June 21, 2012

80 years ago
1932

Boxing
Jack Sharkey (35-8-2) won the world heavyweight title with a 15-round split decision over defending champion Max Schmeling (44-5-3) at Madison Square Garden in New York. Most observers thought Mr. Schmeling had won the fight.



60 years ago
1952

Hit Parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Here in My Heart--Al Martino (Best Seller--2nd week at #1); Kiss of Fire--Georgia Gibbs (Disc Jockey--6th week at #1; Juke Box--2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Kiss of Fire--Georgia Gibbs (4th week at #1)
--Tony Martin
2 I'm Yours--Don Cornell
--Eddie Fisher
3 Blue Tango--Leroy Anderson and his "Pops" Concert Orchestra
--Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra
4 Here in My Heart--Al Martino
5 Delicado--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
6 I'll Walk Alone--Don Cornell
--Jane Froman
7 A Guy is a Guy--Doris Day
8 Wheel of Fortune--Kay Starr
9 The Blacksmith Blues--Ella Mae Morse
10 Be Anything (But Be Mine)--Eddy Howard

Singles entering the chart were Sugarbush (#20)/How Lovely Cooks the Meat (#34) by Doris Day and Frankie Laine; Maybe by Perry Como and Eddie Fisher (#25); You'll Never Be Mine (#26)/The Day of Jubilo (#31) by Guy Mitchell; Singin' in the Rain, with versions by Gene Kelly and Ralph Flanagan and his Orchestra (#36); Under the Honeysuckle Vine by Bill Kenny (#41); Summer is A-Comin' In by Nat "King" Cole (#47); When You're in Love by Frankie Laine (#48); Lonely Wine by Les Baxter and his Orchestra (#49); and Lonesome, That's All by Perry Como (#50). Doris Day received first billing on Sugarbush, while Frankie Laine recieved first billing on How Lovely Cooks the Meat. Singin' in the Rain was the title song of the movie, which starred Mr. Kelly. Lonesome, That's All was the B-side of Why Did You Leave Me, which charted at #30.

Died on this date
Wop May, 56. Canadian aviator. Wilfrid May, a native of Carberry, Manitoba, moved to Edmonton in 1902. He joined the Canadian Army in 1916 and went to England, but resigned when he was accepted into the Royal Flying Corps, where he rose to the rank of captain. Captain May was credited with 13 combat victories and may have had 5 more, but he was primarily known for the events of April 21, 1918: He chased German pilot Wolfram von Richthofen, but Mr. Richthofen's brother Manfred, the "Red Baron," fired on Capt. May and then chased him before being shot down. Capt. May resigned from the RFC in 1919 and returned to Edmonton, where he and his brother Elgin founded Canada's first "air harbour." Mr. May attracted international attention in January 1929 when he and Vic Horner flew vaccines to Little Red River in northern Alberta in a desperate attempt to save lives and prevent an outbreak of diphtheria. Mr. May helped the Royal Canadian Mounted Police capture Albert Johnson, the "Mad Trapper" of Rat River, Northwest Territories in February 1932. Mr. Johnson seriously wounded an RCMP officer before being killed in a shootout, and Mr. May flew the injured policeman 125 miles to a doctor, saving his life. Mr. May participated in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in World War II, commanding the No.2 Air Observer School in Edmonton and supervising all western schools. He was on vacation in Utah with his son Denny when he died of a stroke. Mr. May's exploits were captured in a song by Stompin' Tom Connors in the 1970s.

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Good Luck Charm--Elvis Presley (5th week at #1

Space
The mission of the U.S. communications satellite Oscar 2, launched June 2, ended.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): I've Never Been to Me--Charlene

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Prince William!
The son of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales was born in St. Mary's Hospital in London.

Crime
John Hinckley, Jr., who had shot U.S. President Ronald Reagan and three others on March 30, 1981, was acquitted on all charges by reason of insanity, and was sent to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. Mr. Hinckley, whose trial lasted eight weeks, was the first person since 1835 to avoid conviction on charges of attempting to assassinate a sitting president.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Viens boire un p'tit coup à la maison--License IV (11th week at #1)

Politics and government
Multi-party elections in the U.S.S.R. became a reality when contests were permitted for 76 of 52,000 Communist party soviets around the nation.

Football
CFL
Calgary (1-0) 29 @ Saskatchewan (0-1) 28

Rick Worman, seeing his first regular season game action after spending his rookie season of 1986 standing on the sidelines, completed a touchdown pass to Emanuel Tolbert in the last minute, and J.T. Hay’s convert gave the Stampeders the win over the Roughriders at Taylor Field in Regina in the earliest CFL regular season opener to date. The Roughriders blew an early 16-0 lead, and their kicker, former Stampeder Mike McTague, missed a convert on the CFL’s first touchdown of the regular season. Not only did the miss prove costly in the game, but it was the only convert missed by a kicker all season. It was the first regular season game for John Gregory as head coach of the Roughriders, and the first game ever televised on the Canadian Football Network, which included various stations across the country.



20 years ago
1992

Weather
At 3 C. (37.4 F.), it was the coldest June 21 in Toronto in 72 years, and this blogger was there to experience it.

Humour
96-year-old George Burns performed at O’Keefe Centre in Toronto: “First time I played Toronto was 1927; they must have enjoyed it, because only 65 years later, they invited me back.” This blogger paid $21 for his ticket.

Politics and government
Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel urged that the issue of the possible division of Czechoslovakia into two separate countries be decided in a national referendum.

Golf
Tom Kite won the U.S. Open; it was his only win in a major tournament.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Calgary (0-1) 18 @ Hamilton (1-0) 20

10 years ago
2002

Politics and government
A.Q.M. Badrudozza Chowdhury resigned as President of Bangladesh after being accused by the Bangladesh National Party of disrespecting the party’s founder by failing to visit his grave.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Hamilton (1-1) 37 Toronto (1-1) 17 @ London

The Argonauts were officially the home team at TD Waterhouse Stadium in the first Canadian Football League game ever played in London, Ontario. It was televised on TSN.