September 9, 2010

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Malou Canopin!

1,010 years ago
1000

Died on this date
Olaf I, 30-40 (?). King of Norway, 995-1000. Olaf I, the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, King of Viken, acceded to the throne upon the assassination of de facto ruler Haakon Jarl. King Olaf was a key figure in the conversion of Norway from the worship of Norse gods to Roman Catholicism, with conversions often taking place with the threat of force. Olaf I died during the Battle of Svolder when, after fighting to the last on his ship Ormrinn Langi (Long Serpent), he leapt overboard.

War
Forces commanded by King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark, King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden, and Jarl of Lade Eirik Hákonarson ambushed King Olaf I of Norway and defeated his forces in the Battle of Svolder in the Sound separating Denmark from Sweden. The battle ended when King Olaf threw himself into the sea.

690 years ago
1320

War
Byzantine forces under Andronikos Asen ambushed and defeated the forces of the Principality of Achaea in the Battle of Saint George in Greece, securing possession of Arcadia.

160 years ago
1850

Americana
California entered the Union as the 31st state.

Politics and government
The Compromise of 1850 transferred one-third of Texas' claimed territory (now parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming) to federal control in return for the U.S. federal government assuming $10 million of Texas' pre-annexation debt.

125 years ago
1885

Baseball
The Providence Grays ended a 13-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Messer Street Grounds in the last major league game ever played in Providence. On the same day, the Grays’ directors voted to field a team in 1886.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Harland Sanders. U.S. businessman. "Colonel" Sanders, a native of Henryville, Indiana, moved to Kentucky in the early 1920s. He founded Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952 and became the company's logo, wearing a white suit to go with his white hair and goatee, and string tie. Mr. Sanders was honoured as a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon in 1935. He sold most of the company in 1964, but retained the Canadian operations. Colonel Sanders lived in Mississauga, Ontario from 1965-1980, returning to Kentucky just before his death at the age of 90 on December 16, 1980.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
James Hilton. U.K.-born U.S. author. Mr. Hilton was best known for his novels Lost Horizon (1933); Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1934); and Random Harvest (1941). He shared an Academy Award for his contribution to the screenplay of Mrs. Miniver (1942). Mr. Hilton died of liver cancer on December 20, 1954 at the age of 54.

100 years ago
1910

Died on this date
Lloyd Wheaton Bowers, 51. U.S. politician. Mr. Bowers was general counsel for the Chicago & North Western Railway Company from 1893 until he was appointed United States Solicitor General in the administration of President William Howard Taft in 1909. Mr. Bowers died after just 17 months in office, and was succeeded by Frederick W. Lehmann.

90 years ago
1920

Baseball
Doc Johnston batted 4 for 5 with 2 triples, 2 runs, 2 runs batted in, and a steal of home plate to help the Cleveland Indians beat the New York Yankees 10-4 before 18,000 fans at Dunn Field in Cleveland in the first game of an important 3-game series. Babe Ruth hit his 47th home run in the 1st inning, and then was given 3 intentional bases on balls. Stan Coveleski (20-13) pitched a 6-hit complete game, winning over Jack Quinn (17-9) as the first-place Indians moved 1½ games ahead of the third-place Yankees in the American League pennant race.

The Chicago White Sox erased a 5-0 deficit by scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and 1 in the 9th to defeat the Boston Red Sox 6-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Roy Wilkinson (6-9) pitched a perfect 9th inning in relief of Eddie Cicotte to get the win over Bullet Joe Bush (14-14), who allowed 11 hits and 6 earned runs. The second-place White Sox remained 1 game behind the Indians.

Frank Brower singled home Joe Judge and Clyde Milan, and scored on a double by Frank Ellerbe as the Washington Nationals scored 3 runs in the top of the12th inning to break a 3-3 tie and defeat the St. Louis Browns 6-5 in the first game of a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The deciding run was unearned, as Mr. Ellerbe's at bat was prolonged when he hit a foul pop fly that St. Louis catcher Hank Severeid dropped for an error. The Browns rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the 12th and had Ken Williams on second base with 2 out, but pinch hitter Josh Billings lined out to shortstop Jim O'Neill to end the game. Braggo Roth hit a solo home run in the top of the 9th to break a 1-1 tie as the Nationals won 2-1 to complete the sweep. Jim Shaw (10-14) pitched a 5-hitter to outduel Bill Bayne (3-4), who allowed 8 hits.

80 years ago
1940

War
A reported 350 German planes made a mass attack on London, killing an estimated 400 people. Japanese sources in Tokyo indicated that there was no agreement with North Vietnam on troop transit through Indochina.

Abominations
The Hungarian Army, supported by local Hungarians, killed 93 Romanian civilians in Treznea, a village in Northern Transylvania, in an act of ethnic cleansing.

Defense
The U.S. Navy Department announced contracts for the building of 201 ships, including 7 battleships. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the $5.251-billion Second Supplemental National Defense Appropriations Act.

Politics and government
The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate a resolution permitting Jesse H. Jones to serve both as federal loan administrator and Secretary of Commerce.

Technology
In a demonstration to the American Mathematical Society conference at Dartmouth College in September 1940, George Stibitz used a teletype to send commands to the Complex Number Computer in New York over telegraph lines. It was the first computing machine ever used remotely.

Dr. Per K. Frolich reported the development by Standard Oil Laboratories of a synthetic rubber based upon petroleum.

Economics and finance
The second Canadian Victory Loan campaign began, with the object of raising $300 million.

60 years ago
1950

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Quicksilver--Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Goodnight Irene--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra and the Weavers (Best Seller--4th week at #1; Disc Jockey--2nd week at #1; Jukebox--3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Goodnight Irene--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra and the Weavers (2nd week at #1)
--Frank Sinatra
2 Mona Lisa--Nat "King" Cole
--Victor Young and his Orchestra (Don Cherry, vocal)
--Art Lund
3 Sam’s Song--Gary Crosby and Friend
--Joe "Fingers" Carr and the Carr-Hops
4 Tzena Tzena Tzena--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra and the Weavers
--Mitch Miller and his Orchestra
--Vic Damone
5 Play a Simple Melody--Gary Crosby and Friend
--Jo Stafford
6 I Wanna Be Loved--The Andrews Sisters
--Billy Eckstine
7 Count Every Star--Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
--Dick Haymes and Artie Shaw
8 Sentimental Me--The Ames Brothers
--Russ Morgan and his Orchestra
--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
9 Sometime--The Mariners
--Jo Stafford
--The Ink Spots
10 La Vie en Rose--Tony Martin
--Bing Crosby
--Edith Piaf

Singles entering the chart the chart were The Object of My Affection by Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra (#31); Cincinnati Pig, with versions by Red Foley; and Vic Damone (#39); and If You were My Girl by Perry Como (#40).

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Lynne!

Died on this date
Victor Hémery, 73. French auto racing driver. Mr. Hémery won 12 Grand Prix races and achieved 34 podium finishes from the early 1900s to the 1910s.

War
Malayan police and British troops began searching for the secret operational headquarters of the Malayan Communist guerrillas.

Defense
U.S. President Harry Truman announced that he had decided on a "substantial" increase of U.S armed forces in Europe. It was expected that forces would be raised from the present two divisions to ten.

Society
U.S. President Truman vetoed a bill removing racial barriers to naturalization because of a provision barring subversives from citizenship.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Truman announced the creation of an Economic Stabilization Agency, but promised not to impose wage and price ceilings unless non-compulsory efforts to stem inflation failed.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Ottawa (1-2) 23 @ Hamilton (2-1) 15
Montreal (1-2) 12 @ Toronto (2-1) 43

18,000 fans were at Varsity Stadium to see the Argonauts defeat the Alouettes.

WIFU
Saskatchewan (3-1) 16 @ Calgary (0-5) 11
Winnipeg (3-1) 20 @ Edmonton (3-2) 6

9,500 attended the Stampeders’ loss at Mewata Stadium.

Bob Paffrath scored the Eskimos’ touchdown, converted by Annis Stukus, in the Eskimos’ loss before 8,000 fans at Clarke Stadium.

ORFU
Windsor (0-1) 0 @ Sarnia (2-0) 39

The game at Norm Perry Park was the second consecutive 39-0 win for the Imperials, who had opened the season five days earlier by blanking Toronto Balmy Beach.

Baseball
Sal Maglie tied a National League then-record by pitching his fourth straight shutout as the New York Giants blanked the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 before 25,506 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Alvin Dark hit solo home runs in the 1st and 6th innings off Preacher Roe (17-10), who allowed 5 hits in 7 innings.

Eddie Waitkus led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a single and scored from second base on a 1-out single by Willie Jones to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 7-6 win over the Boston Braves before 15,329 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Jim Konstanty (14-5) pitched 2 innings and got the win despite allowing the Braves to score 2 runs in the top of the 9th to tie the score. Dave Cole (0-1), the third of four Boston pitchers, allowed 2 hits and 2 run--earned--in 1+ innings, striking out 1 batter and walking none, taking the loss in his first major league game.

Willard Nixon (7-3) and Walt Masterson (8-5) were the respective winning pitchers as the Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics 8-3 and 11-3 before 22,153 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. The Red Sox scored 7 runs in the 2nd inning of the second game.

Art Houtteman (18-11) pitched a 6-hitter and batted 2 for 5 with a double and a run to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago White Sox 7-0 before 4,529 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Billy Pierce (9-16) took the loss. The win moved the first-place Tigers 1 game ahead of the idle New York Yankees and 1½ games ahead of the Red Sox.

50 years ago
1960

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Apache--The Shadows (4th week at #1)

Football
AFL
Denver (1-0) 13 @ Boston (0-1) 10

21,597 were in attendance at Boston University Field to witness the first regular season game in the American Football League.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Tears of a Clown--Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (3rd week at #1)

Terrorism
A British Overseas Airways VC-10, with 117 passengers on a flight from Bombay to London, was hijacked over Lebanon and forced to land at "Revolution Airfield" in the Jordanian desert, where two other jetliners that had been hijacked over western Europe three days earlier were sitting. The United Nations Security Council unanimously asked for the release of all the captives.

Baseball
Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Denny McLain for the third time of the season--this time for carrying a gun, as well as unspecified charges--and ends his season with a 3-5 record.

Bobby Wine singled home Adolfo Phillips from third base with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning to break a 2-2 tie as the Montreal Expos edged the Chicago Cubs 3-2 before 10,644 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Johnny Briggs doubled with 1 out in the top of the 9th inning and scored on a 2-out single by pinch hitter Willie Montanez to break a 2-2 tie as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the New York Mets 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before 26,005 fans at Shea Stadium in New York. Barry Lersch (5-2) pitched a 6-hit complete game victory. Duffy Dyer singled home Cleon Jones and Donn Clendenon with the bases loaded and 1 out in the bottom of the 6th inning to break a 1-1 tie as the Mets won the second game 3-1, with Ray Sadecki (8-4) pitching a 4-hitter with 12 strikeouts, outduelling Grant Jackson (4-15). Greg Luzinski made his major league debut with the Phillies in the second game, striking out as a pinch hitter in the 7th.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored 3 runs in each of the 5th and 6th innings to overcome a 4-0 deficit and defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 before 14,927 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The results left the Pirates and Mets tied for first place in the National League East Division, 1 game ahead of the Cubs, with 20 games remaining for all three teams.

Milt Wilcox (2-0), in his second major league game, pitched a 5-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds as they shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 before 20,280 fans at Dodger Stadium. Lee May's solo home run with 1 out in the 2nd inning opened the scoring.

30 years ago
1980

Died on this date
John Howard Griffin, 60. U.S. writer. Mr. Griffin was a journalist and author who served with the French Resistance and U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He was blinded in an accident in 1946, but his sight suddenly returned in 1957, and he became a photographer. Mr. Griffin, a white Texan, was best known for his examination of racism in the southern United States in 1959-1960. He used medical treatment to darken his skin, shaved his head to hide his straight hair, and spent several weeks masquerading as a Negro. Mr. Griffin's articles on his experiences were published in Sepia magazine under the title Journey into Shame, and collected in the book Black Like Me (1961). The book was made into a movie in 1964, with James Whitmore playing Mr. Griffin. Mr. Griffin was a good friend of Trappist monk Thomas Merton in the 1960s and was authorized by Mr. Merton to write his autobiography, but Mr. Griffin developed diabetes, which prevented him from completing the project, and eventually led to his death.

Baseball
Steve Rogers (14-10) pitched a 5-hitter and Warren Cromartie hit a home run to lead off a 3-run 7th inning as the Montreal Expos shut out the New York Mets 3-0 before 27,659 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Pat Zachry (6-10) allowed 6 hits and 3 earned runs in 6.1 innings to take the loss.

Garry Maddox led off the bottom of the 14th inning with a double and scored from third base on a 1-out squeeze bunt by Bob Boone to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates before 43,333 fans at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, keeping the Phillies ½ game behind the first-place Expos in the National League East Division pennant race.

Mario Soto (9-5) struck out 15 batters for the Cincinnati Reds as they defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-1 before 14,165 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Ken Griffey and Johnny Bench hit home runs for the Reds.

The Minnesota Twins scored 6 runs in each of the 4th and 6th innings as they routed the Milwaukee Brewers 15-2 before 6,348 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Shortstop Roy Smalley had 4 of Minnesota's 22 hits. Albert Williams (3-2) pitched a 6-hit complete game victory.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Vision of Love--Mariah Carey (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Verdammt - ich lieb' dich--Matthias Reim (10th week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Verdammt - ich lieb' dich--Matthias Reim (9th week at #1)
2 Ooops Up--Snap!
3 Samurai--Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
4 It Must Have Been Love--Roxette
5 Naked in the Rain--Black Pearl
6 U Can't Touch This--MC Hammer
7 Kingston Town--UB40
8 What's a Woman?--Vaya Con Dios
9 Don't Miss the Partyline--Bizz Nizz
10 I Promised Myself--Nick Kamen

Singles entering the chart were Du sagst du liebst mich (doch ich lieb dich nicht) by Sound Convoy (#14); and Deine Liebe klebt by Herbert Grönemeyer (#29).

Died on this date
Doc Cramer, 85. U.S. baseball player. Roger Maxwell Cramer was a center fielder with the Philadelphia Athletics (1929-1935); Boston Red Sox (1936-1940); Washington Nationals (1941); and Detroit Tigers (1942-1948), batting .296 with 37 home runs and 842 runs batted in in 2,239 games. At the age of 40, he batted .379 in the 1945 World Series as the Tigers defeated the Chicago Cubs in 7 games.

Samuel Doe, 39. President of Liberia, 1980-1990. Mr. Doe took power in a coup in 1980 and was elected President in 1985 amid complaints of electoral fraud. President Doe and an entourage of bodyguards arrived at the headquarters of a multinational force from Negro African countries that had entered the country in August in an attempt to help restore order between Liberian government forces and rebel armies. Rebels led by Prince Johnson also arrived at the headquarters, gunfire broke out, and 78 were killed, mostly Mr. Doe's bodyguards. Mr. Doe himself was tortured and murdered.

Abominations
The Sri Lankan Army massacred 184 minority Tamil civilians in the eastern Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka.

World events
Liberian President Samuel Doe and an entourage of bodyguards arrived at the headquarters of a multinational force from Negro African countries that had entered the country in August in an attempt to help restore order between Liberian government forces and rebel armies. Rebels led by Prince Johnson also arrived at the headquarters, gunfire broke out, and 78 were killed, mostly Mr. Doe's bodyguards. Mr. Doe was wounded.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (6-4) 21 @ Ottawa (4-6) 30
Hamilton (4-6) 18 @ Winnipeg (7-3) 29

Damon Allen threw touchdown passes to David Williams and Jeff Smith and rushed 20 yards for a touchdown to lead the Rough Riders to the win in front of a Lansdowne Park crowd of 25,384. Saskatchewan quarterbacks Kent Austin and Jeff Bentrim combined to throw 7 interceptions. Mr. Austin threw touchdown passes to Ray Elgaard and Don Narcisse and connected with linebacker Dave Albright for a 2-point convert on Mr. Narcisse’s score.



Rod Hill became the first CFL player to make 5 interceptions in a regular season game to lead the Blue Bombers’ defense, while quarterback Tom Burgess completed 20 of 27 passes for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns--2 to Eric Streater and 1 to Rick House. Mike Kerrigan, who threw 5 interceptions, connected with Richard Nurse and Carl Parker for Hamilton touchdowns. 23,805 were at Winnipeg Stadium to see Mr. Hill accomplish something that had been done previously only by Bud Grant of the Blue Bombers against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a semi-final game in 1953.

Baseball
The Chicago White Sox took advantage of 3 errors by right fielder Scott Lusader to score 7 runs in the first inning on the way to a 13-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.

10 years ago
2000

Terrorism
Muslim rebels in the Philippines released four European hostages, ending 140 days of captivity. Government negotiators called in helicopters following a bloody ambush of two go-betweens en route to remote Jolo Island.

Tennis
Venus Williams defeated fellow American Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 7-5 to win the women's singles title in the U.S. Open Championships at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.



Football
CFL
Toronto (2-7-1) 24 @ Winnipeg (2-7-1-1) 12
British Columbia (4-6) 20 @ Saskatchewan (3-6-1) 28

Kerwin Bell, in his first game with Toronto since being released by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, completed 27 of 40 passes for 386 passes and 3 touchdowns--2 to Mookie Mitchell and 1 to Andre Kirwan--to lead the Argonauts to their first win under Mike "Pinball" Clemons as head coach. The Argonaut defense limited the Blue Bombers to 8 first downs and 148 yards net offense. The only Winnipeg touchdown came on the opening kickoff, which was returned 87 yards by Markus Howell. Mr. Mitchell led all receivers with 179 yards on 9 receptions; Mr. Kirwan caught 10 for 84.



Henry Burris passed to Darren Davis, Demetris Bendross, and Curtis Marsh for touchdowns and rushed for 1 himself to lead the Roughrider to their third straight win before 24,416 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. The Lions scored touchdowns on a 12-yard pass from Damon Allen to Alfred Jackson and a 6-yard rush by Chuck Levy. Mr. Marsh led all receivers with 191 yards on 9 receptions, while Mr. Davis led all rushers with 93 yards on 14 carries.

CIAU
Manitoba (1-0-1) 17 @ Alberta (0-1-1) 17

Brad Sarna completed touchdown passes of 19 and 5 yards to Mike Faisthuber within a span of 1 minute 49 seconds in the 4th quarter to give the Bisons a 17-10 lead, but Nathan Connor rushed 13 yards for a touchdown with 44 seconds remaining, and the convert gave the Golden Bears a tie at Varsity Stadium in Edmonton.

Baseball
The Houston Astros set a team record with 7 home runs as they beat the Chicago Cubs 14-4 before 38,203 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Richard Hidalgo, Lance Berkman, and Tim Bogar each hit 2 home runs for the Astros, and Daryle Ward added another.

The Montreal Expos scored 2 runs in the top of the 12th inning to break a 5-5 tie and defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-5 before 47,775 fans at Turner Field in Atlanta. Pedro Swann made his major league debut with the Braves, striking out as a pinch hitter in the 7th. Chris Seelbach (0-1) made his major league debut, taking the mound for Atlanta in the 12th, allowing 3 hits and 2 earned runs, with no bases on balls or strikeouts in taking the loss.