January 15, 2012

120 years ago
1892

Basketball
Basketball's founder, Dr. James Naismith, published the first rules for the new game in Springfield, Massachusetts.

70 years ago
1942

Baseball
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote his "Green Light" letter to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, urging baseball to keep going during World War II to boost public morale.

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Spider, starring Olive Deering and Arnold Moss

50 years ago
1962

On television tonight
Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff, on NBC
Tonight's episode: La Strega, starring Ursula Andress, Alejandro Rey, and Jeanette Nolan

40 years ago
1972

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)--New Seekers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): American Pie, Parts I and II--Don McLean

Canada’s top 10 (RPM)
1 Brand New Key--Melanie (2nd week at #1)
2 American Pie, Parts I and II--Don McLean
3 Cherish--David Cassidy
4 Hey Girl--Donny Osmond
5 Got to Be There--Michael Jackson
6 Sunshine--Jonathan Edwards
7 An Old Fashioned Love Song--Three Dog Night
8 All I Ever Need is You--Sonny and Cher
9 Devil You--Stampeders
10 Day After Day--Badfinger

Singles entering the chart were Music from Across the Way by James Last (#72); My Love Sings by Joey Gregorash (#90); Under My Wheels by Alice Cooper (#91); Kiss an Angel Good Morning by Charley Pride (#92); The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Robert John (#93); Joy by Apollo 100 (#94); Keep Playin' that Rock and Roll by Edgar Winter (#95); Once You Understand by Think (#97); Hurting Each Other by the Carpenters (#98); Goin' Down (On the Road to L.A.) by Black and Ward (#99); and Rock 'N' Roll by Detroit (#100).

Calgary's top 10
1 American Pie, Parts I and II--Don McLean (2nd week at #1)
2 I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)--New Seekers
3 Brand New Key--Melanie
4 Friends with You--John Denver
5 Day After Day--Badfinger
6 Sunshine--Jonathan Edwards
7 No Good to Cry--The Poppy Family
8 Take it Slow--Lighthouse
9 Nothing to Hide--Tommy James
10 Do I Love You--Paul Anka
Pick hit of the week: Sugar Daddy--The Jackson 5

World events
The day after several weeks of fishing talks between Ecuador and the U.S.A. had ended, Ecuador seized three American tuna boats, claiming that the boats were fishing within the 200-mile limit claimed by Ecuador.

Princess Margrethe, 31, became Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, succeeding to the throne that had been occupied by her father, Frederik IX, who had died the previous day.

Diplomacy
The U.S.S.R. expelled U.S. Congressman James Scheuer (Democrat--New York), charging him with improper activity while on Congressional business there. Mr. Scheuer, a Jew, denied the charges on his arrival in London, claiming he had only shown sympathetic concern for the status of Soviet Jews, but sensed a "demonstrable loosening" of Soviet attitudes toward Jews. Mr. Scheuer hailed as a "promising start" the issuing of 15,000 exit permits to Jews for emigration to Israel, but added that it was only "scratching the surface." Mr. Scheuer also noted that there had been "a decrease in the number of Jewish professional people granted permits."

Politics
Italian Premier and Christian Democratic party leader Emilio Colombo presented his cabinet's collective resignation to the country's new President, Giovanni Leone. Mr. Leone asked Mr. Colombo, who had been in office since August 6, 1970, to stay on as interim Premier.

30 years ago
1982

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department announced that the Producer Price Index for finished goods had risen 0.3% in December, and that the increase for all of 1981 was 7%.

25 years ago
1987

On television tonight
Our World, hosted by Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf, on ABC

Tonight's episode: Fear and Frustration: Winter 1952

Crime
British police Inspector Douglas Lovelock, whose shooting of an innocent Negro woman during a 1985 raid on her home had prompted riots in the London area of Brixton was cleared of all criminal charges.

Economics and finance
A record 253.1 million shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange.

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden: Black or White--Michael Jackson (9th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Grandpa's Car

World events
The European Community recognized Croatia and Slovenia as separate states.

Health
Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island ordered mass vaccination programs to protest children and teenagers from an outbreak of meningococcal disease that had killed six in the previous month.