July 23, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Alla!

120 years ago
1892

Crime
An anarchist named Berkman shot and wounded H.C. Frick, manager of the Carnegie Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

70 years ago
1942

Died on this date
Valdemar Poulsen, 72. Danish engineer. Mr. Poulsen made significant contributions to early radio technology. He invented a magnetic wire recorder called the telegraphone in 1898. In 1903, he invented the first continuous wave radio transmitter--the Poulsen arc transmitter--which was used in some of the first broadcasting stations until the early 1920s.

Nikola Vaptsarov, 32. Bulgarian poet. Mr. Vaptsarov was a machinist who published only one book--Motor Songs (1940)--and was best known as a Communist activist against King Boris III, and later against occupying German forces. He was captured by German authorities in March 1942 and, with 11 others, was executed by firing squad immediately after being tried and convicted.

War
The Canadian House of Commons approved the third reading of the amendment to the National Mobilization Act authorizing overseas service for conscripts.e German offensives Operation Edelweiss and Operation Braunschweig began. Allied bombers made five attacks on the new Japanese base near Buna in southeastern New Guinea.

Abominations
The Nazi-operated Treblinka extermination camp opened northeast of Warsaw as part of Operation Reinhard. American correspondents who arrived in Portuguese East Africa from Japan reported Japanese atrocities and torture.

60 years ago
1952

On the radio
I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews
Tonight’s episode: Canadian Crossfire

Died on this date
John Haley, 37. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Haley compiled a record of 78-53 in 258 games in 9 seasons in the minor leagues (1934-1941, 1946), most of which were spent in the New York Yankees' system. His best season was 1938, when he was 17-2 with an earned run average of 3.47 and batted .200 with 1 home run and 5 runs batted in in 34 games as he helped the Newark Bears win the International League pennant.

World events
The Free Officers Movement, under Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Nasser staged a bloodless military coup in Egypt, forcing King Farouk I to abdicate.

50 years ago
1962

Died on this date
Ralph Shinners, 66. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Shinners was a center fielder with the New York Giants (1922-1923) and St. Louis Cardinals (1925), batting .276 with 7 home runs and 51 runs batted in in 163 games. He was with the Giants when they won the World Series in 1922 and the National League pennant in 1923, but saw no post-season action. He batted .309 in 1,152 games in 10 seasons in the minor leagues (1920-1931), batting .300 or better five times. Mr. Shinners managed the Kenosha Comets of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1947, posting a record of 43-69 as the team finished 8th and last.

Television
Broadcasting began from the United States to Europe via the recently-launched Telstar satellite. The first transmission was part of a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field in Chicago, with the broadcast originating from Chicago station WGN.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
British Columbia (1-1) 30 @ Hamilton (0-2) 20
Ottawa (1-1) 14 @ Winnipeg (1-0) 15

Baseball
The Philadelphia Phillies scored all their runs in the last 3 innings as they defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-3 in the "Telstar game" before 6,699 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Jim O'Toole pitched a perfect game for 7 1/3 innings, settling for a 1-hitter, as the Cincinnati Reds blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 before 11,168 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Bob Skinner doubled with 1 out in the 8th inning for the only Pittsburgh hit, and Bill Virdon drew a base on balls with 2 out in the 9th for the only other Pirate to reach base. The Reds scored all the runs in the 6th.

Felix Torres singled home Billy Moran with 1 out in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the Los Angeles Angels a 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles before 8,251 fans at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Baltimore led 5-2 after 4 1/2 innings.

40 years ago
1972

Space
The United States launched Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) 1, the first U.S. civilian satellite whose prime objective was to look at the surface of the Earth.

30 years ago
1982

Died on this date
Vic Morrow, 53. U.S. actor. My-Ca Dinh Le, 7; Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6. Vietnamese-born U.S. children. Mr. Morrow (no relation to this blogger), who began his movie career with a notable supporting performance in Blackboard Jungle (1955), starred in the television series Combat! from 1962-1967. He and the children mentioned above were near the end of filming a scene for the segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) titled Time Out, when a pyrotechnic explosion caused a helicopter to spin out of control. It came down on top of them, and Mr. Morrow and My-Ca Dinh Le were decapitated, while Renee Shin-Yi Chen was crushed. All three died instantly. Director John Landis was charged with involuntary manslaughter and several others involved in the production were hit with various criminal charges, but in a typical example of Hollywood "justice," all were acquitted.

War
Iraqi helicopter gunships shelled Iranian positions near the Iraqi city of Basra.

World events
Polish authorities freed at least 14 political prisoners, most of them members of the trade union movement Solidarity.

Environment
The International Whaling Commission voted to ban all commercial whaling as of 1986. Inuit and other native hunters were permitted to continue subsistence-level hunting of whales.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 1% in June, pegging the annual inflation rate in double-digit figures for the second straight month.

Disasters
Flooding began in the Japanese state of Nagasaki. At least 245 people were killed, and 117 were missing and presumed dead.

Football
CFL
Montreal (0-2) 13 @ Toronto (1-1-1) 16

Condredge Holloway completed a 17-yard pass to Terry Greer with 31 seconds remaining in the game for the Argonauts’ only touchdown as they edged the Concordes before 31,875 fans at Exhibition Stadium. Marc Lacelle scored the only Montreal touchdown on a 1-yard rush with 16 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter. David Overstreet of the Concordes led all rushers with 108 yards on 17 carries. Former Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback June Jones, dressing for his first CFL match, had relieved Mr. Holloway earlier in the game, completing 2 of 5 passes for 17 yards before suffering a career-ending knee injury.

25 years ago
1987

Protest
More than 200 people were killed and 100 wounded in the Haitian farming town of Jean-Rabel in a clash between wealthy landowners and a land-reform group. The subsequent official report said that the reformers had attacked first, killing 10 people. Hundreds of the reformers were then killed or wounded when attacked with machetes and clubs by supporters of the landowners.

Defense
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally presented a new concession to the arms-control talks in Geneva. Mr. Gorbachev said that the U.S.S.R. could accept worldwide elimination of intermediate nuclear forces, and offered to forego basing warheads anywhere in its territory, including Soviet Asia, if the United States would do the same.

20 years ago
1992

Politics and government
Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus and Slovak Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar agreed to a plan for the division of Czechoslovakia into two independent states by the end of September.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-2) 39 @ Toronto (1-2) 30
Calgary (3-0) 37 @ British Columbia (0-3) 19

The Tiger-Cats, down 20-10 at halftime, outscored the Argonauts 29-10 in the 2nd half before 30,899 fans at SkyDome. Earl Winfield, who had caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Damon Allen in the 1st quarter, started the Hamilton comeback in the 4th quarter with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown. After a 53-yard field goal by Toronto’s Lance Chomyc with 4:22 remaining reduced the Tiger-Cats’ led to 26-23, Terry Wright returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown with 2:28 left to increase the lead to 36-23 after Paul Osbaldiston’s convert. The Argonauts struck back with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Rickey Foggie to Mike “Pinball” Clemons, converted by Mr. Chomyc with 1:30 remaining, but Mr. Allen completed a pass to Nick Mazzoli for 82 yards, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Orville Lee with 42 seconds left. David Lucas scored Hamilton’s other touchdown on a 55-yard pass from Mr. Allen in the 3rd quarter. Mr. Foggie completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Raghib “Rocket” Ismail in the 1st quarter and rushed 1 yard for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Mr. Foggie completed 21 of 43 passes for 342 yards and rushed 15 times for 110 yards.

Doug Flutie passed for 400 yards and rushed for 3 touchdowns to lead the Stampeders to their win over the Lions before 31,053 fans at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. Daryl Hall scored the other Calgary touchdown on a 74-yard interception return in the 2nd quarter. Danny Barrett started at quarterback for the Lions and completed touchdown passes to Mr. Flutie’s brother Darren and Mike Trevathan.

10 years ago
2002

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (4-1) 42 @ Toronto (1-4) 15

Khari Jones completed 23 of 30 passes for 361 yards and 5 touchdowns to lead the Blue Bombers past the Argonauts before 21,724 fans at SkyDome. It was the second straight game in which Mr. Jones had thrown 5 touchdown passes. Milt Stegall caught 10 passes for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns, with the others going to Mike Sellers and Antonio Brown. Derrell “Mookie” Mitchell scored the only Toronto touchdown on a 33-yard pass from quarterback Michael Bishop on the last play of the 1st quarter.