October 17, 2011

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Dave Cutler!

920 years ago
1091

Disasters
A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 struck the heart of London, demolishing wooden London Bridge, but killing only two of the city's 18,000 residents.

240 years ago
1771

Opera
Ascanio in Alba, composed by 15-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, received its premiere performance at the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan.

150 years ago
1861

Died on this date
Horatio Wills, 50. Australian journalist. Mr. Wills worked as a printer and editor with The Sydney Gazette before starting his own paper, The Currency Lad, in 1832, promoting the interests of native-born white Australians. 12 days after his 50th birthday, Mr. Wills and 18 of his employees were murdered by Aborigines in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre, the largest massacre of whites by Aboriginal people in Australian history.

140 years ago
1871

Born on this date
Segundo de Chomón y Ruiz. Spanish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. Mr. Chomón wrote, directed, and phtographed numerous short films in France and then in Italy in the first two decades of the 20th century, using camera tricks and optical illusions that invited comparison to the French film pioneer Georges Méliès. He died on May 2, 1929 at the age of 57.

130 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Maria Dulęba, 77. Polish actress. Miss Dulęba began her stage career in 1902, and appeared in numerous films, most of them during the silent era in the 1910s and '20s. She died on May 6, 1959 at the age of 77.

125 years ago
1886

Born on this date
Spring Byington. U.S. actress. Miss Byington appeared in the Jones Family series of 17 movies (1936-1940), and was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting performance in You Can't Take It with You (1938). She was best known as the star of the radio (1952-1953) and television (1954-1959) comedy series December Bride. Miss Byington died of cancer on September 7, 1971 at the age of 84.

120 years ago
1891

Football
ORFU
Round 1
Ottawa 0 @ Osgoode Hall 42 (Osgoode Hall won 2-game total points series 75-3)
Hamilton 28 @ Toronto 8 (Hamilton won 2-game total points series 67-18)
Stratford 5 @ London 28 (London won 2-game total points series 30-13)
Queen's College 28 @ Royal Military College 7 (1st game of 2-game total points series)

100 years ago
1911

Baseball
World Series
Philadelphia Athletics 3 @ New York Giants 2 (11 innings) (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 2-1)

New York ace ace Christy Mathewson carried a 1-0 lead into the top of the 9th inning, but Philadelphia third baseman Frank Baker hit a home run to tie the game. It was Mr. Baker's second home run in as many games, and earned him the nickname "Home Run" Baker. 2 Giant errors led to 2 unearned runs for the Athletics in the top of the 11th, while an error by Philadelphia second baseman Eddie Collins led to an unearned run for the Giants in the bottom of the inning. Winning pitcher Jack Coombs allowed just 3 hits in 11 innings, while Mr. Mathewson allowed 9 hits while pitching a complete game. 37,216 were in attendance at the Polo Grounds.

80 years ago
1931

Crime
Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion, for which he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Hamilton (2-0) 9 @ Ottawa (0-2) 5
Montreal (2-0) 32 @ Toronto (0-2) 10

ARU
Edmonton (1-3) 7 @ Calgary (3-1) 14

75 years ago
1936

Football
IRFU
Montreal (1-2) 7 @ Ottawa (1-2) 8
Toronto (2-1) 8 @ Hamilton (2-1) 12

WIFU
Regina (3-2-1) 9 @ Winnipeg (4-2-1) 7

70 years ago
1941

Died on this date
John Stanley Plaskett, 75. Canadian astronomer. Mr. Plaskett, a native of Hickson, Ontario, was a machinist before beginning his career as an astronomer at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa in 1903, where he measured radial velocities and studied spectroscopic binaries, performed the first detailed analysis of galactic structure, and constructed various instruments. He became the first director of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria in 1917. Mr. Plaskett died a month before his 76th birthday.

War
A new threat to Moscow was reported to be coming from a German column approaching from the southeast. Seeking to stem panic, Moscow radio reported that U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin was still in the capital. A German submarine attacked an American ship for the first time in the European war, as U-568 torpedoed the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Kearny while on patrol about 350 miles south of Iceland; 11 crew members were reported missing.

Abominations
German troops executed the male population of the village of Kerdyllia in Serres, Greece.

Diplomacy
The U.S. State Department revealed that U.S. Ambassador to the U.S.S.R. Laurence Steinhardt, members of his staff, and foreign correspondents "have left Moscow for a port eastward of the capital at the request of the Soviet government."

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives passed by a vote of 259-138 and sent to the Senate an amendment to the Neutrality Act to permit the arming of U.S. merchant ships. U.S. Army Brigadier General Irving Phillipson admitted that a concentration camp for aliens--with a capacity for about 700 people--was being completed at Camp Upton on Long Island, New York.

World events
The British government announced that former Shah of Iran Reza Pahlevi had been taken to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius "owing to the war situation."

Protest
30 people were injured in a clash of 1,000 protesting miners against police and guards in Mohonoy City, Pennsylvania, caused by the closing of a bootleg mine.

Labour
In order to avert a nationwide strike, Bolivian President Enrique Penaranda de Castillo signed a decree mobilizing all railroad workers.

60 years ago
1951

Protest
The United Kingdom rushed 3,500 paratroops from Cyprus to Suez in the face of Canal Zone rioting, bringing its garrison up to 60,000 men.

Politics and government
Pakistani Governor General Khawaja Nazimuddin took office as Prime Minister, the day after the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan.

South Americana
Argentine President Juan Peron ordered that October 18 be observed as St. Evtia Day in honour of his wife Eva.

Baseball
Nippon Series
Nankai Hawks 2 @ Yomiuri Giants 8 (Yomiuri won best-of-seven series 4-1)

Mitsuo Uno, Shigeru Chiba, Tetsuharu Kawakami, and Wally Yonamine hit home runs for the Giants as they defeated the Hawks before 15,519 fans at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo to win the Nippon Series for the first time. Hideo Fujimoto (2–0) was the winning pitcher over Susumu Yuki (0–2). Yukou Minamimura of Yomiuri was named the series' most valuable player.

50 years ago
1961

Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): Michael--The Highwaymen

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Bang! You're Dead, starring Billy Mumy, Steve Dunne, and Biff Elliot

This episode was directed by Mr. Hitchcock.

Abominations
Directed by their chief Maurice Papon, Paris police attacked a demonstration by 30,000 pro-National Liberation Front (FLN) Algerians, massacring some. It wasn't until 1998 that 40 deaths were acknowledged, although the actual death toll may have been 100-300.

Economics and finance
The Canadian government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker announced the founding of 24 Canadian trade missions abroad over next year.

Boxing
Eddie Machen (39-4-1) scored a 5-round technical knockout over Brian London (24-8) in a heavyweight bout at Empire Pool, Wembley, London.

40 years ago
1971

Diplomacy
U.S.S.R. Premier Alexei Kosygin arrived in Ottawa to start a nine-day visit to Canada, becoming the first head of the Soviet Union to visit Canada.



Hockey
NHL
Montreal 4 @ New York 8

In the regular Sunday broadcast on CBC radio, the Rangers scored 4 goals in the 3rd period as they defeated the Canadiens at Madison Square Garden. Scotty Bowman, in just his fourth regular season game as head coach of the Canadiens, pulled starting goaltender Ken Dryden after the 2nd period and replaced him with veteran Rogie Vachon. Mr. Vachon played the entire 3rd period in what turned out to be his last game in a Montreal uniform. He was soon traded to the Los Angeles Kings for goaltender Denis Dejordy and defenseman Dale Hoganson.

Football
CFL
Montreal (6-6) 28 @ Toronto (10-3) 7
Hamilton (6-6) 4 @ Winnipeg (6-8-1) 18
Calgary (9-4-1) 7 @ Saskatchewan (8-5-1) 7

Toronto quarterback Joe Theismann ran for the convert on the Argonauts' only touchdown in their loss to the Alouettes at CNE Stadium.



The Blue Bombers' win over the Tiger-Cats at Winnipeg Stadium eliminated the Edmonton Eskimos from playoff contention, which didn't happen again until 2006.

Jim Lindsey's touchdown pass to Gerry Shaw and Larry Robinson's convert with 4 seconds remaining in the game gave the Stampeders their tie with the Roughriders at Taylor Field in Regina and kept their hopes alive for finishing in first place in the Western Football Conference. It was the last CFL game for Calgary halfback Leo Taylor, who rushed 7 times for 15 yards and caught 4 passes for 32 yards.

NFL
Chicago (3-2) 0 @ San Francisco (3-2) 13
St. Louis (2-3) 0 @ Washington (5-0) 20
Detroit (4-1) 31 @ Houston (0-4-1) 7
New England (2-3) 0 @ Miami (3-1-1) 41
Philadelphia (0-5) 10 @ Oakland (4-1) 34
Los Angeles (3-1-1) 24 @ Atlanta (1-3-1) 16
Baltimore (4-1) 31 @ New York Giants (2-3) 7
Buffalo (0-5) 17 @ New York Jets (2-3) 28
San Diego (1-4) 16 @ Denver (1-3-1) 20
Minnesota (4-1) 31 @ Green Bay (2-3) 13
Cleveland (4-1) 27 @ Cincinnati (1-4) 24
Dallas (3-2) 14 @ New Orleans (2-2-1) 24

See video.

Baseball
World Series
Pittsburgh Pirates 2 @ Baltimore Orioles 1 (Pittsburgh won best-of-seven series 2-1)

Steve Blass (2-0) pitched a 4-hitter for his second complete game victory of the series, winning the pitchers' duel over Mike Cuellar (0-2). The Pirates took a 1-0 lead with 2 out in the top of the 4th inning on a home run by right fielder Roberto Clemente, and made it 2-0 in the 8th when Willie Stargell led off with a single and Jose Pagan followed with a double to bring him home. The Orioles scored in the bottom of the 8th when Ellie Hendricks and Mark Belanger singled, pinch hitter Tom Shopay made a sacrifice bunt, and Don Buford drove in Mr. Hendricks with a ground out. 47,291 attended the game at Memorial Stadium. Mr. Clemente, who batted .414, was voted the series' most valuable player.





30 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Out Here on My Own--Nikka Costa (10th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Why Tell Me, Why--Anita Meyer

#1 single in Ireland: Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)--Ottawan (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Prince Charming--Adam and the Ants (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): It's My Party--Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Why Tell Me, Why--Anita Meyer (4th week at #1)
2 I'm So Glad to Be a Woman--Love Unlimited
3 'n Beetje Verliefd--André Hazes
4 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
5 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
6 Just for You--Spargo
7 Super Freak--Rick James
8 The Marvellous Marionettes--Doris D and the Pins
9 Hurt (Nieuwe Versie)/Hurt (Oude Versie)--Timi Yuro
10 Tainted Love--Soft Cell

Singles entering the chart were Physical by Olivia Newton-John (#32); Dream by Earth and Fire (#35); Daar Komt Munne Witpen Aan by Jo Hoogendoorn (#36); and Dat is Alles by Rob De Nijs (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross
2 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
3 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones
4 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
5 Step by Step--Eddie Rabbitt
6 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
7 Stop Draggin' My Heart Around--Stevie Nicks (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
8 Who's Crying Now--Journey
9 Hard to Say--Dan Fogelberg
10 The Night Owls--Little River Band

Singles entering the chart were Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Diana Ross (#56); Young Turks by Rod Stewart (#61); Take My Heart (You Can Have it if You Want It) by Kool & The Gang (#67); Poor Man's Son by Survivor (#78); The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known) by Juice Newton (#79); Harden My Heart by Quarterflash (#80); Snake Eyes by the Alan Parsons Project (#86); Slip Away by Pablo Cruise (#88); and I Surrender by Arlan Day (#90).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross
2 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
3 Who's Crying Now--Journey
4 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
5 Step by Step--Eddie Rabbitt
6 Queen of Hearts--Juice Newton
7 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
8 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones
9 Stop Draggin' My Heart Around--Stevie Nicks (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
10 Hold on Tight--Electric Light Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Diana Ross (#63); Young Turks by Rod Stewart (#67); Harden My Heart by Quarterflash (#80); The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known) by Juice Newton (#85); Poor Man's Son by Survivor (#86); and Bet Your Heart on Me by Johnny Lee (#88).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross
2 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
3 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
4 Queen of Hearts--Juice Newton
5 The Beach Boys Medley--The Beach Boys
6 Private Eyes--Daryl Hall & John Oates
7 Step by Step--Eddie Rabbitt
8 Start Me Up--Rolling Stones
9 Who's Crying Now--Journey
10 I've Done Everything for You--Rick Springfield

Singles entering the chart were Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Diana Ross (#52); Young Turks by Rod Stewart (#55); Harden My Heart by Quarterflash (#79); Magic Power by Triumph (#82); Poor Man's Son by Survivor (#84); Wired for Sound by Cliff Richard (#88); Controversy by Prince (#89); Take Me Now by David Gates (#94); and I Can't Live Without Your Love by Teddy Pendergrass (#95).

Canada’s Top 10 (RPM)
1 Endless Love--Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (4th week at #1)
2 Start Me Up--The Rolling Stones
3 Who's Crying Now--Journey
4 Urgent--Foreigner
5 For Your Eyes Only--Sheena Easton
6 Hold on Tight--Electric Light Orchestra
7 Every Little Thing She Does is Magic--The Police
8 The Friends of Mr. Cairo--Jon and Vangelis
9 Queen of Hearts--Juice Newton
10 Arthur's Theme (Best that You Can Do)--Christopher Cross

Singles entering the chart were I Could Never Miss You (More than I Do) by Lulu (#39); Waiting for a Girl Like You by Foreigner (#41); Here I Am by Air Supply (#45); Night Fades Away by Nils Lofgren (#48); and He's a Liar by the Bee Gees (#49).

Died on this date
Lina Tsaldari, 93-94. Greek politician and diplomat. Mrs. Tsaldari, the daughter of Prime Minister Spyridon Lambros and wife of Prime Minister Panagis Tsaldaris, was a member of the Greek Parliament (1953-1967), and Minister for Social Welfare (1956-1958) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis, becoming Greece's first female cabinet minister. During the military junta (1967-1974), she was Greece's delegate to the United Nations.

Football
CFL
Montreal (2-12) 14 @ Toronto (2-12) 20
Winnipeg (9-5) 49 @ British Columbia (8-6) 22

The Alouettes were leading the Argonauts 14-13 with just over a minute remaining in the game at Exhibition Stadium and had possession of the ball inside the Toronto 10-yard line. Montreal running back David Overstreet fumbled, the Argonauts recovered, and a few plays later, Toronto quarterback Condredge Holloway completed a 49-yard pass to Martin Cox for the winning touchdown with 7 seconds remaining.



Winnipeg defensive back Don Burrell returned the opening kickoff 110 yards for a touchdown as the Blue Bombers routed the Lions at Empire Stadium in Vancouver to complete a sweep of their two regular season games against each other.

CIAU
British Columbia (5-1) 27 @ Alberta (3-2) 23

Alberta quarterbacks Jaimie Crawford and Randy Stollery combined to throw 7 interceptions and the Golden Bears also lost a fumble and turned the ball over on downs once as they lost to the Thunderbirds at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton. Peter Leclaire scored on 1, 6, and 1-yard touchdown rushes for UBC.

Baseball
National League Championship Series
Los Angeles 7 @ Montreal 1 (Best-of-five series tied 2-2)

The Dodgers broke a 1-1 tie with a 2-run home run by Steve Garvey in the top of the 8th inning, and added 4 more runs in the 9th before 54,499 fans at Olympic Stadium. Burt Hooton (2-0) was the winning pitcher over Bill Gullickson (0-2).



Nippon Series
Nippon-Ham Fighters 6 @ Yomiuri Giants 5 (Nippon-Ham led best-of-seven series 1-0)

25 years ago
1986

Died on this date
Brent Murphy, 26. U.S.-born football player. Mr. Murphy, whose background was in body-building, joined the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League in 1985 as a defensive end. He played the first 6 games of the season and showed improvement as he went along, recording his first quarterback sack in game 5. On August 9, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in a game in Toronto against the Argonauts. Mr. Murphy remained with the team , but returned home to California after the season. He didn't show up for the start of training camp in 1986, and the Eskimos never heard from him and quickly forgot him. In early November, Mr. Murphy's father phoned the Eskimos to tell them that Brent had died. Although he publicly opposed the use of steroids by football players, it was known that Brent Murphy used them. He was in a convenience store on October 17 when he exhibited "'roid rage," then collapsed, and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. His father told the Eskimos that the reason Brent hadn't reported to the Eskimos' training camp in 1986 was because he'd been in hospital suffering from heart problems, perhaps exacerbated by steroid use. I met Brent Murphy a couple of times, and found him to be nice and friendly. Tragically, he turned out to have very poor judgement.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (6-8-1) 28 @ Montreal (4-11) 29

The Alouettes' win over the Roughriders at Olympic Stadium was their third at home in 1986 against West Division teams.

20 years ago
1991

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Always Look on the Bright Side of Life--Monty Python

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life had failed to chart upon its original release in 1979 after being included in the movie Life of Brian (1979), but achieved popularity as a football anthem in the early 1990s and was re-released after BBC Radio 1 morning disc jockey Simon Mayo began playing the song.

Died on this date
Tennessee Ernie Ford, 72. U.S. singer. Mr. Ford served as a bombardier with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II before becoming a country music disc jockey. He was a popular recording artist in the fields of country and gospel music, and achieved success on the country and popular charts. Mr. Ford's biggest hits were Mule Train (1949); The Shotgun Boogie (1950); and Sixteen Tons (1955), the latter reaching #1 in the Billboard pop and country charts. Mr. Ford died of liver failure after many years of heavy drinking, and 17 days after collapsing just after leaving a state dinner at the White House where he had been a guest of U.S. President George Bush.

Terrorism
Sikh separatists exploded two bombs during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, India, killing 41 people.

Politics and government
The New Democratic Party, led by Mike Harcourt, ended 16 years of Social Credit government, winning 51 of 75 seats in the Legislative Assembly in the British Columbia provincial election, an increase for the NDP of 22 seats over their total in the 1986 election. The Liberal Party, led by Gordon Wilson, finished second with 17 seats after being shut out. The governing Social Credit Party, led by Premier Rita Johnston, was reduced to 7 seats, down from 47 in 1986, and Ms. Johnston lost her seat. It was the last Social Credit government in Canadian history.

Baseball
National League Championship Series
Atlanta 4 @ Pittsburgh 0 (Atlanta won best-of-seven series 4-3)

John Smoltz (2-0) pitched a 6-hitter before 46,932 fans at Three Rivers Stadium and the Braves posted their second straight shutout to win their first NL pennant since 1958, when the team had been based in Milwaukee. The Braves scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning, with Brian Hunter's 2-run home run the big blow. John Smiley (0-2) started on the mound for the Pirates but lasted just 2/3 inning.



10 years ago
2001

Died on this date
Jay Livingston, 86. U.S. songwriter. Mr. Livingston--born Jacob Levison--and songwriting partner Jay Evans were known for writing songs for movies, and three Academy Awards for Best Original Song: Buttons and Bows (The Paleface, 1948); Mona Lisa (Captain Carey, U.S.A., 1950); and Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera) (The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956).

Micheline Ostermeyer, 78. French athlete and musician. Miss Ostermeyer was a concert pianist and teacher before and after her athletic career. She won gold medals in the women's shot put and discus throw, and a bronze medal in high jump at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, and retired from sports after winning bronze medals in shot put and 80-metre hurdles at the 1950 European Championships in Brussels.

Rehavam Ze'evi, 75. Israeli military officer and politician. Major-General Ze'evi served with the Haganah (1942-1948) and Israel Defense Forces (1948-1974), and secretly oversaw the building of Singapore's armed forces in the mid-1960s. He directed the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv in the 1980s, and was elected to the Knesset in 1988 as a candidate of the small right-wing party Moledet. Maj.-Gen. Ze'evi was Minister without Portfolio (1991-1992) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, but resigned and remained in opposition for almost a decade. Moledet became part of the National Union in 1999, and Maj. Gen. Ze'evi remained an MK, accepting the appointment of Minister of Tourism in the coalition government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001. He was fatally shot at the Jerusalem Hyatt Hotel by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorists led by Hamdi Quran; the assassination was in reprisal for the killing of the PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa two months earlier. Maj. Gen. Ze'evi was succeeded as Minister of Tourism by Rabbi Binyamin Elon. In the years following Maj. Gen. Ze'evi's death, he has been accused of crimes ranging from rape to murder.

Baseball
American League Championship Series
New York 4 @ Seattle 2 (New York led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Andy Pettitte (1-0) allowed just 3 hits and 1 run in 8 innings to earn the win before 47,644 fans at Safeco Field. Paul O'Neill hit a 2-run home run in the 4th for the Yankees to give them a 3-0 lead, which they held. Aaron Sele (0-1) was the losing pitcher.





National League Championship Series
Atlanta 8 @ Arizona 1 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Marcus Giles led off the game with a home run, but the game was tied 1-1 until Javy Lopez hit a 2-run homer in the 7th to give the Braves a 3-1 lead, and they added 5 runs in the 8th. Tom Glavine (1-0) was the winning pitcher over Miguel Batista (0-1) before 49,334 fans at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.