September 18, 2010

830 years ago
1180

Died on this date
Louis VII, 60 (?). King of the Franks, 1137-1180. Louis VII "the Younger" acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Louis VI. His reign included the Second Crusade (1147-1149), which ended in disaster for his forces. King Louis attempted to weaken King Henry II of England by supporting Henry's rebellious sons and Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket. King Louis VII died after a paralyzing illness, and was succeeded by his son Philip II.

200 years ago
1810

South Americana
Chile declared its independence from Spain.

160 years ago
1850

Law
The United States Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required the return of escaped slaves to their owners.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Alberto Franchetti. Italian composer. Mr. Franchetti was known for his nine performed operas, especially Germania (1902). He died on August 4, 1942 at the age of 81.

140 years ago
1870

Americana
Nathaniel P. Langford of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition first observed a geyser in the Wyoming Territory erupting at regular intervals, naming it "Old Faithful".

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Ralph Johnstone. U.S. aviator. Mr. Johnstone was a member of the Wright brothers' exhibition team, who was known for setting altitude records and daredevil stunts. Wilbur Wright wrote a letter to the team warning them against such stunts, but Mr. Johnstone failed to heed the warning, and was killed on November 17, 1910 at the age of 30, in an exhibition in Denver before 50,000 spectators, when he failed to pull out of a deep dive, and crashed, thus becoming the first American to die piloting an airplane that crashed.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. Prime Minister of Mauritius, 1968-1982; Governor-General of Mauritius, 1983-1985. Sir Seewoosagur, an economist by training, led the Mauritian Labour Party from 1958 until his death. He was Chief Minister of Mauritius from 1961-1968, and became Prime Minister when Mauritius gained its independence from Britain. Sir Seewoosagur's government was defeated in the 1982 general election, and he was appointed Governor-General a year later. He died in office on December 15, 1985 at the age of 85.

Baseball
The American League’s only season as a minor league ended with the Chicago White Stockings winning the pennant by 4 games.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Josef Tal. Polish-born Israeli composer. Mr. Tal was born Josef Grünthal in Poland when it was part of the German Empire, and immigrated to Palestine in 1934. He wrote six symphonies, 13 concertos, instrumental, chamber, and electronic works, as well as three Hebrew operas and four German operas. Mr. Tal died on August 25, 2008, 24 days before his 98th birthday.

90 years ago
1920

Baseball
The Chicago White Sox completed a 3-game sweep of the New York Yankees with a 15-9 win before 38,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago to remain 1½ games behind the Cleveland Indians in the American League pennant race, as rumours continued to build that the White Sox’ 1919 World Series loss to the Cincinnati Reds had been fixed. The White Sox scored 8 runs in the first 2 innings, and amassed 21 hits in the game. Eddie Cicotte (19-10) pitched an 11-hit complete game, allowing 7 earned runs, to win over Bob Shawkey (18-12). The game was played in 1 hour 50 minutes.

Larry Gardner singled home Bill Wambsganss and Tris Speaker with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th inning to break a 5-5 tie as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Washington Nationals 7-5 at Dunn FIled in Cleveland. The Nationals scored 2 unearned runs in the 5th inning as a result of 3 errors by rookie Cleveland shortstop Joe Sewell. Winning pitcher Ray Caldwell (19-10) allowed 14 hits in a complete game, but allowed just 1 earned run.

80 years ago
1930

Discovered dead on this date
Simone Caron, 7. Canadian crime victim. Miss Caron's body was discovered in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec, leading to a series of trials over the next several years, but no ultimate resolution of the case.

Baseball
Al Simmons had 4 hits, including a home run, as the Philadelphia Athletics overcame an early 5-0 deficit to beat the Chicago White Sox 14-10 before 6,000 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago to clinch the American League pennant for the second straight year. Dutch Henry, the third of five Chicago pitchers, allowed 3 hits and 3 runs--all earned--in 1/3 inning in the 164th and last game of his 8-year major league career. Chick Autry struck out as a pinch hitter for the White Sox in the 9th inning in the 120th and last game of his 6-year major league career.

Lyn Lary singled home Dusty Cooke with 2 out in the top of the 10th inning to break a 6-6 tie as the New York Yankees edged the St. Louis Browns 7-6 before 600 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. New York starting pitcher Red Ruffing drove in 3 runs with a pair of home runs, but he was relieved after 7 innings by Herb Pennock (11-7), who pitched 2 innings and got the win. Lin Storti and Jack Crouch both made their major league debuts as pinch hitters for the Browns, with Mr. Storti striking out in the 7th and Mr. Crouch walking in the 8th and being stranded at third base. Red Badgro played the 8th inning in right field for the Browns, with no fielding chances in the 143rd and last game of his 2-year major league career.

The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 5 runs in the 4th inning and held on to edge the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 before 1,000 fans at National League Park in Philadelphia. Philadelphia right fielder Chuck Klein had 4 hits, including his 35th and 36th home runs of the season, driving in 3 runs. Ray Kremer (20-11) pitched a 12-hit complete game victory .

70 years ago
1940

War
The British steam passenger ship SS City of Benares was struck by a torpedo from German U-boat U-48 one minute past midnight off the British isles with heavy loss of life, including 77 of 90 children who were being evacuated from the United Kingdom to Canada for the duration of World War II. The British Air Ministry reported air attacks on French, Belgian, and Dutch coastal ports.

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill authorizing over $23 million for the construction of drydocks in New York, Boston, and the Caribbean.

Economics and finance
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Kingsley Wood told the House of Commons that Britain would keep its tie to the Bank of International Settlement despite the war.

Japan refused to say when it would keep its promise to open the Yangtze River to foreign trade.

Baseball
The Cincinnati Reds edged the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in 13 innings before 2,093 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia to clinch the National League pennant for the second straight year.

The Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics split a doubleheader before 12,757 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, with the Tigers winning the first game 14-0 and the Athletics winning the second game 13-6. Four pinch hitters came to bat for the Athletics in the top of the 9th inning of the second game, and all 4 made hits, with 3 of them coming around to score as the Athletics scored 9 runs. Hank Greenberg hit a grand slam for the Tigers in the 1st game. Pat Mullin made his major league debut, batting unsuccessfully as a pinch hitter for Detroit in the 6th inning of the first game.

60 years ago
1950

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Leopard Lady, starring Martin Brandt, Sid Cassel, A.J. Herbert, and Boris Karloff

Defense
U.S. President Harry Truman presented Congress with the 149-page report United States Civil Defense, and announced the establishment of a temporary Civil Defense Administration to coordinate contingency planning for an atomic attack.

Transportation
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe reported plans for a European superhighway network running from Glasgow to Istanbul and Helsinki to Lisbon at an estimated cost of $5 billion.

Baseball
Ron Northey’s third career major league pinch-grand slam helped the Chicago Cubs defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers 9-7 before 2,051 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, offsetting 3 home runs by Brooklyn left fielder Tommy Brown.

Larry Jansen (17-12) pitched a 2-hitter and drove in 2 runs to help the New York Giants rout the St. Louis Cardinals 13-0 before 5,022 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Ed Mickelson made his major league debut with the Cardinals, striking out as a pinch hitter to end the 8th inning.

50 years ago
1960

Diplomacy
Fidel Castro arrived in New York City as the head of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (5-2) 26 @ Toronto (5-2) 12

30,949 were at CNE Stadium to see the Rough Riders defeat the Argonauts for the second time in five days.

ORFU
London (2-1) 23 @ Port Huron-Detroit (1-3) 21

AFL
Denver (2-0) 27 @ Buffalo (0-2) 21
Los Angeles (1-1) 28 @ Houston (2-0) 38

Baseball
Before a Yankee Stadium crowd of 53,876, the New York Yankees completed a 4-game sweep of a crucial series with the second-place Baltimore Orioles, sweeping a doubleheader 7-3 and 2-0 to move 4 games ahead in the American League pennant race. Ralph Terry (9-8) pitched a 2-hitter to outduel Milt Pappas (13-11), who allowed 5 hits, in the second game.

Vern Law (20-8) pitched a 9-hit complete game victory and Vinegar Bend Mizell (12-8) followed with a 3-hit shutout for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 and 1-0 before 14,438 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Cal McLish (4-13) and Bob Purkey (17-9) were the respective losing pitchers.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Pinocchio--Maria Dallas (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): 21 Years--Dermot Hegarty (3rd week at #1)

South Africa's Top 10 (Springbok Radio)
1 Lola--The Kinks
2 The Wedding--Jody Wayne
3 Neanderthal Man--Hotlegs
4 Lady D'Arbanville--Cat Stevens
5 In the Summertime--Mungo Jerry
6 A Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)--Miguel Rios
7 Keep On Smiling--James Lloyd
8 Down the Dustpipe--Status Quo
9 Brown Eyes--Chris Andrews
10 Mama Told Me (Not to Come)--Three Dog Night

The only single entering the chart was Rainbow by the Marmalade (#20).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Cracklin' Rosie--Neil Diamond
2 Yellow River--Christie
3 Indiana Wants Me--R. Dean Taylor
4 Julie, Do Ya Love Me?--Bobby Sherman
5 Patches--Clarence Carter
6 Joanne--Michael Nesmith & the First National Band
7 Candida--Dawn
8 All Right Now--Free
9 Green-Eyed Lady--Sugarloaf
10 War--Edwin Starr

Singles entering the chart were Lola by the Kinks (#23); God, Love and Rock & Roll (We Believe) by Teegarden & Van Winkle (#24); Groovy Situation by Gene Chandler (#26); Long Long Time by Linda Ronstadt (#29); and El Condor Pasa by Simon & Garfunkel (#30).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKVN)
1 War--Edwin Starr
2 Patches--Clarence Carter
3 Yellow River--Christie
4 Lookin' Out My Back Door/Long as I Can See the Light--Creedence Clearwater Revival
5 Cracklin' Rosie--Neil Diamond
6 Indiana Wants Me--R. Dean Taylor
7 All Right Now--Free
8 Candida--Dawn
9 Joanne--Michael Nesmith & the First National Band
10 Green-Eyed Lady--Sugarloaf

Singles entering the chart were Lola by the Kinks (#20); El Condor Pasa by Simon & Garfunkel (#25); It's Only Make Believe by Glen Campbell (#26); Sunday Morning Coming Down by Johnny Cash (#27); Closer to Home by Grand Funk Railroad (#28); God, Love and Rock & Roll (We Believe) by Teegarden & Van Winkle (#29); and The Circle Game by Buffy Sainte-Marie (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Me and Bobby McGee--Gordon Lightfoot (2nd week at #1)
2 Cracklin' Rosie--Neil Diamond
3 Patches--Clarence Carter
4 Joanne--Michael Nesmith & the First National Band
5 Lookin' Out My Back Door--Creedence Clearwater Revival
6 In the Summertime--Mungo Jerry
7 Snowbird--Anne Murray
8 Indiana Wants Me--R. Dean Taylor
9 Tell it All Brother--Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
10 Candida--Dawn

On television tonight
The Interns, supposedly based on the 1960 novel by Richard Frede and the 1962 movie, broadcast its first episode--The Quality of Mercy--on CBS. The cast included Broderick Crawford; Stephen Brooks; Christopher Stone; Hal Frederick; Mike Farrell; Sandra Smith; Elaine Giftos; and Skip Homeier. The Interns was one of a number of television series in the 1970-71 season that emphasized "relevance," as opposed to the "irrelevance" of series such as The Beverly Hillbillies, and marked Mike Farrell's performance as a doctor in a series five years before he joined the cast of M*A*S*H. The Interns was broadcast in Canada by CBC on Thursday nights.

Died on this date
Jimi Hendrix, 27. U.S. rock musician. Mr. Hendrix, a left-handed guitar virtuoso who led the group Jimi Hendrix Experience, died after collapsing at a party in London. The group’s debut album Are You Experienced? was one of the best-selling albums of 1967. His singles included Hey Joe (1967); Purple Haze/The Wind Cries Mary (1967); All Along the Watchtower (1968); Crosstown Traffic (1968-1969); and Voodoo Chile (1970).

Diplomacy
Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir met with U.S. President Richard Nixon at the White House, and afterward told reporters that her country would not take part in peace talks until new missiles were removed from the Egyptian-held side of the Suez Canal truce zone. Mrs. Meir added that Israel would continue to observe the 90-day cease-fire.

Crime
A raid on local Black Panther headquarters in Toledo, Ohio and the fatal shooting of a Toledo policeman resulted in differing accounts of the events from the Black Panthers and the police. In New Orleans, police confirmed that two men beaten by members of a Black Panther group were undercover agents.

Labour
U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered a 60-day cooling-off period to avert a threatened nationwide railroad strike scheduled for September 24.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (5-4) 22 @ Saskatchewan (8-2) 23

The key plays of the game were 47-yard field goal attempts at the end of each half by Saskatchewan’s Jack Abendschan. The second, on the last play of the game, gave the Roughriders the win. The first, on the last play of the first half, hit the crossbar and bounced out to the B.C. 20-yard line. With the Saskatchewan players either thinking the ball was dead or going in the wrong direction, Barrie Hansen of the Lions returned the ball, without benefit of blocking from his teammates, 85 yards, only to be tackled on the Saskatchewan 5-yard line by Henry Dorsch. It was Mr. Hansen’s only punt return of the season. In 1971 the rule was changed so that a kicked ball striking the opposing team’s goal post in flight and bouncing back into the field of play was a dead ball; the following year the rule was amended so that a kicked ball striking the opposing team’s goal post in flight was automatically a dead ball whether or not it bounced back into the field of play. Mr. Abendschan kicked 3 field goals in the game and added 2 converts. Saskatchewan touchdowns were scored by George Reed on a 13-yard rush and Gord Barwell on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Ron Lancaster. B.C. quarterback Paul Brothers completed touchdown passes of 51 and 32 yards to Jim Young and another of 41 yards to Vic Washington. Ted Gerela converted all 3 and added a single on a wide field goal attempt from 48 yards. Mr. Reed rushed 16 times for 62 yards, while Jim Evenson of the Lions carried 17 times for 40 yards, leaving him 3 yards ahead of Mr. Reed in the battle for the Western Football Conference rushing title. Mr. Young led all receivers with 138 yards. Attendance at Taylor Field in Regina was 17,535. It was the first CFL game for former NFL backup quarterback Gary Lane, who dressed as one of two backup quarterbacks to Mr. Lancaster. Don Weiss, who had backed up Mr. Lancaster for the first 9 games, was also dressed, but was cut from the Roughriders before the team’s next game.

NFL
St. Louis (0-1) 13 @ Los Angeles (1-0) 34

Baseball
The Cleveland Indians sold pitcher Dean Chance to the New York Mets. Mr. Chance was 9-8 with an earned run average of 4.24 and 4 saves in 45 games with Cleveland in 1970.

Ferguson Jenkins (20-15) joined the 20-win club for the fourth consecutive season as he pitched the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Expos in the first game of a doubleheader before 27,898 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal, aided by Billy Williams’ 40th home run of the season. The Cubs completed the sweep with a 5-4 win in the second game, with Phil Regan (5-8) winning in relief, and Ron Santo singling home Don Kessinger to break a 4-4 tie in the 10th inning.

Don Baylor, playing his first major league game, singled home 2 runs in the 1st inning and then singled home pinch runner Paul Blair with none out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians before 5,752 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Mr. Baylor finsihed 2 for 5 at bat, with 4 putouts in center field. Mr. Blair was running for Roger Freed, who led off the inning with a base on balls, reaching base for the first time after batting 0 for 4 in his first major league game. Mr. Freed made 4 putouts in right field. The Cleveland runs came on a 3-run home run by Duke Sims in the 6th.

Pinch hitter Gene Tenace drew a bases-loaded walk with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to score Blue Moon Odom, giving the Oakland Athletics a 3-2 win over the California Angels before 5,379 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mr. Odom was running for Don Mincher, who drew a base on balls to lead off the inning. Mr. Odom advanced to second base on a ground out by Sal Bando, and went to third on a wild pitch by Ken Tatum (7-4), who was relieved by Dave LaRoche after intentionally walking Reggie Jackson. Mr. LaRoche then intentionally walked Frank Fernandez and struck out Dick Green before unintentionally walking Mr. Tenace. Chuck Dobson (16-13) pitched a 3-hit complete game victory.

30 years ago
1980

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Olga Kravtsova!

Died on this date
Katherine Anne Porter, 90. U.S. authoress. Miss Porter, born Callie Russel Porter, won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (1965), but is best known for her only novel, Ship of Fools (1962).

Leo Tankersley, 79. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Tankersley was a catcher who played 1 game with the Chicago White Sox on July 2, 1925, batting 0 for 3. He batted .205 in 110 games with the Terrell Terrors of the Class D Texas Association in 1926.

World events
Police in Paraguay shot and killed an alleged terrorist from Argentina who was a suspect in the previous day’s assassination of former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. Police held 60 people for questioning and traced the weapons used in the ambush of Mr. Somoza to Nicaragua.

Disasters
A burst dam and flash floods killed at least 100 people and marooned more than 55,000 in the Indian state of Orissa.

Baseball
Cecil Cooper singled with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning and Gorman Thomas followed with a home run to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 9-8 win over the Minnesota Twins in the first game of a doubleheader before 6,039 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Minnesota leadoff hitter Gary Ward hit for the cycle. Lary Sorensen (11-9) pitched a 6-hit shutout as the Brewers won the second game 5-0 to complete the sweep. Bob Veselic, the second of three Minnesota pitchers in the second game, allowed 3 hits and 2 runs--both earned--in 4 innings, walking 1 batter and striking out 2 in his first major league game.

25 years ago
1985

Baseball
Rich Gedman hit for the cycle as the Boston Red Sox routed the Toronto Blue Jays 13-1.

20 years ago
1990

Diplomacy
Liechtenstein became a member of the United Nations.

Scandal
Charles Keating, former owner of Lincoln Savings & Loan Association, was indicted on 42 charges of criminal fraud by a California state grand jury in Los Angeles. Three executives of American Continental, Lincoln's parent company, were also indicted. The charges involved an alleged scheme to defraud old people by enticing them to invest in uninsured high-risk bonds. After American Continental filed for bakruptcy, the money could not be recovered. Mr. Keating was put in jail after being unable to pay the $5 million bail.

Olympics
Atlanta was awarded the 1996 summer Olympics, ahead of bids from Athens and Toronto. Toronto’s bid cost $14 million, and Paul Henderson, chief promoter of the Toronto bid, blamed his city’s defeat on a reluctant city council and opposition from the Bread Not Circuses Coalition who advocated that money spent on the Olympics would be better spent on social programs.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.8% in August.

10 years ago
2000

Olympics
China won the gold medal in men’s team gymnastics at the Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Baseball
Bartolo Colon (14-8) gave up just an 8th-inning single to Luis Polonia, outduelling Roger Clemens (13-7) as the Cleveland Indians blanked the New York Yankees 2-0 before 31,317 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Vladimir Guerrero hit his 40th and 41st home runs of the season and his brother Wilton added a homer for the Montreal Expos beat the Florida Marlins 11-4 before 4,769 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Expos put the game away with 6 runs in the 8th inning.