70); Say Man by Bo Diddley (#71); Don't You Know by Della Reese (#74); Boogie Bear by Boyd Bennett (#79); Shout (Part 1) by the Isley Brothers (#82); Tucumcari by Jimmie Rodgers (#88); Two Fools by Frankie Avalon (#90); Six Boys and Seven Girls by Anita Bryant (#94); Plenty Good Lovin' by Connie Francis (#98); and In the Mood by the Ernie Fields Orchestra (#99).

Sleep Walk, one of this blogger’s all-time favourites, was originally released on a small Brooklyn label called Trinity Records before being picked up by the larger Canadian-American label, which gave it wider distribution. Santo and Johnny followed with a few minor hits. They re-recorded their biggest hit (with the addition of an organ) and released it on Imperial in the spring of 1968 under the title Sleep Walk ‘68. It sounded great, but wasn’t anywhere near the commercial success of the original version. Younger listeners may remember the 1959 version of Sleep Walk from the opening scene of the 1987 movie La Bamba.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Caribbean--Mitchell Torok
2 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin
3 Till I Kissed You--The Everly Brothers
4 Sleep Walk--Santo & Johnny
5 Just Ask Your Heart--Frankie Avalon
6 The Three Bells--The Browns
7 Red River Rock--Johnny and the Hurricanes
8 Makin' Love--Floyd Robinson
9 Teen Beat--Sandy Nelson
10 I'm Gonna Get Married--Lloyd Price

A total of 50 songs were listed on this, the first CFUN chart.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Caribbean--Mitchell Torok (3rd week at #1)
2 The Three Bells--The Browns
3 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin
4 Broken-Hearted Melody--Sarah Vaughan
5 ('Til) I Kissed You--The Everly Brothers
6 Morgen--Ivo Robic and the Song-Masters
7 I'm Gonna Get Married--Lloyd Price
8 Sleep Walk--Santo & Johnny
9 Makin' Love--Floyd Robinson
10 Primrose Lane--Jerry Wallace with the Jewels

Singles entering the chart were Mr. Blue by the Fleetwoods (#24); The Angels Listened In by the Crests (#28); Deck of Cards by Wink Martindale (#40); Where/Wish it were Me by the Platters (#45); Living Doll by David Hill (#48, charting with the version by Cliff Richard and the Drifters); Tucumcari by Jimmie Rodgers (#52); Love Walked In by the Flamingos (#54); I'll Be Seeing You by Tommy Sands (#55); Young in Years by the Diamonds (#56); It Happened Today by the Skyliners (#57); I'll Never Fall in Love Again by Johnnie Ray (#58); Angel Town by Bob Thompson (#59); and Soldier Won't You Marry Me by Diana Trask (#60).

War
Algerian National Movement leader Hadj Messali endorsed French President Charles de Gaulle's proposal for Algeria as a basis for negotiations to end the rebellion.

South East Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Pote Sarasin said in Bangkok that the organization would consider sending troops to Laos if requested.

Diplomacy
Austrian Foreign Minister Bruno Kreisky called on Italy to create an autonomous province for the German-speaking inhabitants of the South Tyrol.

The U.S. State Department announced the appointment of Ambassador to the Philippines Charles "Chip" Bohlen as a special adviser to Secretary of State Christian Herter.

Politics and government
Portugal petitioned the World Court for restoration of Portuguese control over Dadra and Nagar Aveli, Portuguese enclaves occupied by India in 1954.

Football
CFL
IRFU
The Toronto Argonauts fired Hamp Pool as head coach after 2½ disappointing seasons. The Argonauts were 10-25 under Mr. Pool since the beginning of the 1957 season. He was replaced by assistant coach Steve Owen, who had been head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League from 1930-1953.

WIFU
Winnipeg (7-3) 15 @ Calgary (4-5) 10



British Columbia (6-4) 7 @ Edmonton (6-3) 29

Jackie Parker kicked 5 field goals for the Eskimos, equalling a single-game record set by Pep Leadlay of the Hamilton Tigers in 1927. Mr. Parker also scored a touchdown and 2 converts; his 23 points remained a team record for a single game until 1981. The other Eskimo touchdown was scored by Joe-Bob Smith, who caught 6 passes for 216 yards in the best game of his career.

Baseball
American Association
Finals
Minneapolis 3 @ Fort Worth 5 (Minneapolis led best-of-seven series 2-1)

40 years ago
1969

War
A formal statement from the North Vietnamese government made it clear that they did not view U.S. President Richard Nixon’s order to cut troop strength in Vietnam by 35,000 men as a step toward settling the Vietnam War. Calling the cutback a "perfidious trick," the statement vowed a struggle to force the departure of all U.S. troops from Vietnam.

Diplomacy
The Islamic Summit Conference, hosted by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, opened in Rabat, Morocco, as 27 Muslim delegations met to discuss the August 21 burning of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by Australian fanatic Denis Michael Rohan.

Crime
United States federal law enforcement agencies initiated Operation Intercept, an all-out war on the smuggling of marijuana and other drugs into the country from Mexico. Using radar, search planes, and patrol boats, it was the largest civil search and seizure operation ever conducted in peacetime to date.

Police in London raided a 100-room mansion in Piccadilly and evicted squatters who had occupied the building for six days.

Disasters
The toll from South Korea’s worst floods in 10 years stood at 327 dead, 78 missing, and 407 injured.

Auto racing
Mario Andretti won the Trenton 300 United States Auto Club championship car race.

Hockey
NHL
During a pre-season game in Ottawa between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues, St. Louis forward Wayne Maki and Boston defenceman Ted Green engaged in a stick-swinging duel. Mr. Green ended up lying on the ice, and was fighting for his life after being hospitalized with a fractured skull.



Football
CFL
Montreal (1-5-2) 41 @ Hamilton (6-1-1) 35
British Columbia (1-9) 17 @ Winnipeg (3-6-1) 19

Quarterback Sonny Wade directed the Alouettes to their first win of the season, but one of the Montreal touchdowns (a short run by Dennis Duncan in the second quarter) was scored as a result of the Alouettes receiving a "fourth down" as a result of an officiating error. With the ball inside the Hamilton 10-yard line, the Alouettes’ first-down play was unsuccessful. They ran their next play with the down marker still reading "1," and they didn’t score until it was officially third down. It was assumed that Montreal had been assessed a penalty on first down, but in fact, no penalty had been called. The situation became complicated later when part of the Tiger-Cats’ official game film was ruined in developing, including the part of the game in which the controversial drive occurred. 23,338 fans were at Civic Stadium, presumably some of whom knew what down it should have been, and along with the CTV broadcast crew, were just as confused as the officials.

Wally Gabler's 37-yard touchdown pass to Dave Washington with exactly 1 minute remaining in the game gave the Blue Bombers the victory before 18,361 fans at Winnipeg Stadium. The score came just 1:35 after a 1-yard run by Jim Evenson had given B.C. the lead. Mr. Washington caught 8 passes for 151 yards. B.C.'s other touchdown came on a 61-yard pass from quarterback Paul Brothers to Jim Young. Lions’ head coach Jim Champion remarked in the dressing room after the game that the loss had probably just cost him his job; he was soon to find out how correct he was.

CIAU
Pre-season
Manitoba 31 @ St. Francis Xavier 6

Manitoba quarterback Bob Kraemer scored 3 touchdowns to lead the Bisons to victory over the X-Men at St. F.X. Stadium in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

NFL
St. Louis (0-1) 3 @ Dallas (1-0) 24
Washington (1-0) 26 @ New Orleans (0-1) 20
Cleveland (1-0) 27 @ Philadelphia (0-1) 20
Minnesota (0-1) 23 @ New York (1-0) 24
Detroit (0-1) 13 @ Pittsburgh (1-0) 16
Chicago (0-1) 9 @ Green Bay (1-0) 17
San Francisco (0-1) 12 @ Atlanta (1-0) 24
Los Angeles (1-0) 27 @ Baltimore (0-1) 20

Alex Webster of the New York Giants and Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers each won their debuts as NFL head coaches, while the Washington Redskins won their first game under new head coach Vince Lombardi.

AFL
Houston (1-1) 17 @ Buffalo (0-2) 3
San Diego (0-2) 20 @ Cincinnati (2-0) 34
New York (1-1) 19 @ Denver (2-0) 21
Kansas City (2-0) 31 @ Boston (0-2) 0

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Bobby Brown--Frank Zappa (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): El Lute--Boney M. (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Je l'aime à mourir--Francis Cabrel (3rd week at #1)

Diplomacy
The government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia accepted "the general principles" of a British-proposed constitution that would omit the "blocking power" by which whites could veto amendments to the present constitution.

The United Nations General Assembly voted by a 2-1 margin to retain Pol Pot’s representative as Cambodia’s official delegate. The move was a defeat for the U.S.S.R. and a victory for China and the non-Communist nations of Southeast Asia.

Energy
After two years of difficult negotiations, agreement was reached on the sale of Mexican natural gas to U.S. companies. The price agreed upon was about 50% above current domestic U.S. gas prices and was to be adjusted quarterly, based on an index of world crude oil prices. The quantity to be delivered was 300 million cubic feet of gas per day, a small fraction of U.S. consumption.

Aviation
British and French officials met in London to decide the fate of the remaining unsold Concorde supersonic airliners of the 16 built. The last five of the unsold planes would be "allocated" to the flag carriers of the two countries, British Airways and Air France. Both government said they would not back the development of a second generation of the plane, so the meeting was seen as marking the end of the Concorde program. It was estimated that the cost of the program, including research development, and manufacture, came to about $3 billion. The noise made by the plane on takeoff and landing had led to objections to its use, and its high fuel consumption made it costly to operate.

Disasters
A Royal Air Force Harrier jet crashed onto houses in the Cambridgeshire town of Wisbech, killing two men and a young boy. The crash occurred after the jet collided with another Harrier at an altitude of 8,000 feet. Both pilots ejected safely.

Football
CIAU
McMaster (0-3) 0 @ Wilfrid Laurier (3-0) 45
Guelph (1-2) 19 @ Toronto (3-0) 21

Baseball
The New York Mets sold pitcher Dock Ellis to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mr. Ellis had begun his major league career with the Pirates in 1968 and played with them through 1975. He had begun the 1979 season with the Texas Rangers, compiling a 1-5 record with an earned run average of 5.98 in 10 games before being traded to the Mets on June 15 and going 3-7 with a 6.04 ERA in 17 games.

Lynn McGlothen pitched a 4-hitter to improve his 1979 record to 12-13 and batted 2 for 3, scoring the winning run in a 2-run 5th inning as the Chicago Cubs shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 before 9,552 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago, dropping the Pirates 1 game behind the Montreal Expos in the National League East Division pennant race. Don Robinson allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings to fall to 8-7.

Craig Reynolds led off the bottom of the 13th inning with a single and scored on a 2-out bases-loaded single by Bruce Bochy to give the Houston Astros a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 44,975 fans at the Astrodome, moving the Astros to within 1½ games of the first-place Reds in the National League West Division pennant race. J.R. Richard pitched the first 11 innings for Houston, allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs, with 15 strikeouts. Tom Seaver pitched the first 9 innings for Cincinnati, allowing 8 hits and 2 runs--1 earned--with 5 strikeouts.

U.L. Washington hit his first 2 major league home runs--one from each side of the plate--and added 2 singles, scored 3 runs, and drove in 6 to lead the Kansas City Royals past the Oakland Athletics 13-4 before 2,340 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

25 years ago
1984

Labour
General Motors and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative contract settlement, averting a strike that could have crippled the automotive industry. The union had already begun selective strikes that had idled 110,000 workers. The settlement covered 350,000 workers, and provided for a first-year pay raise averaging about 2.5%, with lump-sum payments of about 2.5% for the next two years. GM also agreed to improvements in pension benefits. A spokesman for Ford Motor Company said that Ford would not "walk in lockstep" with GM.

6,000 striking miners clashed with 700 police officers (accompanied by 500 waiting reinforcements) at a pit in South Yorkshire in one of the biggest mass pickets in the six-month-old strike of the National Union of Miners in Britain.

Economics and finance
The United States Labour Department reported that the consumer price index had risen 0.5% in August.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (6-5) 23 @ Ottawa (4-8) 32

Tim McCray rushed 30 times for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns, including one of 64 yards, as the Rough Riders ended a 7-game losing streak. Defensive end Ray Harrison, playing his first CFL game, returned a fumble 46 yards for the other Ottawa touchdown. Eskimo quarterback Matt Dunigan played just two days after getting married, and it showed--he completed just 15 of 31 passes for 211 yards and 3 interceptions. He scored one touchdown on a 1-yard rush, and threw 50 yards to Chris Woods for another score. Darryl Hall made 2 interceptions for the Eskimos, while Cliff Toney returned another interception 88 yards for the first Edmonton touchdown. Veteran Edmonton kicker Dave Cutler missed all 3 of his field goal attempts in front of 19,387 fans at Lansdowne Park.

Baseball
The Boston Red Sox blanked the Baltimore Orioles 8-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Jim Traber made his major league debut with the Orioles--first by singing the national anthem, then by playing as the designated hitter.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Finnish Singles Chart): Ehtaa tavaraa (80-luvun tykki)--Bat & Ryyd (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Right Here Waiting--Richard Marx

Died on this date
Murry Dickson, 73. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Dickson played with five different teams in a major league career spanning the years 1939-1959, compiling a record of 172 wins and 181 losses, with an earned run average of 3.66. He spent much of his career with losing teams, but was a member of World Series championship clubs with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 and the New York Yankees in 1958.

Law
A Tennessee state court gave temporary custody of seven frozen embryos to Mary Sue Davis, who was separated from her husband Junior. Mrs. Davis hoped to become pregnant, but Mr. Davis, who had sued for divorce, said he no longer wanted to become a father. Judge W. Dale Young ruled that "human life begins at the moment of conception," and he treated the case as a normal custody battle.

Disasters
With winds of 135 miles per hour, the centre of Hurricane Hugo struck Charleston, South Carolina. Many of the city’s historic buildings, as well as private and commercial property, were damaged.

A collision between a truck and a school bus in Alton, Texas took the lives of 20 students and injured more than 60. The truck struck the bus as it passed through an intersection, and the bus then plunged 40 feet into a water-filled gravel pit.

Boxing
Tony Wilson (17-2) was awarded a technical knockout over Steve McCarthy (9-1-1) in the 3rd round of a light heavyweight bout at Guildhall, Southampton, England despite interference from Mr. Wilson's mother. Mr. McCarthy was pummeling Mr. Wilson when she entered the ring and began hitting Mr. McCarthy on the head with her shoe. When referee Adrian Morgan directed Mrs. Wilson out of the ring, Mr. McCarthy began celebrating, and left the ring. Mr. Morgan hadn't awarded the fight to him, however, and instead awarded the victory to Mr. Wilson because Mr. McCarthy had left the ring. The audience understandably reacted with loud displeasure, throwing various objects into the ring.



10 years ago
1999

Disasters
An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck Taiwan in the early morning, killing at least 2,300 people, injuring 8,700, and leaving 100,000 homeless. Many people were asleep at the time and were trapped in high-rise apartment buildings that toppled to the ground. The epicentre was in the mountainous central region of the island; Taichung and Nantou were among the cities hardest hit.

Baseball
Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox joined Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to record 300 strikeouts in a season in each major league when he struck out 12 Toronto Blue Jays in posting a 3-0 shutout before 27,799 fans at Fenway Park in Boston to improve his 1999 record to 23-4. Pat Hentgen allowed 11 hits and 3 runs--2 earned--in 7 innings to fall to 10-12.