November 14, 2013

750 years ago
1263

Died on this date
Alexander Nevsky, 42. Prince of Novgorod, 1236-1240, 1241-1256, 1258-1259; Grand Prince of Kiev, 1246-1263; Grand Prince of Vladimir, 1252-1263. Alexander Nevsky became a legendary figure in medieval Rus' history for repelling invading forces from Sweden in 1240 and Germany in 1242. He died after a brief illness, and was canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547.

110 years ago
1903

Football
CRU
Ontario Final (exhibition)
University of Toronto 29 @ Hamilton 5

100 years ago
1913

Baseball
The New York Giants and Chicago White Sox continued their post-season exhibition tour, with the White Sox winning 3-2 in San Francisco.

75 years ago
1938

Transportation
Two days after opening for traffic travelling from Vancouver to North Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions Gate Bridge opened for two-way traffic to and from Stanley Park and North Vancouver.

70 years ago
1943

War
U.S.S.R. units pushed north from Zhitomir along the Odessa-Leningrad railway to take Chepovichi. U.S. troops on the west coast of Bougainville, New Guinea extended their defense perimeter in all directions from Cape Torokina. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's special envoy Patrick Hurley left Chungking after three days of conferences with Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek and Allied military leaders.

Football
NFL
Detroit (3-5-1) 20 @ Washington (5-0-1) 42
Chicago Bears (7-0-1) 56 @ New York (2-3-1) 7

Sammy Baugh became the only player in NFL history to throw 4 touchdown passes and make 4 interceptions in the same game as he led the Redskins over the Lions at Griffith Stadium.

Chicago quarterback Sid Luckman set league single-game records with 453 yards passing and 7 touchdowns, and the Bears set a league record with 702 yards net offense in a single game as they routed the Giants at the Polo Grounds.

60 years ago
1953

Hit Parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)--Les Paul and Mary Ford (2nd week at #1)

#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)--Les Paul and Mary Ford (Best Seller--11th week at #1); You, You, You--The Ames Brothers (Disc Jockey--3rd week at #1; Jukebox--4th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Rags to Riches--Tony Bennett
2 Ebb Tide--Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra
3 Eh, Cumpari--Julius LaRosa
4 You, You, You--The Ames Brothers
5 Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)--Les Paul and Mary Ford
6 St. George and the Dragonet--Stan Freberg
7 Ricochet (Rick-O-Shay)--Teresa Brewer
8 Istanbul (Not Constantinople)--The Four Lads
9 Many Times--Eddie Fisher
10 The Story of Three Loves--Jerry Murad

A version of The Story of Three Loves by William Kapell was mentioned with that of Mr. Murad, but was not charted. Singles entering the chart were Why Can't I by Joni James (#30); (The Gang that Sang) "Heart of My Heart", with a version by Don Cornell, Alan Dale, and Johnny Desmond, and another by the Four Aces (#36); Baby Baby Baby by Teresa Brewer (#39); Tennessee Wig Walk by Russ Morgan and his Orchestra (#46); and Toys by Eileen Barton (#48).

Diplomacy
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed the Canadian Senate and House of Commons in Ottawa.



Football
CRU
IRFU
Ottawa (7-7) 8 @ Hamilton (8-6) 18
Montreal (8-6) 27 @ Toronto (5-9) 8

WIFU
Finals
Winnipeg 30 @ Edmonton 24 (Winnipeg won best-of-three series 2-1)

The Blue Bombers trailed 24-12 with 12 minutes left in regulation time, but scored 3 converted touchdowns to shock the Eskimos at Clarke Stadium. Tom Stolhandske, Billy Vessels, Rollie Miles, and Normie Kwong had scored touchdowns--all converted by Wilbur Snyder--for Edmonton, with Mr. Stolhandske's TD coming on a pass from Mr. Miles. Gerry James scored the first Winnipeg touchdown in the 3rd quarter, but the Blue Bombers trailed 18-6 when Jack Jacobs replaced starter Joe Zaleski at quarterback. His first pass was intercepted by Mr. Miles, but he completed a pass to Len Meltzer for a touchdown, converted by Bud Korchak, to reduce the deficit to 18-12 in the 4th quarter. Mr. Kwong's 9-yard TD run restored the Eskimos' 12-point lead, but Mr. Jacobs completed touchdown passes of 60 yards to Bud Grant and 38 yards to Keith Pearce, bot converted by Mr. Korchak, to tie the game. With 2 minutes remaining, the Eskimos had possession of the ball at the Winnipeg 21-yard line and quarterback Claude Arnold wanted the team to control the ball on the ground and punt or attempt a field goal, but coach Darrell Royal ordered Mr. Arnold to pass. His pass intended for Mr. Miles was intercepted by Winnipeg linebacker Dave Skrien on the Winnipeg 15. He ran 30 yards before lateralling to Tom Casey, who ran the rest of the way for the winning touchdown.

50 years ago
1963

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): You'll Never Walk Alone--Gerry and the Pacemakers (3rd week at #1)

Music
Bobby Vinton and Del Shannon performed at the Jasper Place Sports Centre in Jasper Place, Alberta.

Space
The mission of the Soviet satellite Cosmos 21 concluded, three days after its launch.

Politics and government
U.S. President John F. Kennedy held what turned out to be his last press conferences, in Washington. The topics included foreign relations and attempts to get legislation passed by Congress.



40 years ago
1973

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: Angie--Rolling Stones (4th week at #1)

Married on this date
Princess Anne and Mark Phillips. The second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the U.K. army captain were wed at Westminster Abbey before a worldwide television audience of 500 million, which did not include this blogger.

Canadiana
Canada began production of Olympic coins to help pay for the 1976 Summer Olympic games in Montreal.

Terrorism
Six men and two women were convicted of the March 1973 explosions of two car bombs for the Irish Republican Army in London, which had killed 1 person and injured 200.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger concluded a visit to China by publicly stating, "no matter what happens in the United States in the future," its policy toward China would remain constant. In an official communique, both countries agreed to "continue their efforts to promote normalization of relations."

Scandal
U.S. District Court Judge Gerhard Gesell ruled that the October 20 dismissal of Archibald Cox as Special Prosecutor investigating the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. had violated a U.S. Justice Department regulation, and that such an action was prohibited according to the Justice Department "except for extraordinary improprieties, of which Mr. Cox was not accused. The court decision did not order the reinstatement of Mr. Cox, and Mr. Cox said he would not seek to regain his position because legal claims would only divert attention from the investigation now being conducted by the new Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski.

The day after pleading guilty to making illegal contributions of $100,000 apiece to U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, Gulf Oil Vice-President Claude Wild and Ashland Oil Board Chairman Orrin Atkins told the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Campaign Activities that, upon being told by U.S. Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans that such a contribution was expected from all major corporations, they had secretly arranged to have the funds drawn from foreign subsidiaries.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Karma Chameleon--Culture Club (4th week at #1)

Defense
The first U.S. ground-launched Cruise missiles were delivered to Greenham Common Air Base in England. They were the first of a projected total of 572 U.S. missiles scheduled for deployment in western Europe over a five-year period. The U.S.A. made a new proposal on the limitation of medium-range missiles; the plan would limit the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. to 420 warheads each.

Economics and finance
The Canadian House of Commons passed legislation to end the 86-year-old Crowsnest Pass grain freight rates. The new rates raised costs for farmers, but put $3.7 billion into rail upgrades.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Don't Worry Be Happy--Bobby McFerrin

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Girl You Know it's True--Milli Vanilli (3rd week at #1)

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Sweat (A La La La La Long)--Inner Circle (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)--Meat Loaf

#1 single in Switzerland: What's Up?--4 Non Blondes (14th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)--Meat Loaf (5th week at #1)

Politics and government
Puerto Rican voters voted 48%-46% in a plebiscite to continue their status as a commonwealth of the United States, narrowly rejecting the option of statehood. 4% voted in favour of independence for the island.

Business
PepsiCo Inc. announced that it was ending its promotional agreement with singer Michael Jackson, who had announced two days earlier that he was cancelling the remainder of a worldwide concert tour to seek treatment for drug addiction.

Football
CFL
Eastern Semi-Final
Ottawa 10 @ Hamilton 21

Western Semi-Finals
British Columbia 9 @ Calgary 17
Saskatchewan 13 @ Edmonton 51

Todd Dillon threw touchdown passes of 11 yards to Lee Knight in the 1st quarter and 10 yards to Joey Jauch in the 3rd quarter, and handed off to Dave Dinnall for a 34-yard TD run in the 4th quarter as the Tiger-Cats defeated the Rough Riders before 18,781 fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Stephen Jones scored the only Ottawa touchdown on a 75-yard pass from Tom Burgess in the 3rd quarter. Mike Lazecki converted Mr. Jones' touchdown and added a 33-yard field goal. The game was the last for Ron Smeltzer as head coach of the Rough Riders, and the last for veteran defensive lineman Dexter Manley in an Ottawa uniform.



Defensive tackle Srecko Zizakovic intercepted a Danny Barrett pass and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown in the 1st quarter and Doug Flutie completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Will Moore in the 2nd quarter as the first-place Stampeders defeated the fourth-place Lions before just 15,407 fans at McMahon Stadium. Mark McLoughlin converted both TDs and added a 22-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter to give Calgary a 17-9 halftime lead. Lui Passaglia kicked field goals of 25 yards in the 2nd quarter and 15 and 34 yards in the 3rd quarter for the B.C. scoring.



Lucius Floyd rushed 22 times for 121 yards and touchdowns of 3 and 15 yards as the second-place Eskimos routed the third-place Roughriders before 26,397 fans at Commonwealth Stadium. Edmonton quarterback Damon Allen threw 2 touchdown passes to Eddie Brown and another to Henry "Gizmo" Williams, and Brian Walling rushed 18 yards for the final Eskimo touchdown. Sean Fleming converted all 6 Edmonton touchdowns and added 3 field goals. Kent Austin, playing his last game in a Saskatchewan uniform, completed a 13-yard pass to Bruce Boyko in the 2nd quarter for the Roughriders' only touchdown. Dave Ridgway converted and added 2 field goals. Mr. Austin marched the Roughriders deep into Edmonton territory in the final seconds of the 1st half, but the clock ran out on a pass to Jeff Fairholm at the 6-yard line, leaving the Roughriders behind 27-13. The Eskimos dominated the 2nd half, outscoring the Roughriders 24-0. The game also marked the end for Don Matthews after 2 1/2 seasons as Saskatchewan's head coach. With the game out of reach in the last few minutes, Mr. Matthews sent quarterback Michael Proctor in for his only CFL game action.



NFL
Miami 19 @ Philadelphia 14

The Dolphins defeated the Eagles at Veterans Stadium to give Don Shula his 325th win as a head coach, passing George Halas to become the NFL's career leader. Mr. Shula was head coach of the Baltimore Colts from 1964-1969 and assumed the head coaching position with the Dolphins in 1970.

10 years ago
2003

Space
The most distant object ever found in our solar system, a transneptunian body named Sedna, was discovered by astronomers at the Mount Palomar Observatory in California.

Politics and government
The United States agreed to transfer power in Iraq to an interim Iraqi government in early 2004.