June 5, 2013

130 years ago
1883

Transportation
The first regularly scheduled Orient Express train departed Paris.

125 years ago
1888

Disasters
The Rio de la Plata earthquake took place, resulting in little damage in Brazil and Uruguay.

100 years ago
1913

Died on this date
Chris von der Ahe, 61. Prussian-born U.S. baseball executive. Mr. von der Ahe, a St. Louis saloonkeeper and pleasure resort owner, owned the St. Louis Browns of the American Association from 1882-1891 before joining the National League in 1892. The Browns won four straight AA pennants from 1885-1888, but won only one World Series, defeating the NL champion Chicago White Stockings in 1886. Mr. von der Ahe attracted large crowds to Sportsman's Park by limiting the price of tickets to 25c (the NL charged 50c for its games), selling beer at the games, and playing on Sundays. He liked to lead the parade of players into the ballpark, and had a life-size statue of himself erected outside Sportsman's Park. Mr. von der Ahe was also majority owner of the AA's Cincinnati Porkers, who operated in 1891, the American Association's last season. Mr. von der Ahe took his team into the National League the following year, where he attempted to increase attendance by installing an amusement park surrounding the ballpark. After years of financial problems and personal scandals, Mr. von der Ahe was forced to sell his team after the 1898 season. His fortune disappeared, and he ended up drinking himself to death. The Browns became the Perfectos in 1899, and the Cardinals in 1900.

80 years ago
1933

Economics and finance
The United States Congress abrogated the nation's use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.

70 years ago
1943

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): I've Heard That Song Before--Harry James and his Music Makers with Helen Forrest (13th week at #1)

War
Chinese forces recaptured Kungan, the Japanese base 67 miles south of Ichang, killing more than half of the defending troops.

Politics and government
General Arturo Rawson assumed the presidency of Argentina as head of a military government after Ramon Castillo, deposed in a coup the previous day, surrendered to Gen. Diego Mason at the La Plata naval base.

General Charles Nogues resigned as resident general of French Morocco.

Crime
U.S. Federal Judge Arthur Tuttle imposed the death sentence for the third time on Max Stephan, convicted of aiding an escaped German flier.

Scandal
A U.S. federal grand jury in London, Kentucky indicted 99 people on charges of conspiracy and corruption in the November 1942 election of U.S. Senator Albert "Happy" Chandler (Democrat).

Superior Court Judge James C. Donnelly quashed indictments charging Boston Police Commissioner Joseph Timilty and six other police officials with conspiracy to permit gambling.

Labour
Vichy French Prime Minister Pierre Laval, broadcasting from Paris, said that 200,000 Frenchmen must go to work in Germany by July 1.

Track and field
U.S. Navy Ensign Hugh Cannon set a world record for the discus throw of 174 feet 10 1/8 inches in the Metropolitan Amateur Athletic Union senior championships in New York.

Horse racing
Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, won the sixth Triple Crown--and the fourth in nine years--by defeating Fairy Manhurst by 25 lengths in the 75th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in New York. Deseronto finished third in the three-horse field. Count Fleet's time for the mile and a half was 2:28 1/5, the best since the Belmont Stakes had gone to that distance in 1926.



60 years ago
1953

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): I Believe--Frankie Laine (7th week at #1)

At the movies
The Fake, directed by Godfrey Grayson, and starring Dennis O'Keefe and Coleen Gray, opened in theatres in the United Kingdom.



50 years ago
1963

At the movies
Irma la Douce, co-written, produced, and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, opened in theatres.



Scandal
British Secretary of State for War John Profumo resigned after admitting that he had lied about his relationship with call girl Christine Keeler.

Protest
Protesters in Iran demonstrated against the arrest of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In several cities, masses of angry demonstrators were confronted by tanks and paratroopers.

Boxing
Sonny Banks (14-4) won a 10-round split decision over Freddie Mack (19-15-2) in a heavyweight bout at the Graystone Ballroom in Detroit.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: Der Junge mit der Mundharmonika--Bernd Clüver (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Hal Gibney, 61. U.S. broadcaster. Mr. Gibney was the announcer for various radio and television programs, but was best known as the announcer for the radio (1949-1957) and television (1952-1959) versions of Dragnet, as well as the radio Western The Six Shooter (1953-1954) and the children's television program The Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1959).

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: Bruttosozialprodukt--Geier Sturzflug (3rd week at #1)

Disasters
A Soviet passenger ship on the Volga River crashed into a bridge over the river, tearing the ship's upper deck off, and killing over 100 people.

Football
CFL
The Edmonton Eskimos played their Green and Gold intrasquad game for the first time in 10 years. The Green team consisted entirely of defensive players while Gold was composed entirely of offensive players. Gold won 19-0, with Warren Moon throwing touchdown passes to Tom Scott and Waddell Smith. The game marked the team's first appearance on the field under new head coach Pete Kettela. Among the new players was a rookie quarterback named Matt Dunigan. It was also the first game for the new $2.9-million scoreboard--already a monochrome lemon--at Commonwealth Stadium. Fans booed the repeated Diet Pepsi commercials featuring Michael Jackson. Another unwelcome innovation was a new fight song, replacing the traditional Eskimo fight song, which had been around since the mid-1950s. "Go, Go, Go with the Eskimos" sounded like something dreamed up by a marketing agency, and it proved to be so unpopular that by the end of the 1983 season the old fight song was back, and the new one permanently disappeared.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Don't Turn Around--Aswad

#1 single in Switzerland: Theme from S-Express--S-Express

Politics and government
Candidates with the conservative coalition outpolled socialists in the first round of voting for deputies in the French National Assembly.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): Informer--Snow

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): All That She Wants--Ace of Base

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Nuestros Nombres--Héroes del Silencio

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Informer--Snow (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Your Latest Trick--Dire Straits (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): What is Love--Haddaway (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): All that She Wants--Ace of Base (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): That's the Way Love Goes--Janet Jackson (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Cash Box): That's the Way Love Goes--Janet Jackson (3rd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 That's the Way Love Goes--Janet Jackson
2 Come Undone--Duran Duran
3 Looking Through Patient Eyes--PM Dawn
4 The Crying Game--Boy George
5 Are You Gonna Go My Way--Lenny Kravitz
6 Can't Do a Thing (To Stop Me)--Chris Isaak
7 Have I Told You Lately--Rod Stewart
8 Sleeping Satellite--Tasmin Archer
9 Who is It--Michael Jackson
10 Lost in Your Eyes--The Jeff Healey Band

Singles entering the chart were Girl I've Been Hurt Before by Snow (#84); Captain Nemo by Sarah Brightman (#87); Here's Looking at You Kid by April Wine (#89); Unstoppable by the Kings (#91); Walking in My Shoes by Depeche Mode (#94); Moments of Love by Cathy Dennis (#95); What Time is It by the Spin Doctors (#98); and C'mon People by Paul McCartney (#99).

Died on this date
Conway Twitty, 59. U.S. musician. Mr. Twitty, born Harold Jenkins, was a rock and roll singer in the 1950s. His single It's Only Make Believe reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 siingles chart in 1958. Mr. Twitty then turned to country music, and released 55 number-one singles from 1965-1990. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

Prairie Bayou, 3. U.S. racehorse. Prairie Bayou, the winner of the 1993 Preakness Stakes three weeks earlier, broke down in the Belmont Stakes and had to be destroyed.

War
22 Pakistani soldiers were killed while serving with a United Nations peacekeeping force in Somalia.

Horse racing
Julie Krone, 29, became the first woman jockey to ride a winner in a Triple Crown race when she took Colonial Affair to a 2¼-length victory over Kissin Kris in the 125th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in New York in a time of 2:29 4/5. The race was marred by the fatal breakdown of Preakness Stakes winner Prairie Bayou.



Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 4 @ Los Angeles 3 (OT) (Montreal led best-of-seven series 2-1)

John LeClair scored 34 seconds into overtime to give the Canadiens the win over the Kings at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California, after the Kings had come back from a 3-0 deficit. Brian Bellows scored in the 1st period, and Gilbert Dionne and Mathieu Schneider scored early in the 2nd period for Montreal, but Los Angeles struck back to tie the game before the end of the period on goals by Luc Robitaille, Tony Granato, and Wayne Gretzky. With 12 seconds remaining in regulation time, Montreal centre Guy Carbonneau covered the puck in his goal crease, but it was erroneously ruled that the puck had been shot into him by a Los Angeles player. Otherwise, the Kings would have been awarded a penalty shot.



10 years ago
2003

Diplomacy
The United States and South Korea agreed that U.S. forces along the demilitarized zone along the North-South border (14,000 of 37,000 troops in the country) would be redeployed south of Seoul.

Scandal
Howell Raines, executive editor of The New York Times, and Gerald Boyd, the paper's managing editor, resigned, several weeks after reporter Jayson Blair had resigned because of a number of instances of fabrication in his reporting. Many Times staff members thought that the editors had shown favouritism toward Mr. Blair because he was a Negro, and had failed to act quickly despite obvious problems. Joseph Lelyveld was named as Mr. Raines' interim successor.

Health
The World Health Organization said that the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic was apparently begining to wane.

Weather
A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reached its peak, as temperatures exceeded 50°C (122°F) in the region.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Hamilton (0-1) 18 @ Toronto (1-0) 26
Saskatchewan (1-1) 10 @ Edmonton (1-0) 17

The Eskimos' win over the Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium was the coldest game this blogger has ever attended in June.