June 30, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Lucia Rios!

150 years ago
1862

War
In the U.S. Civil War, General George McClellan's Union troops withstood an attack by General Robert E. Lee's Confederate troops at Frayser's Farm (or Glendale), Virginia.

120 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Oswald Pohl. German war criminal. Obergruppenführer Pohl was head of the SS Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt (Main Economic and Administrative Office) and the head administrator of the Nazi concentration camps, and thus a key figure in the genocide of European Jews during World War II. He was one of 18 SS members convicted in 1948 of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and was one of seven war criminals hanged at Landsberg Prison in Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria on June 7, 1946, 23 days before his 59th birthday.

László Lajtha. Hungarian composer. Mr. Lajtha's works included nine syphonies, 10 string quartets, three ballets, and an operetta. He died on February 16, 1963 at the age of 70.

Labour
Workers affiliated with the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers at the Homestead Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania--near Pittsburgh--began a six-week strike.

100 years ago
1912

Born on this date
Dan Reeves. U.S. football executive. Mr. Reeves was the son of a grocery store magnate, and bought the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League with Robert Levy in 1941. They moved the team to Los Angeles after winning the NFL championship in 1945, becoming the league's first team on the Pacific coast. Mr. Reeves won a struggle for the franchise's ownership in 1962, and also owned the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League (1961-1967). He was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1967. A longtime smoker, Mr. Reeves died on April 15, 1971 at the age of 58 after a two-year battle with cancer.

60 years ago
1952

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Lonely Albatross, starring John Carradine, Charles Eggleston, Hildy Parks, and William Redfield

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Stai lontana da me--Adriano Celentano (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Come Outside--Mike Sarne (with Wendy Richard) (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I Can't Stop Loving You--Ray Charles (5th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Stripper--David Rose and his Orchestra
2 I Can't Stop Loving You--Ray Charles
3 Roses Are Red (My Love)--Bobby Vinton
4 Palisades Park--Freddy Cannon
5 It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin'--Johnny Tillotson
6 Stranger on the Shore--Mr. Acker Bilk
--Andy Williams
7 Snap Your Fingers--Joe Henderson
8 Al Di La'--Emilio Pericoli
9 Playboy--The Marvelettes
10 Wolverton Mountain--Claude King

Singles entering the chart were Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Neil Sedaka (#74); Little Red Rented Rowboat by Joe Dowell (#78); Worried Mind by Ray Anthony and his Orchestra (#93); My Daddy is President by Little Jo Ann (#96); Where Have You Been (All My Life) by Arthur Alexander (#97); Till Death Do Us Part by Bob Braun (#98); The Loco-Motion by Little Eva (#99); Good Lover by Jimmy Reed (#100); Shake a Hand by Ruth Brown (also #100); and Sugar Plum by Ike Clanton (also #100).

Died on this date
Nina Nichols, 68. U.S. murder victim. Mrs. Nichols was sexually assaulted and strangled with nylon stockings in Boston, becoming the fourth victim of the Boston Strangler.

Helen Blake, 65. U.S. murder victim. Mrs. Blake was sexually assaulted and strangled with nylon stockings in Lynn, Massachusetts, becoming the third victim of the Boston Strangler.

Space
The U.S.S.R. launched the satellite Cosmos 6.

Baseball
Sandy Koufax (11-4) pitched his first major league no-hitter, striking out 13 batters, as he led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-0 win over the New York Mets before 29,797 fans at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning after the first 2 batters were retired.

40 years ago
1972

Hit parade
Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Song Sung Blue--Neil Diamond (2nd week at #1)
2 How Do You Do--Mouth and MacNeal
3 Nice to Be with You--Gallery
4 Troglodyte--The Jimmy Castor Bunch
5 Outa-Space--Billy Preston
6 Amazing Grace--Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
7 Young New Mexican Puppeteer--Tom Jones
8 I Need You--America
9 Tumbling Dice--Rolling Stones
10 Little Bitty Pretty One--The Jackson 5
Pick hit of the week: Woman is the Nigger of the World--John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

Died on this date
Billy Joe Booth, 32. U.S.-born Canadian football player. Mr. Booth was a defensive end with the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Rough Riders from 1962-1970. He was an All-Eastern All-Star in 1963, 1964, 1966, and 1969, and won All-Canadian honours in 1969, when he was voted the Eastern Football Conference’s Most Outstanding Lineman. Mr. Booth played in the Rough Rider’s Grey Cup loss in 1966 and wins in 1968 and 1969, and in 1970 was named to The Canadian Magazine’s Grey Cup all-star team for the 1960s. He was regarded as one of the CFL’s toughest players in the 1960s, and in a memorable move, was inserted into the Rough Riders’ offensive backfield in the final minutes of their 53-13 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the season-opening game in 1968 for the purpose of taking on the Tiger-Cats’ leading “meanie,” Angelo Mosca, who was believed to be taking too many liberties with Ottawa backfielders. A nagging groin injury limited Mr. Booth’s effectiveness in 1970, and he retired after the season and moved back to his native Louisiana. He decided to return to southern Ontario with a friend for a fishing trip, and was killed when their small plane crashed near Dorchester, apparently after exploding in the air during a thunderstorm. Mr. Booth and his friend James Magee, 32, who was the pilot, were the only occupants.

30 years ago
1982

War
El Salvador’s army began a 1,000-man offensive, backed by warplanes and artillery, against rebels 15 miles north of San Salvador.

Law
10 years after the United States Congress had passed the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution—“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”—the amendment died because not enough state legislatures had passed it by the June 30, 1982 deadline. 35 of the 38 required states had passed the ERA, but late efforts in Illinois and Florida failed, and five more states that had passed the ERA between 1973 and 1977 had rescinded their approval.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Toronto (3-1) 14 @ Hamilton (3-1) 17

25 years ago
1987

Protest
5,000 demonstrators, including Panamanian government officials, attacked the United States embassy in Panama City, some pelting the embassy with rocks and bottles. The following day, the U.S. charged that the incident had taken place with the “unmistakeable involvement” of the government of Panama.

Economics and finance
The new Canadian $1 coin, which quickly became popularly known as the “loonie” because of the picture of a loon on its face, was released.

The United States Commerce Department corrected a previous estimate and announced that the index of leading economic indicators had risen 0.2% in April, not declined 0.6%, as previously reported. Furthermore, the index had risen 0.7% in May.

20 years ago
1992

Politics and government
Fidel Ramos, a former defense secretary and an ally of outgoing President Corazon Aquino, was sworn in as her successor. He appealed to Communists and rebels to end their revolts.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher took her seat in the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.

Economics and finance
Canada announced the sale of one million tonnes of wheat to India, Canada’s first sale of wheat to India in eight years.

The United States named Canada as one of 20 countries using unfair trade practices and dumping steel on the U.S. market.

The United States Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators had increased 0.6% in May, the fifth straight monthly advance.

Baseball
AL
Texas 16 Toronto 13

10 years ago
2002

Died on this date
Chico Xavier, 92. Brazilian medium. Mr. Xavier, born Francisco de Paula Cândido, wrote almost 500 books and several thousand letters, using a process of "automatic writing." He claimed that he was just a channel of the spirits, and that he possessed no supernatural powers, such as healing people. Mr. Xavier's books sold 50 million copies, and he donated the receipts to charity.

Crime
A part-time firefighter was charged with starting Arizona’s Rodeo Fire on June 18 in order to secure employment. The fire had merged with the Chediski Fire on June 23 to create the largest wildfire in the state’s history.

Economics and finance
The price of a first-class postage stamp in the United States rose from 34c to 37c.

Soccer
World Cup @ Yokohama
Final
Brazil 2 Germany 0

Ronaldo scored both goals and was named the World Cup’s most valuable player.