March 8, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Micky Dolenz and Linda Woodhams!

310 years ago
1702

Died on this date
William III, 51. King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1689-1702 (as King of Scotland, he was known as William II). William of Orange, who ruled as joit sovereign with his wife Mary II from 1689 until her death in 1694, was a Protestant native of The Hague who invaded England in 1688 and deposed King James II, a Roman Catholic, in the "Glorious Revolution." He died of pneumonia after breaking his collarbone in a fall from his horse, and was succeeded on the throne by Queen Anne, an Anglican and the second daughter of King James II.

230 years ago
1782

Abominations
U.S. militia massacred 28 men, 29 women, and 39 children of the Lenape (Delaware) Indians at Gnadenhutten, Ohio. Two boys, one of whom had been scalped, survived to tell of the massacre.

75 years ago
1937

Died on this date
Howie Morenz, 34. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Morenz, a native of Mitchell, Ontario, was regarded as the greatest player of his time, especially when he played centre for the Montreal Canadiens from 1923-34. A fast skater who had earned the nicknames “Clinton Comet” and “Stratford Streak” in his younger days, Mr. Morenz played for Stanley Cup championship teams with the Canadiens in 1924, 1930, and 1931. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 1927-28, 1930-31, and 1931-32, leading the league in scoring in the first two of those seasons. Mr. Morenz was the First All-Star Team centre in 1930-31 and 1931-32, and made the Second All-Star Team in 1932-33; he undoubtedly would have earned more all-star selections, but the NHL didn’t have official All-Star teams until 1930-31. After an injury-plagued 1933-34 season, Mr. Morenz was traded to the New York Rangers. His play declined with the Rangers, and he was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks midway through the 1935-36 season. A change in management with the Canadiens in 1936 led to the decision to reacquire Mr. Morenz in an attempt to improve the fortunes of both parties. The move worked, and Mr. Morenz scored 20 points in the first 30 games of the 1936-37 season. On January 28, 1937, he suffered a badly-broken leg early in a game at the Montreal Forum when the tip of his skate caught in the boards, and he was hit by Earl Siebert of the Black Hawks. It was expected that he would be out for the remainder of the season, and perhaps for good. In late February Mr. Morenz suffered a nervous breakdown, but appeared to be recovering when he got out of his hospital bed at 11:30 P.M. to go to the bathroom, and an embolism went to his heart and struck him down. His funeral was held three days later at the Montreal Forum; 10,000 people filled the arena, and 15,000 more stood outside. In 550 regular season NHL games, Mr. Morenz scored 273 goals, and held the career record for goals until early in his final season, when he was passed by Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons. The Canadiens retired Mr. Morenz’s uniform number 7, making him the first player so honoured. In 1945, Howie Morenz became a member of the first group of players to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

70 years ago
1942

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC

The title of the episode is unknown, but it was the last episode of the season, and the last broadcast for Messrs. Rathbone and Bruce on NBC. The didn't return to radio until May 7, 1943, when The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes began running on MBS.

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Dick Allen!

U.S. baseball player. Known as Richie Allen in his younger days, the native of Wampum, Pennsylvania was the second of three brothers who played in the major leagues, and attracted controversy wherever he played. He joined the Philadelphia Phillies in September 1963, and was the National League Rookie of the Year for 1964, batting .318 with 29 home runs and 91 runs batted in, leading the NL with 125 runs and 13 triples while playing in all 162 games at third base. Although he remained a solid hitter for the next several years—leading the NL in on-base percentage in 1966 and slugging percentage in 1967--he became unpopular with the Philadelphia fans, perhaps stemming from a pre-game fight in 1965 with veteran outfielder Frank Thomas, which resulted in Mr. Thomas being released by the team. Mr. Allen moved to first base and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1969 season, spending just one season there and then just one season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, splitting his time among third base, first base, and left field. He joined the Chicago White Sox in 1972, where he played three seasons at first base. Mr. Allen’s first season in Chicago was the best of his career: he led the American League with 37 home runs, 113 runs batted in, 99 bases on balls, a .420 slugging percentage, and a .603 on-base percentage, and his batting percentage of .308 was second to Rod Carew’s .318. In one memorable game, Mr. Allen became the first player in several decades to hit 2 inside-the-park home runs in a single game. He was named the AL’s Most Valuable Player and The Sporting News Player of the Year for 1972. A broken leg shortened his season in 1973, but Mr. Allen signed a contract in 1974 paying him $700,000 over three years, making him the highest paid player in baseball history to that time. He was leading the AL in home runs when he told the team that he no longer felt like playing, and announced his retirement with a month remaining in the season. Despite missing that last month, Mr. Allen still led the American League with 32 home runs, and his on-base percentage of .563 topped the league as well. The White Sox traded Mr. Allen’s rights to the Atlanta Braves after that season, but he refused to play in Atlanta, and early in the season he was traded back to the Phillies, where he played first base for the next two years. Mr. Allen was dealt to the Oakland Athletics before the 1977 season, but he wore out his welcome a third of the way into the season when team owner Charlie Finley found him taking a shower during a game. Mr. Allen returned to the Athletics for spring training in 1978, but he was released after appearing in a few exhibition games, ending his career. In 15 seasons in the major leagues, Dick Allen played in 1,749 regular season games, batting .292 with 351 home runs and 1,119 runs batted in.

60 years ago
1952

Hit parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Cry--Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads (Best Seller--10th week at #1, Disc Jockey--9th week at #1, Juke Box--7th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Cry--Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads (6th week at #1)
2 Tell Me Why--The Four Aces
--Eddie Fisher
3 Slow Poke--Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys
--Arthur Godfrey
--Helen O'Connell
4 The Little White Cloud that Cried--Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads
5 Any Time--Eddie Fisher
6 Bermuda--The Bell Sisters
7 Wheel of Fortune--Kay Starr
--Bobby Wayne
--Eddie Wilcox Orchestra with Sunny Gale
8 Tiger Rag--Les Paul and Mary Ford
9 Please, Mr. Sun--Johnnie Ray
10 Blue Tango--Leroy Anderson and his "Pops" Concert Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were You Weren't There by Nat "King" Cole (#35); Silver and Gold by Pee Wee King and his Band (#42); and You Brought Me Love by the Four Aces (#44). You Brought Me Love was the B-side (or maybe the A-side) of Perfidia, which charted at #29.

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Rock-A-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling in Love--Elvis Presley (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Stryker Brothers

40 years ago
1972

Terrorism
No one was injured when a bomb exploded aboard a Trans World Airlines Boeing 707 jet at Las Vegas International Airport.

Baseball
The San Francisco Giants scored 5 runs in the first 2 innings and held on to defeat the Chicago Cubs 10-8 in their first spring training game of 1972, before 4,396 fans at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona, the spring training home of the Cubs. Don Carrithers started on the mound for San Francisco and allowed 1 run in 3 innings to get the win over Chicago ace Ferguson Jenkins, who pitched the first 2 innings. Carmen Fanzone of the Cubs hit the game's only home run, a solo blast in the bottom of the 8th inning.



30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Tainted Love--Soft Cell (3rd week at #1)

Personal
This blogger won a prize in a trivia contest on CFRN radio in Edmonton.

War
Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Walter Stoessel told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the U.S.S.R. had killed at least 3,000 people in Afghanistan with poison gas and other chemical weapons. Mr. Stoessel asserted that his information came from Afghan army defectors who had been trained in chemical warfare by the Soviet Union as well as refugees in Pakistan who claimed to be victims of chemical attacks. According to Mr. Stoessel, the Soviets had used irritants, incapacitants, nerve agents, photogene oxime, and perhaps mycotoxins, mustard, lewisite, and toxic smoke. Mr. Stoessel reported that approximately three million Afghans had fled their country in recent months, mainly to neighbouring Pakistan, and that thousands more were being held as political prisoners in Afghanistan. He also told of reports of torture and summary executions.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Funkytown--Pseudo Echo

#1 single in France: On se retrouvera--Francis Lalanne (2nd week at #1)

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Remember the Time--Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): Justified & Ancient--The KLF (featuring Tammy Wynette) (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Das Boot--U 96

Politics and government
Former California Governor Jerry Brown won the Nevada caucus vote for the 1992 Democratic party nomination for President of the United States.