November 24, 2012

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Brenda Heaps and Fermina Martinez!

410 years ago
1602

Exploration
Sebastián Vizcaíno discovered three islands off the coast of what is now California. The largest island, known to the ntives as Pimu, was renamed Santa Catalina.

370 years ago
1642

Exploration
Abel Tasman discovered Van Diemen's Land, later renamed Tasmania.

90 years ago
1922

Died on this date
Erskine Childers, 52. U.K. author. Mr. Childers was the author of The Riddle of the Sands (1903), widely regarded as the first spy novel. He was an Irish nationalist who smuggled guns to Ireland in his yacht. Mr. Childers was executed by an Irish Free State firing squad for carrying a semi-automatic pistol in violation of the Emergency Powers Resoloution.

50 years ago
1962

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: Speedy Gonzales--Pat Boone (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Lovesick Blues--Frank Ifield (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Big Girls Don't Cry--The 4 Seasons (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Big Girls Don't Cry--The 4 Seasons (3rd week at #1)
2 Return to Sender--Elvis Presley
3 All Alone Am I--Brenda Lee
4 He's a Rebel--The Crystals
5 Limbo Rock--Chubby Checker
6 Bobby's Girl--Marcie Blane
7 Don't Hang Up--The Orlons
8 Only Love Can Break a Heart--Gene Pitney
9 The Lonely Bull--The Tijuana Brass
10 Next Door to an Angel--Neil Sedaka

Singles entering the chart were Hotel Happiness (#70)/Still Waters Run Deep (#89) by Brook Benton; Pepino the Italian Mouse by Lou Monte (#80); You Threw a Lucky Punch by Gene Chandler (#84); Tell Him by the Exciters (#85); Don't Make Me Over by Dionne Warwick (#90); Trouble is My Middle Name (#91)/Let's Kiss and Make Up (#93) by Bobby Vinton; Rainbow at Midnight by Jimmie Rodgers (#94); Your Cheating Heart by Ray Charles (#95); She's a Troublemaker by the Majors (#96); Coney Island Baby by the Excellents (#98); and Baby Come Back to Me by the Cleftones (#99). Your Cheating Heart was the B-side of You Are My Sunshine, which charted at #46. She's a Troublemaker was the B-side of A Little Bit Now (A Little Bit Later), which charted at #73.

Football
CFL
Eastern Finals
Montreal 21 @ Hamilton 30 (Hamilton won 2-game total points series 58-38)

Western Finals
Calgary 7 @ Winnipeg 12 (Winnipeg won best-of-three series 2-1)

Garney Henley caught a touchdown pass from halfback Jamie Caleb and another from quarterback Joe Zuger in the 1st quarter as the Tiger-Cats took a 14-0 lead and held on to defeat the Alouettes before 21,000 fans at Civic Stadium. Meco Poliziani scored a Montreal touchdown in the 2nd quarter on a pass from quarterback Sandy Stephens, and Larry Hickman rushed for another Alouette TD to tie the game 14-14 at halftime, trailing the series 42-31. Mr. Zuger threw a touchdown pass to Dave Viti and Bobby Kuntz rushed for another TD as the Tiger-Cats took a 28-14 lead inthe game and a 56-31 lead in the series. Don Sutherin converted the first 3 Hamilton touchdowns and Mr. Zuger punted for a single. Mr. Sutherin and Mr. Zuger each scored a single in the 4th quarter before Mr. Stephens connected with Marv Luster for a Montreal touchdown. Bobby-Jack Oliver converted all 3 Alouette touchdowns. Mr. Kuntz rushed 26 times for 162 yards before being ejected for fighting with Montreal's Ed Nickla in the 4th quarter, while the Hamilton defense limited Montreal's George Dixon to 88 yards on 21 carries. Mr. Zuger completed 9 of 15 passes, while Mr. Caleb was 2 for 2. Mr. Stephens was just 7 for 18 with 3 interceptions. Mr. Poliziani left the game in the 4th quarter with a dislocated shoulder. Montreal linebacker Jim Reynolds challenged Hamilton defensive tackle Angelo Mosca to a fight on the field after the game while Mr. Mosca was looking for Mr. Stephens to shake hands with him. According to Mr. Mosca, "Reynolds cussed me out and asked me if I wanted to fight there or outside. I told him the game was over and I didn't want to fight. He said 'Well I do' so I took off my helmet and whopped him." (The Globe and Mail, Toronto, November 26, 1962, p. 19). It was the last game for Perry Moss after 3 seasons as head coach of the Alouettes.

The Blue Bombers were trailing the Stampeders 7-6 before 19,175 screaming fans at Winnipeg Stadium as Gerry James attempted a field goal on the last play of regulation time that would, if successful, win the Western Football Conference title for the Blue Bombers. If the kick was unsuccessful but still went for a single point, the game would be tied and the teams would then play two 10-minute halves of overtime. The kick was partially blocked by Calgary linebacker Jim Furlong, and the ball bounced into the end zone, where Calgary defensive back Harvey Wylie, figuring that he would be trapped by Winnipeg's Frank Rigney and Farrell Funston if he attempted to run the ball out, saw a gap between them and attempted to kick the ball off the ground. He just got enough of the ball to kick it into the arms of Mr. Funston for a touchdown, ending the game and sending the Blue Bombers to Toronto one week hence with an opportunity to defend their Grey Cup championship. Charlie Shepard punted 38 yards for a single in the 1st quarter to give Winnipeg a 1-0 lead. The Blue Bombers made it 4-0 on a field goal by Mr. James, and Mr. Shepard's second single made the score 5-0 at halftime. The score remained that way until the 4th quarter, when Lovell Coleman rushed 2 yards for a touchdown. Larry Robinson converted to give the Stampeders a 7-5 lead. Mr. Shepard punted 75 yards for his third single to make it 7-6, setting the stage for the last-play dramatics. Mr. Coleman led all rushers with 116 yards, while Roger Hagberg led the Blue Bombers with 54 yards. Winnipeg quarterbacks Kenny Ploen and Hal Ledyard and halfback Leo Lewis combined to complete 8 of 16 passes, while Calgary quarterback Eagle Day completed just 2 of 9 passes.



40 years ago
1972

Died on this date
Doug Bentley, 56. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Bentley, a left wing, played 13 seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks from 1939-52 and the New York Rangers in 1953-54, scoring 219 goals and 324 assists in 565 games. He played much of his career on a line centred by his brother Max. Mr. Bentley won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's scoring champion in 1942-43, and led the league in goals that year with 33 and in 1943-44 with 38. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.

Diplomacy
Finland recognized East and West Germany, becoming the first Western nation to establish ties with both countries and to recognize East Germany. East Germany was also admitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), thus obtaining permanent observer status in the UN, usually seen as a step toward full membership in the United Nations.

All 19 U.S. tuna ships that had been seized by Ecuador in recent weeks for fishing within that country’s disputed 200-mile limit were released after paying a heavy fine and taxes. The last six ships to be seized paid fines and taxes totalling $444,562. The U.S. government reimbursed the owners of the ships for all fines paid.

30 years ago
1982

Died on this date
Benny Friedman, 77. U.S. football player and coach. Mr. Friedman was a quarterback and kicker with the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1924-1926, and played 8 years in the National Football League with 4 teams: Cleveland Bullldogs (1927); Detroit Wolverines (1928); New York Giants (1929-1931); and Brooklyn Dodgers (1932-1934). He's generally regarded as professional football's first great passer. Mr. Friedman led the NFL in touchdown passes, scoring, and several other categories in 1928, and his performance was so spectacular that New York Giants' owner Tim Mara bought the Wolverines and deactivated the franchise just to add Mr. Friedman to the Giants' lineup. Mr. Friedman coached the Giants in 1930 and the Dodgers in 1932; he later served as head coach City College of New York from 1935-1941 and Brandeis University from 1951-1959. Mr. Friedman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, but wasn't added to the Professional Football Hall of Fame until 2005. He shot himself, reportedly leaving notes saying that he was severely depressed.

Politics and government
National elections in Ireland failed to produce a majority for any party.

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party chose Yasuhiro Nakasone as its new leader, replacing Zenko Suzuki, who had resigned in October.

Hockey
NHL
Washington 3 @ Edmonton 3

This blogger was part of the capacity crowd at Northlands Coliseum to see the Capitals tie the Oilers. Washington goalie Pat Riggin stopped Wayne Gretzky on a penalty shot.

25 years ago
1987

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze announced in Geneva that the final hurdle had been cleared in the effort to reach agreement on a treaty eliminating intermediate-range nuclear forces. Each country would be permitted to station 30-40 resident inspectors near a plant that assembled weapons in the other country. The U.S. inspectors would be near the plant in Votkinsk in the eastern U.S.S.R.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 4 New York Islanders 3

20 years ago
1992

Law
A revision of Canada’s Immigration Act received final approval in Parliament. The changes included a limit on the right of appeal for refugee claimants and gave the government the power to decide where immigrants would settle upon arrival.

10 years ago
2002

Politics
Wolfgang Schuessel was re-elected Chancellor of Austria; his centre-right People’s Party won 42% of the vote.

Football
CFL
Grey Cup @ Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
Montreal 25 Edmonton 16

The Alouettes made just 7 first downs to the Eskimos’ 25, but took better advantage of their opportunities as they won the first Grey Cup for a Montreal team in 25 years and earned their third win of the season over the Eskimos before a Commonwealth Stadium record crowd of 62,531, which included this blogger. A punt single by Terry Baker gave Montreal a 1-0 lead after 1 quarter. Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo then connected with Pat Woodcock for a 99-yard touchdown at 1:58 of the 2nd quarter—the longest pass completion in Grey Cup history. The Eskimos got a drive going that ended when quarterback Ricky Ray threw an interception to Reggie Durden in the Montreal end zone. Mr. Baker kicked a 42-yard field goal with 1:15 remaining until halftime to give the Alouettes an 11-0 lead. Edmonton’s John Avery, the CFL rushing leader in 2002 who had suffered a hamstring injury late in the Western Final, started, but was replaced by veteran Troy Mills after gaining just 6 yards in 8 carries in the 1st half. For Mr. Mills, it was his first game since playing for the Winnipeg Blue ombers in the Grey Cup a year earlier. The Eskimos got on the scoreboard at the 2:58 mark of the 3rd quarter when Ricky Ray completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rick Walters. Mr. Fleming converted and added a 13-yard field goal later in the quarter, which was set up by a 41-yard rush by Mr. Mills. Mr. Calvillo connected with Jeremaine Copeland for a 47-yard touchdown with 11:53 remaining in regulation time; Mr. Baker’s convert gave the Alouettes an 18-10 lead. The Eskimos didn’t give up, and Mr. Ray threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Ed Hervey on a third down gamble with 19 seconds remaining. A 2-point convert would have tied the game, but Mr. Vaughn was unable to reach Mr. Ray’s pass in the end zone. Mr. Fleming attempted a short kickoff, but Mr. Copeland caught the ball, and it took him 7 seconds to return it 47 yards for a touchdown. Mr. Baker, playing the last game of his 16-year CFL career, converted to put the game away. The Alouettes recovered a fumble on the game’s last play when Mr. Mills attempted a lateral in a desperate attempt to move the ball downfield. Mr. Calvillo completed just 11 of 31 passes, but he amassed 260 yards, making big plays when he had to, and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Mr. Woodcock caught 2 passes for 119 yards, and Mr. Copeland 3 for 101. Edmonton’s Jason Tucker caught 8 for 127. Mr. Mills led all rushers with 87 yards on 12 carries; Lawrence Phillips, in what turned out to be his last game in a Montreal uniform, led the Alouettes with 11 carries for 40 yards. Mr. Ray completed 24 of 46 passes for 324 yards. It was the 5th Grey Cup win for Don Matthews as a head coach, tying him with Lew Hayman, Frank Clair, and Hugh Campbell. I got to meet the Montreal cheerleaders after the game, which was small consolation.