September 6, 2013

125 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Joseph P. Kennedy. U.S. diplomat and political figure. Mr. Kennedy was a stock and commodity investor who also owned parts of several movie studios and distilleries, and served as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938-1940, was the father of Joe, Jr., who was being groomed to run for President of the United States until his death in a 1944 plane crash. It was left to surviving sons Jack, Bobby, and Teddy to carry on their father's political ambitions. Joe, Sr. outlived all of his sons except Teddy, the Senator from Chappaquiddick. Joe Kennedy, Sr. died on November 18, 1969 at the age of 81.

75 years ago
1938

Died on this date
John Stuart Hindmarsh, 30. U.K. race car driver and aviator. Mr. Hindmarsh, with Luis Fontés, won the 24 Hours at Le Mans auto race in 1935. He was killed test flying a Hawker Hurricane I L1652 at Brooklands aerodrome in Surrey, possibly overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning.

70 years ago
1943

Died on this date
John Cudahy, 55. U.S. diplomat. Mr. Cudahy served as U.S. Ambassador or Envoy to Poland (1933-1937); Ireland (1937-1940); Belgium (January-July 1940); and Luxembourg (January-July 1940). He died when he was thrown from his horse while riding on his family estate near Milwaukee.

War
U.S.S.R. forces continued their advances on the Donets Basin iron centre. U.K. Royal Air Force planes dropped 1,500 tons of bombs on the twin cities of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen and other Rhineland targets. U.K. forces in Italy captured Palmi and pushed inland to take Delianova.

Academia
The Monterrey Institute of Technology was founded in Monterrey, Mexico as one of the largest and most influential private universities in Latin America.

Labour
U.S. war plants remained open on Labor Day as Congress of Industrial Organizations President William Green and American Federation of Labor President William Murray pledged labour to continue its war efforts "come hell or high water." The U.S. National War Labor Board approved an increase in the present 67c-$1.45 hourly wage scale at the Seattle and Renton, Washington plants of Boeing Aircraft Company to 82.5c-$1.60 in order to counteract a labour shortage by attracting some of the 14,000 workers to be released by Seattle shipyards.

Disasters
The Pennsylvania Railroad's premier train derailed at Frankford Junction in Philadelphia, killing 79 people and injuring 117.

Tennis
Joe Hunt defeated Jack Kramer to win the men's singles final at the U.S. amateur championships in Forest Hills, New York.

60 years ago
1953

War
Thirty Canadians in Korea were freed in the final exchange of prisoners of war with the North Korean Communists.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Kiss Me Quick--Brendan Bowyer

Died on this date
Evelyn Corbin, 58. U.S. murder victim. Mrs. Corbin was sexually assaulted and strangled in Salem, Massachusetts, becoming the 11th victim of the Boston Strangler.

Economics and finance
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Lester Pearson announced a three-year tax holiday to attract new industries to 35 areas of high unemployment in Canada.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (4-3) 25 @ Toronto (1-5) 20

Leo Lewis scored 2 touchdowns, including a 97-yard rush in the 4th quarter, as the Blue Bombers beat the Argonauts at CNE Stadium. Mr. Lewis also completed a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kenny Ploen, going the last 17 yards after taking a lateral from Farrell Funston, who had gained 36 yards on the reception of the pass from Mr. Ploen. Mr. Funston scored the other Winnipeg touchdown. Jack Elwell, John Wydareny, and Dick Shatto scored the Toronto touchdowns.

40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Young Love--Donny Osmond

Terrorism
The day after five Palestinian guerrillas had raided the Saudi Arabian embassy in Paris and taken 13 diplomats hostage while demanding that Jordan release Al Fatah leader Mohammed Daoud Odeh from prison, the commandos agreed to release 9 of their hostages and took the rest with them on a flight from Paris to Kuwait aboard an airliner provided by Syria. The negotiations leading to this occupied 28 hours and included French officials as well as Arab diplomats.

Law
Justice William Morrow of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories ruled that the Indian Brotherhood of the N.W.T had a right to file a caveat at the N.W.T. Land Titles Office against almost 450,000 square miles of crown land over which the government of Canada claimed ownership.

Crime
Former U.S. United Mine Workers president Tony Boyle was arrested and charged with the December 1969 murder of Jock Yablonski, his rival in the union election. Mr. Yablonski, his wife and daughter, were found slain at their home on January 5, 1970, and it was estimated that they had been dead for several days. The indictment, which also included UMW district president William Turnblazer, charged that Mr. Boyle had instigated a plan to assassinate Mr. Yablonski and had secretly diverted union funds to pay three hired killers. Prosecutor Richard Sprague said that the arrests, the eighth and ninth in the case, "closed the case."

Scandal
Testifying before the United States Senate Select Committee on Campaign Activities that was investigating the 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and the subsequent cover-up, Patrick Buchanan, a special consultant to President Richard Nixon, admitted that he had promoted a White House strategy to undercut U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie, the apparent front-runner for the 1972 Democratic U.S. presidential nomination, and elevate Senator George McGovern in the Democratic primaries. Mr. Buchanan insisted that there were no "illicit, unethical, impproper or unprecedented activities" involved in his proposal. Mr. Buchanan was the first witness to appear in "Phase Two" of the investigation, dealing with political "dirty tricks."

Religion
Campus Crusade for Christ travelling speaker Josh McDowell began two days of presentations at the University of Calgary.

Baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates, in second place in the National League East Division with a record of 67-69, fired manager Bill Virdon and replaced him with Danny Murtaugh. Mr. Virdon had led the Pirates to the divisional championship in 1972. Mr. Murtaugh had managed the Pirates from 1957-1964, 1967, and 1970-1971, winning World Series in 1960 and 1971.

The New York Yankees sold first baseman and outfielder Felipe Alou to the Montreal Expos, and sold his younger brother, first baseman and outfielder Matty Alou, to the St. Louis Cardinals. Felpe was batting .236 with 4 home runs and 27 runs batted in in 93 games, while Matty was batting .296 with 2 homers and 28 RBIs in 123 games. The Yankees were out of contention for the American League East Division pennant, while the Expos and Cardinals were involved in a 5-team race for the National League East Division pennant.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara (5th week at #1)

Abominations
The Soviet Union admitted to shooting down Korean Air Flight KAL 007 on September 1, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace.

25 years ago
1988

Died on this date
Leroy Brown, 37. U.S. wrestler. Mr. Brown, whose real name was Roland Daniels, took his wrestling name from the Jim Croce song Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. He wrestled mainly in the eastern and southern United States, winning several championships in a professional career running from 1977 until his death from a stroke and subsequent heart attack caused by severe cirrhosis of the liver.

Disasters
Flood waters from major rivers in Bangladesh began to recede, but not before a reported 1,154 people had been killed and 25 million left homeless.

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): What's Up?--4 Non Blondes (3rd week at #1)

Football
CFL
Toronto (1-9) 21 @ Hamilton (4-6) 23
Edmonton (6-4) 13 @ Calgary (10-0) 33

Paul Osbaldiston's third field goal of the game--a 42-yard kick with 5 seconds remaining in regulation time--gave the Tiger-Cats the win over the Argonauts before 21,762 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium in the traditional Labour Day game. Toronto appeared to have won the game with less than a minute to play on a 2-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Reggie Slack, converted by Lance Chomyc, but the Argonauts' defense couldn't stop the Hamilton offense from moving into field goal range. Hamilton quarterback Don McPherson rushed 14 yards for a touchdown in the 1st half, while defensive back Bobby Dawson returned an interception 29 yards for a TD in the 2nd half. Mike "Pinball" Clemons returned a punt 44 yards for the first Toronto touchdown in the 3rd quarter, and Mr. Slack rushed 3 yards for his first TD of the game a little later. The win ended a 6-game losing streak for the Tiger-Cats, and ended the head coaching career of the Argonauts' Dennis Meyer; before their next game he was replaced by general manager Bob O'Billovich, who had previously served the Argonauts as head coach from 1982-1989. Mr. Meyer, who had replaced the fired Adam Rita after 10 games in 1992, left with a record of 4-14.

Doug Flutie threw 2 touchdown passes to Will Moore and another to Dave Sapunjis as the Stampeders eventually wore down a tired Edmonton defense in beating the Eskimos before a sellout crowd of 38,205 at McMahon Stadium. The Eskimos did a good job of containing Mr. Flutie for 3 quarters while their own offense under quarterback Damon Allen sputtered, but they couldn't stop Mr. Flutie forever, and he put the game away for the Stampeders in the 4th quarter. The only Edmonton touchdown came on a 3-yard pass from backup quarterback Rickey Foggie to Gary Morris with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game. It was the final CFL game for Edmonton receiver Kasey Dunn, whose dismissal was hastened by a missed block on a play leading to a key hit on Mr. Allen by a Stampeder defender. Edmonton head coach Ron Lancaster was stomping around outside the stadium after the game like Fred Flintstone when he was mad, and all that was missing was the tuba accompaniment. It was the 13th--and so far, last--Labour Day game attended by this blogger.

10 years ago
2003

Died on this date
Mohammed Oraz, 34. Iranian mountaineer. Mr. Oraz reached the top of Mount Everest in 1998, becoming the second Iranian to do so. He died in hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan 20 days after he and his partner, Moqbel Honarpajouh, fell during an avalanche while ascending Mount Gasherbrun I in Pakistan. Mr. Honerpajouh survived the accident.

War
Israeli planes bombed the home of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, co-founder of the terrorist organization Hamas, wounding him and 14 others.

Politics and government
Mahmoud Abbas resigned as Palestinian Prime Minister, complaining of a lack of support from Palestinian leaders and of a failure by Israel to adhere to the "road map to peace." Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat had resisted Mr. Abbas's efforts to get more control over the Palestinian security services.

Tennis
Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters 7-5, 6-1 to win the women's singles title at the U.S. Open championships at Flushing Meadows, New York.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (0-12) 28 @ Ottawa (5-7) 45
British Columbia (7-4) 2 @ Saskatchewan (7-5) 28

Josh Ranek rushed 17 times for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught 5 passes for 47 yards as the Renegades beat the Tiger-Cats before 26,588 fans at Frank Clair Stadium. Ottawa quarterback Kerry Joseph completed 21 of 32 passes for 332 yards and touchdowns to Demetris Bendross and Sherrod Gideon, and Gerald Vaughn returned an interception 31 yards for another Ottawa major score. Hamilton quarterback Danny McManus completed just 19 of 41 passes, but for 357 yards and touchdowns to Craig Yeast and Chad Plummer.

Nealon Greene threw a touchdown pass to Travis Moore and rushed for a touchdown of his own, and Paul McCallum added 4 field goals and 2 converts as the Roughriders beat the Lions before 27,495 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. The saskatchewan defense limited the B.C. offense to 12 first downs and 210 yards net offense.

CIS
Saskatchewan 13 @ Alberta 10