August 16, 2012

90 years ago
1922

Baseball
Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended New York Giants' pitcher Phil Douglas for life for a letter he had written, after being suspended and fined $100 by Giants' manager John McGraw eight days earlier for drunkenness, to St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Les Mann, his former roommate with the Chicago Cubs, offering to disappear if the Cardinals would make it worth his while, to prevent the Giants winning the National League pennant. At his hearing in Pittsburgh, Mr. Douglas admitted writing the letter. After sobering up, Mr. Douglas had asked Mr. Mann to destroy the letter, but Mr. Mann had already passed it on. Mr. Douglas had a record of 11 wins and 4 losses in 1922, with an earned run average of 2.63, best on the club. Despite repeated pleas for reinstatement by Mr. Douglas, the ban was never lifted.

60 years ago
1952

Hit Parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Auf Widerseh'n Sweetheart--Vera Lynn (Best seller--6th week at #1; Disc Jockey--4th week at #1; Juke Box--2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart--Vera Lynn (4th week at #1)
--Eddy Howard
2 Here in My Heart--Al Martino
3 Half as Much--Rosemary Clooney
4 Delicado--Percy Faith and his Orchestra
5 Kiss of Fire--Georgia Gibbs
6 Walkin' My Baby Back Home--Johnnie Ray
--Nat "King" Cole and Billy May and his Orchestra
7 Botch-A-Me--Rosemary Clooney
8 I'm Yours--Don Cornell
--Eddie Fisher
9 Maybe--Perry Como and Eddie Fisher
10 Blue Tango--Leroy Anderson and his "Pops" Concert Orchestra
--Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Strange Sensation by June Valli (#20); Should I by the Four Aces (#23); Kay's Lament by Kay Starr (#24); and Padam, Padam by Champ Butler (#37).

Disasters
34 people died in a flood that struck the English village of Lynmouth in north Devon.

Football
CRU
IRFU-WIFU
Pre-season
Montreal 11 @ Edmonton (1-0) 29

Jim Chambers scored 2 touchdowns for the Eskimos in their win over the Alouettes at Clarke Stadium. Rollie Miles, Mike King, and Glenn McWhinney scored the other Edmonton touchdowns; Dick Steere and Joe Aguirre each kicked 2 converts.

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): I Remember You--Frank Ifield (4th week at #1)

Music
Ringo Starr, erstwhile drummer with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, replaced Pete Best as drummer with the Beatles.

World events
Algeria was admitted to the Arab League.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (1-1) 29 @ Montreal (1-1) 18
Calgary (1-2) 35 @ British Columbia (1-1) 20

Quarterback Ron Lancaster threw touchdown passes to Len Chandler and Jim Reynolds and handed off to Dave Thelen and Ron Stewart for a touchdown each as the Rough Riders beat the Alouettes before 23,534 fans at Molson Stadium. Don Clark rushed 85 yards for one Montreal touchdown and George Dixon rushed 2 yards for the other. Mr. Clark suffered a serious kidney injury when he was kneed in the back by Ottawa defensive lineman Gilles Archambault, which prompted accusations of dirty play from the Alouettes.

The Stampeders rushed for 5 touchdowns--2 each by quarterback Jerry Keeling and halfback Ed Buchanan and 1 by fullback Earl Lunsford--in beating the Lions in front of 30,135 fans at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Mr. Buchanan's touchdowns covered 80 and 6 yards. Nub Beamer rushed for one B.C. touchdown, and Joe Kapp completed a pass to Pat Claridge for the other.

40 years ago
1972

Died on this date
Mohammad Oufkir, 62. Moroccan politician. Mr. Oufkir, Morocco’s defense minister, committed suicide shortly after King Hassan II had escaped the second attempt on his life in 13 months. 8 people were killed and 47 injured in a coup attempt by rebel pilots who tried to shoot down the king’s plane and then strafed the airport building and grounds. King Hassan had just returned fro a holiday in France. General Driss ben Omar el Alami was named as Mr. Oufkir’s temporary replacement. On August 18, the Moroccan government said that Mr. Oufkir had plotted the assassination attempt and that his death was a “suicide of treason.”

Edmontonia
Londonderry Mall officially opened.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (3-0) 14 @ Toronto (0-3) 8
Edmonton (3-0) 31 @ Saskatchewan (1-3) 29

George McGowan’s second touchdown catch of the game, a 57-yard reception from backup quarterback Tom Wilkinson with 8:10 remaining in the game, provided the winning margin as the Eskimos edged the Roughriders before 17,516 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. Mr. Wilkinson entered the game after starter Bruce Lemmerman suffered a season-ending shoulder separation when hit by Saskatchewan defensive end Bill Baker late in the 3rd quarter. The Roughriders jumped to a 14-0 lead after the 1st quarter on touchdown passes from Ron Lancaster of 13 yards to Tom Campana and 21 yards to Gord Barwell. The Eskimos struck back with 3 straight touchdowns in the 2nd quarter on passes by Mr. Lemmerman of 32 yards to Tyrone Walls, 61 yards to Mr. McGowan, and 30 yards to Gene Foster. Halfback Bob Pearce then threw a 91-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Thompson. A single by Dave Cutler on a missed field goal with 1 second left in the half to give the Eskimos a 22-21 lead. 2 singles by Mr. Cutler and 1 by Saskatchewan kicker Jack Abendschan gave the Eskimos a 24-22 led after 3 quarters. Mr. Lancaster then put Saskatchewan ahead with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Abendschan’s convert gave the Roughriders a 29-24 lead with 10:42 remaining in the game. The Roughriders amassed 556 yards in net offense to 412 for the Eskimos. It was the final game in the 10-year CFL career of Edmonton defensive back John Wydareny; days later, he was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for quarterback Wally Gabler, but neither player would report to his new club, and Mr. Wydareny chose to retire.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Goody Two-Shoes--Adam Ant

Space
Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman to go into space when she and two male Soviet cosmonauts lifted off in a Soyuz T-5 spacecraft. Valentina Tereshkova of the U.S.S.R. had been the first woman to go into space when she piloted the Vostok 6 spacecraft in 1963.

Protest
An outbreak of violence occurred in Nicaragua between Roman Catholic students and members of a pro-government youth organization over the treatment of a Roman Catholic priest, who had claimed several days earlier to have been forced naked into the street by police.

25 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Respectable--Mel and Kim (4th week at #1)

#1 single in France: Joe le taxi--Vanessa Paradis (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Charles H. Wesley, 95. U.S. historian. Dr. Wesley was an African Methodist Episcopal Church minister who taught history at Howard University before serving as President of Wilberforce University (1942-1947) and as founder and President of Central State University (1947-1965). He wrote more than two dozen books, mostly about Negro American history, with several other books about Greek-letter fraternities and Prince Hall Freemasonry.

World events
The Harmonic Convergence, the world's first globally synchronized meditation event, took place at approximately 200 sites throughout the United States and about 50 more around the world. The event was organized by José Argüelles, founder of the Whole Earth Festival and one of the originators of Earth Day. It was believed that spiritual energy was particularly strong at "power centres" such as Mount Shasta in California and Mount Fuji in Japan, and that if 144,000 people gathered at these power centres and meditated for peace, it would speed the arrival of the New Age. The timing of the Harmonic Convergence was allegedly based on the Mayan calendar, and marked an alignment of the sun, moon, and six of the eight other planets. It also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, and when the King of Rock and Roll failed to put in an appearance and nothing dramatic happened, the Harmonic Convergence was widely ridiculed (see, for example, Moronic Convergence: The moral and spiritual emptiness of New Age by Richard Blow, The New Republic, Vol. 198 No. 4, January 25, 1988, pp. 24-27). However, when the INF Treaty--which abolished an entire category of nuclear weapons--came into effect in 1988, and the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union began to fall apart toward the end of 1989, some New Age proponents claimed that the Harmonic Convergence had brought about a more peaceful world. This spiritual power seems to have largely dissipated since September 11, 2001.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that the merchandise trade deficit had risen to $15.71 billion in June.

Disasters
A Northwest Airlines jet that had just taken off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport crashed in Romulus, Michigan, killing at least 155 people in the second-highest death toll for a U.S. plane crash. The number of people on the plane was uncertain, and two were killed on the ground. There was one survivor—4-year-old Cecilia Cichan of Tempe, Arizona, whose parents and brother were killed. The cause of the crash was not immediately determined.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (2-5) 33 @ Saskatchewan (2-4-1) 36

Tom Burgess completed touchdown passes to Ray Elgaard and Tron Armstrong and handed off to David Conrad for another touchdown, and Dave Ridgway added 5 field goals and 3 converts as the Roughriders held off a 17-point rally by the Rough Riders in the 4th quarter before 24,346 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. Tim McCray led the Saskatchewan ground game with 19 carries for 122 yards. Todd Dillon started at quarterback for Ottawa and completed a touchdown pass to Gerald Alphin in the 2nd quarter. Former Dallas Cowboys’ backup quarterback Reggie Collier, playing his first CFL game, relieved Mr. Dillon in the 4th quarter with Saskatchewan ahead 33-17, and threw an interception before producing 2 touchdowns. He threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to James Hood and Mr. Dillon completed a pass to Larry Mohr for a 2-point convert, reducing the Roughriders’ led to 33-25 with 1:41 remaining in regulation time. Mr. Ridgway’s 38-yard field goal with 33 seconds left made the score 36-25, and Mr. Collie finished the game with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Mr. Hood and a 2-point convert pass to Jim Reid on the final play. Marc Lewis led Ottawa receivers with 112 yards on 9 receptions, while Mr. Hood caught 6 for 92.

Baseball
The New York Mets set a club record for runs in a game as they beat the Chicago Cubs 23-10 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Darryl Strawberry led the Mets with 2 doubles, a home run, and 5 runs. Ron Darling was the winning pitcher over Greg Maddux.

Tim Raines batted 5 for 5 and hit for the cycle to lead the Montreal Expos to a 10-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

10 years ago25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): I'll Be There--Mariah Carey featuring Trey Lorenz (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): ABBA-esque--Erasure (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Rhythm is a Dancer--Snap! (8th week at #1)
2002

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (4-4-0-1) 10 @ Toronto (3-5) 18

Quarterback Reggie Slack rushed 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:23 remaining in regulation time, and Noel Prefontaine’s convert gave the Argonauts an 8-point lead as they held on to defeat the Roughriders in front of a SkyDome crowd of 19,652. Saskatchewan quarterback Nealon Greene drove the Roughriders to the Argonauts’ 30-yard line in the final minute, but they turned the ball over on downs. Toronto running back Shawn Daniels rushed 15 yards for the game’s first touchdown in the 3rd quarter, while Chris Szarka rushed 1 yard for Saskatchewan’s only touchdown with 9:29 remaining in the 4th quarter.