July 16, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Campbell Milton!

150 years ago
1862

Born on this date
Ida B. Wells. U.S. journalist and civil rights activist. Miss Wells became known for her reporting on lynching in the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight newspaper and her pamphlets Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in all its Phases (1892) and The Red Record (1895). She moved from Memphis to Chicago in 1895, and continued to oppose lynching, while advocating women's suffrage and opposing racism within the suffrage movement. Miss Wells died of uremia on March 25, 1931 at the age of 68; she was posthumously honored with a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 1920 "[f]or her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching."

125 years ago
1887

Born on this date
Joe Jackson. U.S. baseball player. "Shoeless Joe," so nicknamed because he once played in the outfield without shoes because they were causing discomfort, was an outfielder with the Philadelphia Athletics (1908-1909); Cleveland Naps/Indians (1910-1915); and Chicago White Sox (1915-1920), batting .356 with 54 home runs and 785 runs batted in in 1,332 games. He led the American League in slugging in 1913 (.551), led the AL in hits twice, and in triples three times, but never won a batting title, because Ty Cobb was always a little ahead of him. Mr. Jackson helped the White Sox win the World Series in 1917 and the AL pennant in 1919, batting .345 with 1 homer and 8 RBIs in 14 World Series games. Despite hitting .375 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs in 8 games in the 1919 World Series, Mr. Jackson was one of the eight "Black Sox" players banned for life from organized baseball after the 1920 season for taking bribes to lose the series to the Cincinnati Reds. He played in outlaw leagues in the Southern states until he was nearly 50. Mr. Jackson was illiterate, but that didn't prevent him from running a successful restaurant and liquor store in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. He suffered from diabetes and liver and heart problems in later years, and died at the age of 64 on December 5, 1951, two weeks before a scheduled guest appearance on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town television variety program. Mr. Jackson made occasional appeals for reinstatement during his lifetime, and many such appeals have been made on his behalf since his death, especially in recent years, in order that he might be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

60 years ago
1952

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews
Tonight’s episode: Rich Man, Poor Man

On television tonight
The Unexpected, hosted by Herbert Marshall, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Perfectionists, starring Veda Ann Borg, Anthony Caruso, and Kenneth Tobey

30 years ago
1982

War
Iran began another offensive into Iraq.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (2-0) 36 @ Montreal (0-1) 0

Dieter Brock completed 3 touchdown passes to Eugene Goodlow as the Blue Bombers accomplished the CFL’s first shutout of the 1980s before just 14,700 fans at Olympic Stadium. William Miller rushed 2 yards for the other touchdown. It was Montreal’s first regular season game as the Concordes, after 36 seasons as the Alouettes. Steve Alatorre started at quarterback for the Concordes, but was replaced by Trois-Rivieres native Luc Tousignant. The Concordes had the ball at Winnipeg’s 1-yard line at one point, but Mr. Tousignant fumbled a snap and lost the ball. Mr. Brock completed 29 of 39 passes for 381 yards; backup Steve Pisarkiewicz, a former St. Louis Cardinal, finished the game and his 2-game CFL career by throwing 3 incomplete passes.

25 years ago
1987

Business
British Airways and British Caledonian, the United Kingdom's two biggest airlines, agreed to a merger worth £237 million.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (4-0) 21 @ Calgary (1-4) 14

Tom Clements threw touchdown passes of 1 yard to linebacker Tyrone Jones and 7 yards to fullback Pat Cantner as the Blue Bombers took a 21-0 lead in the 2nd quarter and held on to defeat the Stampeders before 20,053 fans at McMahon Stadium. The only Calgary touchdown came on a 7-yard pass from Rick Worman to Larry Willis with 1:43 remaining in regulation time. Winnipeg’s Willard Reaves rushed 19 times for 128 yards, while Calgary tight end Ron Wheeler led all receivers with 7 receptions for 114 yards.



20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Abba-esque (EP)--Erasure (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Buck Buchanan, 51. U.S. football player. Mr. Buchanan was a defensive tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs from 1963-1975. He was an American Football League All-Star from 1964-1969, and was a member of the Chiefs' Super Bowl championship team in 1969-70. Mr. Buchanan was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He died of lung cancer.

Politics and government
U.S. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee was nominated as the Democratic party’s 1992 candidate for Vice-President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention in New York City. Meanwhile, businessman Ross Perot, running as an independent candidate for President of the United States, announced that he would not seek the presidency. He said that the Democratic party had “revitalized itself,” that his candidacy would cause the election to be thrown into the House of Representatives for resolution, and that this would be disruptive to the country.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that housing starts had declined 3.2% in June.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (1-1) 14 @ Ottawa (2-0) 29
British Columbia (0-2) 20 @ Toronto (1-1) 61
Hamilton (0-2) 22 @ Calgary (2-0) 34

Starting quarterback Tom Burgess rushed 1 yard for a touchdown and backup quarterback Terrence Jones completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Jones as the Rough Riders coasted to victory over the Blue Bombers before 23,594 fans at Lansdowne Park. Robert Mimbs rushed 2 yards for the only Winnipeg touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Terry Baker of the Rough Riders kicked 4 field goals, 2 converts, and a single in a game that saw no touchdowns after the 4:05 mark of the 2nd quarter.

Three Toronto quarterbacks combined to throw 5 touchdown passes as the Argonauts routed the Lions before 36,682 fans at SkyDome. Former Lion Rickey Foggie started at quarterback for Toronto and rushed for 2 touchdowns, while completing touchdown passes to Raghib “Rocket” Ismail and Mike “Pinball” Clemons. John Congemi completed touchdown passes to Mr. Ismail and Kevin Smellie, and Mike Kerrigan then threw a touchdown pass to J.P. Izquierdo. Jon Volpe rushed 5 yards for the Lions’ first touchdown in the 1st quarter, and backup quarterback Tony Kimbrough, who replaced starter Danny Barrett, completed a touchdown pass to Matt Clark in the 4th quarter. The Argonauts, who amassed 228 yards rushing in the game, outscored the Lions 35-7 in the 2nd half.

Keyvan Jenkins rushed 10 times for 75 yards and touchdowns of 7 and 17 yards to lead the Stampeders past the Tiger-Cats before 25,144 fans at McMahon Stadium. Quarterback Doug Flutie, who rushed 12 times for 73 yards, completed a 13-yard pass to Allen Pitts for the other Calgary touchdown. The Tiger-Cats scored their only touchdown in the 2nd quarter on a 9-yard pass from Damon Allen to Nick Mazzoli. Mr. Pitts led all receivers with 8 catches for 141 yards.