October 9, 2013

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Sarah Son!

775 years ago
1238

War
King James I of Aragon conquered Valencia and founded the Kingdom of Valencia.

125 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Nikolai Bukharin. Soviet politician. Mr. Bukharin was a member of the Politburo (1924–1929) and Central Committee (1917–1937), general secretary of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (Comintern) (1926–1929). Initially a supporter of Josef Stalin, Mr. Bukharin later got on the dicatator's bad side and became one of the best-known victims of Mr. Stalin's purges, being executed in Moscow on March 15, 1938 at the age of 49.

Irving Cummings. U.S. movie actor and director. Born Irving Caminsky, Mr. Cummings acted in silent movies such as Sex (1920) and The Saphead (1920) and directed such films as The Johnstown Flood (1926); In Old Arizona (1928); Behind That Curtain (1929); and The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939). He died on April 18, 1959 at the age of 70.

Americana
The Washington Monument officially opened to the general public.

100 years ago
1913

Born on this date
John Guedel. U.S. radio and television producer. Mr. Guedel created The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and co-created and produced House Party, People Are Funny, and You Bet Your Life. It was said in 1956 that he was producing as many as 25 half-hour radio and television shows per week. Mr. Guedel died on December 14, 2001 at the age of 88.

Disasters
The Uranium Steamship Company liner SS Volturno, bound from Rotterdam to New York via Halifax with 561 passengers and 93 crew members aboard, caught fire in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. 106 passengers and 30 crew members died.

Baseball
World Series
Philadelphia Athletics 8 @ New York Giants 2 (Philadelphia led best-of-seven series 2-1)

The Athletics scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning and 2 more in the 2nd to take a 5-0 lead as they coasted to victory before 36,896 fans at the Polo Grounds. Bullet Joe Bush pitched a 5-hit complete game victory, while New York starter Jeff Tesreau gave up 11 hits and 7 runs--5 earned--in 6 innings in taking the loss. Philadelphia catcher Wally Schang hit the game's only home run, a solo blast in the 8th inning against Giants' relief pitcher Doc Crandall.

80 years ago
1933

Football
U.S.-Canada professional
Exhibition
Rochester Arpeakos 18 @ (Toronto) Crosse & Blackwell Chefs (0-1) 15

13,000 fans were in attendance at Varsity Stadium to see the Chefs, Canada's first professional team, lose to the Arpeakos. The Crosse & Blackwell lineup included brothers Lionel and Charlie Conacher.

75 years ago
1938

Transportation
The St. Clair River Bridge from Point Edward, Ontario to Port Huron, Michigan officially opened.

Baseball
World Series
Chicago Cubs 3 @ New York Yankees 8 (New York won best-of-seven series 4-0)

The Yankees scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning to take a 3-0 lead and led 4-1 after 7 innings, but the Cubs reduced the deficit to 4-3 in the top of the 8th on Ken O'Dea's 2-run home run before the Yankees erupted for 4 runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game away and become the first team to win three straight World Series. New York shortstop Frank Crosetti hit a double and triple in 5 at bats and batted in 4 runs. The only Yankee home run was by right fielder Tommy Henrich, whose solo homer in the 6th gave the Yankees a 4-1 lead. It was the final World Series game for New York first baseman Lou Gehrig, who hit a single and scored a run in 4 at bats. In 4 games, he batted .286 (4 for 14), with all his hits being singles. Red Ruffing gave up 8 hits in pitching a complete game for his second win of the series, while Chicago starter Bill Lee lasted just 3 innings and was charged with his second loss of the series.





70 years ago
1943

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Sunday, Monday, or Always--Bing Crosby and the Ken Darby Singers (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Pieter Zeeman, 78. Dutch physicist. Mr. Zeeman shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1902 with Hendrik Lorentz for discovering the Zeeman effect--the effect of splitting a spectral line into several components in the presence of a static magnetic field.

War
The U.S.S.R. announced that the Red Army had completed mopping up in the Caucasus, where there were 20,000 dead German soldiers and 3,000 prisoners. Allied troops in Italy crossed to the north side of the Volturno River between Capua and the sea. American troops took over the entire island of Kolombangara. U.S. Liberators in their fourth 2,400-mile round trip flight from Australia bombed docks, warehouses, and fuel depots at Macasar, Celebes Island. Chinese Foreign Minister T.V. Soong arrived in New Delhi to join in military conferences with Allied Southeast Asia commander-in-chief Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that in the 12 months ending June 30 there had been 28 convictions for espionage and failure to register as foreign agents; 29 for sedition; and 3,071 for violation of the Selective Service Act.

Politics and government
Louisiana Governor Sam Jones declared martial law in Plaquemines Parish. State Guardsmen occupied the courthouse in Pointe a la Hache and installed William J. Blaize as sheriff.

Law
Capital punishment, dropped in 1928, was restored in Mexico by President Manuel Avial Camacho for highway robbery and kidnapping.

Labour
The right-wing faction of the Congress of Industrial Organizations United Auto Workers of America, led by President R.J. Thomas, retained control of the union's executive board.

Disasters
52 people were killed and 102 injured when a hurricane struck a 150-mile stretch of Mexico's Pacific coast.

Football
WCASRFL
Regina (1-2) 0 @ Winnipeg RCAF (3-0) 29

Ches McCance scored 2 touchdowns and 2 converts as the Bombers blanked the All-Services Roughriders at Osborne Stadium. Johnny Lake added a touchdown and 2 converts, and Chick Chikowski and Percy Rubenstein also scored touchdowns for Winnipeg.

60 years ago
1953

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Look at That Girl--Guy Mitchell (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Jimmy Finlayson, 66. U.K.-born U.S. actor. Mr. Finlayson was known for his many appearances in film comedies as a comic foil to Laurel and Hardy. The most notable of these were probably Big Business (1929) and Way Out West (1937).

Medicine
In Miami, Florida, Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he had perfected his polio vaccine.

50 years ago
1963

Disasters
Over 2,000 people were killed in northeastern Italy when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam caused a giant wave of water to overtop it.

40 years ago
1973

Scandal
The New York Times reported that Charles "Bebe" Rebozo, a Florida banker and close friend of U.S. President Richard Nixon, had told members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Campaign Activities that in 1969 and 1970 he had accepted $100,000 in cash from agents of billionaire Howard Hughes and that he had kept the money, allegedly a campaign gift, in a safe deposit box for three years until returning it early in 1973. Robert Maheu, a former assistant to Mr. Hughes for Nevada operations, had earlier charged that the contribution had been made in exchange for political favours.

Baseball
American League Championship Series
Baltimore 1 @ Oakland 2 (11 innings) (Oakland led best-of-five series 2-1)

National League Championship Series
Cincinnati 2 @ New York 1 (12 innings) (Best-of-five series tied 2-2)

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: I Like Chopin--Gazebo (4th week at #1)

Terrorism
South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan survived an assassination attempt during an official visit to Rangoon, Burma when a bomb exploded during a wreath-laying ceremony. Mr. Chun survived because his arrival had been delayed by traffic, but the blast killed 17 members of his entourage, including four cabinet ministers, and injured 17 others. Four Burmese officials also die in the blast.

Politics and government
U.S. Interior Secretary James Watt, whose pro-development policies and verbal gaffes had made him a lightning rod for criticism, announced his intention to resign. President Ronald Reagan "reluctantly accepted" his resignation.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (7-6) 15 @ Toronto (10-3) 19
Montreal (3-9) 40 @ Saskatchewan (3-10) 23

Joe Barnes threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Terry Greer with 7:07 remaining in the game to give the Argonauts their win over the Eskimos before 37,746 fans at Exhibition Stadium. Cedric Minter rushed 14 yards for the other Toronto TD in the 2nd quarter. The Eskimos scored their only touchdown on the opening possession of the 2nd half. Warren Moon passed for 49 yards to Tom Scott, 16 to Brian Kelly, and 14 to Waddell Smith for the touchdown at 3:30 of the 3rd quarter. It was Mr. Smith's only reception of the day and his last in the CFL; he went on the injured list after this game and never played another regular season or post-season game. It was the first CFL game for Edmonton cornerback Mike Durden, replacing injured Larry Highbaugh. Slotback Peter Eshenko, who had missed the first 12 games because of a neck injury, played his first regular season game as an Eskimo, and took a costly penalty for unnecessary roughness while playing on special teams. It was the only game in a Toronto uniform for former Saskatchewan Roughriders' quarterback Joe Adams, who dressed as Mr. Barnes' backup in place of injured Condredge Holloway.



Defensive back Harry Skipper blocked the first 2 punts of the game, producing 10 points, as the Concordes defeated the Roughriders before 23,749 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. Dave Badowich was making his CFL debut as a punter, but had his first punt blocked by Mr. Skipper and recovered in the Saskatchewan end zone for a touchdown by defensive back Vince Phason, while the second blocked punt led to a 22-yard field goal by Don Sweet to give Montreal a 10-0 lead just 4:20 into the game. Slotback Ron Robinson, recently cut by the Roughriders, caught 8 passes for 138 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown reception from Montreal quarterback Johnny Evans with 18 seconds remaining in the 1st half. Montreal running back Denny Ferdinand rushed 16 times for 97 yards and 2 4th-quarter touchdowns. Homer Jordan started at quarterback for the Roughriders, throwing to Stew Fraser for a touchdown and rushing for another TD himself. Backup quarterback Nickie Hall, acquired five days earlier from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with wide receiver Nate Johnson in a trade for quarterback John Hufnagel and slotback Jerome Erdman, completed both of his passes for 19 yards. Mr. Johnson had kickoff returns of 77 and 75 yards, but lost a fumble after catching a pass in the 4th quarter, which was recovered by Mr. Skipper, leading to Mr. Ferdinand's first touchdown.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Nobody Else--Tex Pistol featuring Rikki Morris

#1 single in Switzerland: Hand in Hand--Koreana (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Felix Wankel, 86. German engineer. Mr. Wankel invented the Wankel rotary engine, which was first publicly demonstrated in 1960.

Protest
Thousands of Latvians gathered at a conference in Riga to press the Soviet government for greater Latvian independence from the U.S.S.R.

Football
CFL
Calgary (5-9) 17 @ Saskatchewan (9-5) 47

Tom Burgess passed for 3 touchdowns and rushed for another, while Dave Ridgway added 6 field goals to help the Roughriders rout the Stampeders before 23,224 fans at Taylor Field in Regina.



CIAU
Alberta (0-6) 28 @ Saskatchewan (5-1) 33

Quarterback Greg Galan rushed 38 yards for a touchdown and Mike Lazecki kicked a 52-yard field goal for the Huskies in the 4th quarter as they rallied from a 22-20 deficit to defeat the Golden Bears at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon. Alberta running back Tom Houg rushed 28 times for 175 yards.

Baseball
American League Championship Series
Boston 1 @ Oakland 4 (Oakland won best-of-seven series 4-0)

Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley combined to pitch a 4-hitter as the Athletics eliminated the Red Sox before 49,406 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mr. Eckersley got his fourth save in as many games in the Series.



National League Championship Series
Los Angeles 5 @ New York 4 (12 innings) (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

Mike Scioscia hit a 2-run home run off Dwight Gooden in the 9th inning to tie the score, and Kirk Gibson hit a solo home run off Roger McDowell with 2 out in the top of the 12th to break a 4-4 tie as the Dodgers edged the Mets before 54,014 fans at Shea Stadium. When the Mets loaded the bases against relief pitcher Jesse Orosco in the bottom of the 12th, Los Angeles manager Tom Lasorda summoned Orel Hershiser, who had pitched the first 7 innings of the previous day's game, from the bullpen, and he retired Kevin McReynolds on a fly ball to center field to end the game.



20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (ARIA): I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)--Meat Loaf (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Living on My Own--Freddie Mercury (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): El Gallinero--Ramírez (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (VRT): Living on My Own--Freddie Mercury (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Living on My Own (1993)--Freddie Mercury (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): What's Up?--4 Non Blondes (10th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Chart Information Network): Relight My Fire--Take That featuring Lulu

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Dreamlover--Mariah Carey (5th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Dreamlover--Mariah Carey (3rd week at #1)
2 The River of Dreams--Billy Joel
3 Right Here/Human Nature--SWV
4 Another Sad Love Song--Toni Braxton
5 If--Janet Jackson
6 Will You Be There--Michael Jackson
7 Whoomp! (There it Is)--Tag Team
8 (I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You--UB40
9 I Get Around/Keep Ya Head Up--2 Pac
10 Reason to Believe--Rod Stewart

Singles entering the chart were Nothing 'Bout Me by Sting (#51); Oh Carolina by Shaggy (#62); I'm in a Philly Mood by Daryl Hall (#72); Paint the White House Black by George Clinton (#75); and Send Me a Lover by Taylor Dayne (#78).

Canada's top 10 (RPM)
1 Dreamlover--Mariah Carey (4th week at #1)
2 The River of Dreams--Billy Joel
3 Reason to Believe--Rod Stewart
4 If--Janet Jackson
5 Rain--Madonna
6 Runaway Train--Soul Asylum
7 Two Steps Behind--Def Leppard
8 Cryin'--Aerosmith
9 No Rain--Blind Melon
10 I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)--Meat Loaf

Singles entering the chart were Fully Completely by the Tragically Hip (#91); Let Me Show You by Dan Hill (#95); Dreams That I Carry by Jon Secada (#96); Make Love to Me by Anne Murray (#97); and Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins (#98).

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (11-4) 48 @ Ottawa (3-11) 38

Matt Dunigan threw 4 touchdown passes and rushed for another TD himself as the Blue Bombers outlasted the Rough Riders before 18,486 fans at Frank Clair Stadium. Gerald Wilcox caught TD passes of 55 and 75 yards from Mr. Dunigan and finished with 6 receptions for 180 yards. David Williams and Matt Pearce caught Mr. Dunigan's other touchdown passes, and Michael Richardsoon rushed 3 yards for the other Winnipeg TD. Ottawa quarterback Tom Burgess threw touchdown passes to Rob Crifo, Stephen Jones, and Jock Climie, while defensive back Joe Fuller returned an interception 40 yards for the other Ottawa touchdown.

CIAU
Manitoba 17 @ Alberta 47

Baseball
American League Championship Series
Chicago 7 @ Toronto 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

Lance Johnson hit a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning and followed a Frank Thomas homer with a 2-run triple in the 6th to help the White Sox defeat the Blue Jays before 51,889 fans at SkyDome.



National League Championship Series
Philadelphia 4 @ Atlanta 9 (Atlanta led best-of-seven series 2-1)

The Braves scored 5 runs in the 6th inning and 4 in the 7th to defeat the Phillies before 52,032 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.



10 years ago
2003

Terrorism
A vehicle crashed through the gates of a police station in Baghdad and exploded, killing at least eight people. A U.S. soldier was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade northeast of Baghdad, and a Spanish diplomat was shot dead outside his Baghdad home.

Economics and finance
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimated that the budget deficit for the 2003 fiscal year would be $374 billion, the largest ever in dollar terms, although, at 3.5% of gross domestic product, a smaller fraction of the nation's economy than some deficits of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Baseball
American League Championship Series
Boston 2 @ New York 6 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Andy Pettitte won the pitching matchup over Derek Lowe before 56,295 fans at Yankee Stadium.