August 12, 2014

850 years ago
1164

War
Forces commanded by Nur ad-Din Zangi defeated a combined army from the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, the Byzantine Empire and Armenia in the Battle of Harim in Syria.

325 years ago
1689

Died on this date
Innocent XI, 78. Roman Catholic Pope, 1676-1689. Born Benedetto Odescalchi, Innocent XI succeeded Clement X as Pope, and was himself succeeded by Alexander VIII.

250 years ago
1764

Diplomacy
British Major General John Bradstreet held peace talks at Fort Presque Isle, Pennsylvania with Pontiac Rebellion tribes of the Delaware and Shawnee, who had been sent to attack the British troops.

140 years ago
1874

Born on this date
Otto Borchert. U.S. businessman and baseball executive. Mr. Borchert, a native of Milwaukee, achieved success in selling electrical equipment before becoming part of a syndicate that bought the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association in January 1920. Athletic Park was renamed Borchert Field, and Mr. Borchert eventually acquired full control of the club, which failed to achieve much success on the field under his ownership, but was profitable. He was known for putting the AA's interests ahead of his own, and engaged in numerous acts of charity for which he insisted there be no publicity. The day before the Brewers' first home game of the 1927 season, Mr. Borchert, 52, was finishing an address, broadcast locally on radio, to a large audience at the Elks Club in downtown Milwaukee when he collapsed with a heart attack. He staggered to his feet and was taken to an anteroom, where he died five minutes later. Mr. Borchert's widow Idabel owned the team until selling it in January 1928. Borchert Field remained the Brewers' home through 1952, the Brewers' final season in the AA, but was replaced by County Stadium when the National League's Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953.

125 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Zerna Sharp. U.S. teacher and authoress. Miss Sharp was an elementary school teacher and principal who created the Dick and Jane series of readers for children that were published, with various revisions, from 1930-1965. She died on June 17, 1981 at the age of 91.

A.R.M. Lower. Canadian historian. Arthur Reginald Marsden Lower, a native of Barrie, Ontario, taught at United College in Winnipeg (1927-1947) and Queen's University (1947-1959), and was best known for his textbook Canada: Colony to Nation (1946). He died in Kingston, Ontario on January 7, 1988 at the age of 98.

Canadiana
An Imperial Statute passed in London defined the boundaries of Ontario and Manitoba.

100 years ago
1914

Died on this date
John Philip Holland, 74. Irish-born U.S. engineer. Mr. Holland is regarded as the father of the modern submarine, having designed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the U.S. Navy, and the first U.K. Royal Navy submarine, the Holland 1.

War
The United Kingdom declared war on Austria-Hungary, which also meant that the dominions of the British Empire were automatically at war. Belgian forces won a tactical victory over German forces in the Battle of Haelen, a cavalry skirmish in Belgium.

80 years ago
1934

Baseball
46,766 were in attendance, and an estimated 20,000 were turned away from Fenway Park in Boston as Babe Ruth made his final American League appearance in Boston, where he had begun his major league career 20 years earlier. The Red Sox won the first game of a doubleheader 6-4, despite a single and double by Mr. Ruth. The Yankees won the second game 7-1; the Babe had just one official at bat because the Red Sox pitchers kept walking him.

The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. Jim Weaver won the first game 7-2, as Paul Dean took the loss. The Cubs won the second game 6-4, as Pat Malone took the decision over Dizzy Dean.

75 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Eulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz, 58. President of Mexico, 1914-1915. Mr. Gutiérrez was a general from Coahuila in the Mexican Revolution, and was elected President by the Aguascalientes Convention after the ouster of President Victoriano Huerta. President Gutiérrez moved the capital from Mexico City to San Luis Potosi, but he was unsuccessful in attempting to control the two main generals of the revolution, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. Mr. Gutiérrez resigned as President and made peace with the revolution's "Primer Jefe" ("First Chief"), Venustiano Carranza. Mr. Gutiérrez went into exile in the United States, but returned to Mexico in 1920, and was elected Senator and Governor of Coahuila in 1928. He supported the rebellion of José Gonzalo Escobar in 1929, but was forced into exile in San Antonio, Texas when the rebellion failed. Mr. Gutiérrez returned to Mexico again in 1935, and died in Saltillo.

Baseball
Steve Sundra improved his record for the season to 6-0 as the New York Yankees hammered the Philadelphia Athletics 18-4 before 8,000 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Babe Dahlgren had 4 hits and 6 RBIs for the Yankees, including a solo home run in the 6th inning, and a grand slam an inning later. Joe Gordon added his 18th home run of the season for the Yankees.

70 years ago
1944

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Swinging on a Star--Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra and the Williams Brothers Quartet (Best Seller--2nd week at #1); G.I. Jive--Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five (Jukebox--3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., 29. U.S. military aviator. Mr. Kennedy, the eldest son of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Joseph P. Kennedy, was killed while on a secret mission when an explosives-laden U.S. Navy plane blew up over England.

War
Alençon was liberated by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, becoming the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces. Allied forces in Italy took control of Florence as the city was spared destructive fighting. Soviet troops in Poland widened their front northeast of Warsaw. Speaking in Bremerton, Washington, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that the United States must control the "great circle" route across the Pacific Ocean to guard against future "sneak attacks."

Abominations
Nazi German troops ended the week-long Wola massacre, during which time at least 40,000 people in Warsaw were killed indiscriminately or in mass executions. Meanwhile, Waffen-SS troops massacred 560 people in the Italian village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema.

Diplomacy
Sir Alexander Cadogan headed the British delegation that arrived in Washington for postwar security talks with U.S. and Soviet officials.

60 years ago
1954

Boxing
Ed Sanders (5-1) won an 8-round split decision over Willie Wilson (19-3) in a heavyweight bout at Boston Arena.

50 years ago
1964

Died on this date
Ian Fleming, 56. U.K. spy and author. Mr. Fleming was with British Naval Intelligence during World War II, which helped inspire him to create the fictional spy James Bond, the main character in 11 novels and 2 collections of short stories by Mr. Fleming. Mr. Fleming, a heavy smoker and drinker, died of a heart attack.

Music
Sam Cooke finished recording the song Cousin of Mine at RCA Studio in Los Angeles.

Crime
Charlie Wilson, one of the participants in England's Great Train Robbery, escaped from Winson Green Prison in Birmingham.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (0-2) 7 @ Winnipeg (1-1-1) 37

Leo Lewis rushed 9 times for 69 yards, caught 3 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Kenny Ploen, and had an 85-yard kickoff return as the Blue Bombers routed the Eskimos before 13,789 fans at Winnipeg Stadium. Roger Hagberg, Farrell Funston, and Billy Cooper scored the other Winnipeg touchdowns. Butch Pressley scored the only Edmonton touchdown and halfback Jim Thomas added a single when he fumbled into the Winnipeg end zone.

40 years ago
1974

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Evie--Stevie Wright

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Love's Theme--The Love Unlimited Orchestra (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Gwilym S. Brown, 46. U.S. journalist. Mr. Brown was an associate editor of Sports Illustrated and wrote about golf for the magazine. He died of a brain tumor.

Parker Alford, 22. U.S. football player. Mr. Alford, a tight end with the University of Texas Longhorns, was killed when the small car he was driving collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer on a freeway in Houston.

Economics and finance
In his first appearance as President of the United States before a joint session of Congress, Gerald Ford called inflation "public enemy number one" and asked for bipartisan restraint in government spending. In response to a recent Congressional proposal, he offered to preside over a domestic "summit meeting" to devise a bipartisan approach to creating economic growth and stability, and also called for the reactivation of the Cost of Living Council to monitor wages and prices.

Scandal
Norman Reyes, former press secretary to U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey (Democrat--Minnesota), and aide Jack Valentine pled guilty to charges of aiding and abetting illegal corporate donations by American Milk Producers, Inc. to political campaigns. The donations, according to the criminal information filed by the office of the Special Prosecutor assigned to investigate the 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., had gone to Sen. Humphrey's campaign for the 1972 Democratic Party presidential nomination and to other Democratic campaigns, including that of U.S. Senator James Abzourek (South Dakota).

Disasters
A death toll of at least 2,500 people was reported from Bangladesh as month-long flooding brought on by monsoons began to subside. Waters had covered 20,000 of the nation's 35,000 square miles. Cholera was reported to be spreading widely in the wake of the floods.

47 people were killed in the crash of an Air Mali jetliner near Ouagadougou, Upper Volta.

Baseball
Former New York Yankee teammates Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, along with former Negro League star Cool Papa Bell, umpire Jocko Conlan, and deceased players Jim Bottomley and Sam Thompson, were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. In the Hall of Fame game, a capacity crowd of 9,975 at Abner Doubleday Field saw the Atlanta Braves score 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning and hold on to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9. Vic Correll, who started the game as the Braves' catcher, hit 2 home runs, while Paul Casanova, who relieved him behind the plate, added another homer for the Braves, as did left fielder Ralph Garr. Buddy Bradford and Tony Muser homered for Chicago. Danny Frisella pitched 5 innings and was the winning pitcher, while Joe Niekro pitched 4 innings to get the save. Larry Monroe, a rookie with the Sarasota White Sox of the Class A Florida State League, pitched the first 3 innings for Chicago and took the loss; Jack Kucek and Francisco Barrios, both of whom had recently been recalled from the minors, each pitched 3 innings for the White Sox.

Nolan Ryan set an American League record and tie the major league record with 19 strikeouts in a 9-inning game as the California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 before 9,345 fans (including this blogger and his parents) at Anaheim Stadium. California first baseman Bob Oliver hit a 3-run home run to open the scoring in the bottom of the 4th inning to provide the Angels with all the offense they needed. It was the first major league game I ever attended, and being a knowledgeable 13-year-old fan, I knew what the record was, and that Mr. Ryan was approaching it. Shortstop Rick Burleson was the only Boston batter who didn't strike out at least once; third baseman Rico Petrocelli fanned 4 times. California designated hitter Frank Robinson drew 4 bases on balls in as many plate appearances.

Mickey Lolich pitched a 5-hit complete game and rookie center fielder Ron LeFlore hit his first major league home run as the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 before 16,034 fans at Tiger Stadium.

The Oakland Athletics scored 2 unearned runs on a throwing error by New York third baseman Graig Nettles as they edged the Yankees 3-2 before 27,137 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Catfish Hunter improved his record for the season to 17-9 as he won the pitchers' duel over Pat Dobson, who fell to 10-14. Before the game, Oakland manager Alvin Dark announced that players would no longer be allowed to drink hard liquor on planes during road trips.

Mexican League
Quarter-Finals
Jalisco 2 Cordoba 1 (Jalisco won best-of-seven series 4-0)
Saltillo 4 Monterrey 1 (Saltillo won best-of-seven series 4-1)

30 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Susanna--The Art Company (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Self Control--Laura Branigan (7th week at #1)

Died on this date
Lenny Breau, 43. U.S. musician. Mr. Breau, a native of Maine, spent many of his formative years in New Brunswick and Winnipeg, where he developed his technique as an innovative jazz guitarist. He was found in the swimming pool of his Los Angeles apartment complex after having been strangled.

Abominations
Zimbabwe’s ruling African National Union-Patriotic Front concluded a party congress by adopting a draft charter calling for one-party Marxist rule. The draft charter provided that the socialist state would be achieved "in the fullness of time" under the "vanguard leadership" of the Union and Front. The party approved expanded power for Prime Minister Robert Mugabe through the creation of an executive presidency that would permit Mr. Mugabe to become head of state. The party delegates also approved a strict moral code for party officials.

Politics and government
U.S. President Ronald Reagan said that raising taxes would be a last resort for him, but a first resort for Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale.

Olympics
Greg Louganis of the United States won his second gold medal of the games, taking the men's 10-meter platform competition with a world-record score of 710.91 points. The United States topped the final medal total with 174 (83 gold); West Germany was second with 59 (17 gold). Romania followed with 53 (20 gold), and Canada fourth with 44 (10 gold). The closing ceremonies featured a large fireworks display and included Hollywood-style entertainment. Canada finished the games with its best showing ever, winning 44 medals: 10 gold, 18 silver, and 16 bronze.

Football
CFL
Toronto (5-2) 30 @ Hamilton (1-4-1) 22
Edmonton (3-3) 37 @ Saskatchewan (1-4-1) 21

Larry Cowan rushed for 143 yards for the Eskimos, including one run of 65 yards, as the Eskimos came back from an early 16-1 deficit to defeat the Roughriders at Taylor Field in Regina. With less than 2 minutes remaining and the Eskimos leading 23-21, Roughrider punter Paul Hickie came up short when he ran the ball on a fake punt. Matt Dunigan ran 3 yards for a touchdown with 45 seconds left to make it 30-21 after the convert. Two plays later, Eskimo linebacker Danny Bass hit Roughrider quarterback Nickie Hall in the end zone and forced a fumble. Saskatchewan guard Gerry Hornett attempted to kick the loose ball, but only succeeded in kicking it into the hands of Edmonton defensive end Tom Tuinei for an easy touchdown.

Baseball
Harmon Killebrew‚ Rick Ferrell‚ Don Drysdale‚ Pee Wee Reese‚ and Luis Aparicio were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown‚ New York.

In a game that featured two bench-clearing brawls and 19 ejections (including both managers and both replacement managers), the Atlanta Braves defeated the San Diego Padres 5-3 before 23,912 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Braves’ starting pitcher Pascual Perez hit Padres’ leadoff hitter Alan Wiggins in the back with the first pitch of the game to get things started.

25 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Viva la mamma--Edoardo Bennato (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): No More Boleros--Gerard Joling (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): We are Growing (Shaka Zulu)--Margaret Singana

#1 single in France (SNEP): Lambada--Kaoma (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Swing the Mood--Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Right Here Waiting--Richard Marx
2 On Our Own--Bobby Brown
3 Batdance--Prince
4 So Alive--Love and Rockets
5 Once Bitten Twice Shy--Great White
6 Cold Hearted--Paula Abdul
7 I Like It--Dino
8 Lay Your Hands on Me--Bon Jovi
9 Don't Wanna Lose You--Gloria Estefan
10 Toy Soldiers--Martika

Singles entering the chart were Love Song by the Cure (#58); Don't Look Back by Fine Young Cannibals (#76); It's No Crime by Babyface (#84); What I Like About You by Michael Morales (#88); Need a Little Taste of Love by the Doobie Brothers (#92); What About Me by Moving Pictures (#93); Lay All Your Love on Me by Information Society (#94); Lay Down Your Arms by the Graces (#95); When the Radio is On by Paul Shaffer (#97); On the Line by Tangier (#99); and Walkin' Shoes by Tora Tora (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Batdance--Prince (3rd week at #1)
2 On Our Own--Bobby Brown
3 Right Here Waiting--Richard Marx
4 So Alive--Love and Rockets
5 Lay Your Hands on Me--Bon Jovi
6 I Like It--Dino
7 Once Bitten Twice Shy--Great White
8 Cold Hearted--Paula Abdul
9 If You Don't Know Me by Now--Simply Red
10 The End of the Innocence--Don Henley

Singles entering the chart were Lay All Your Love on Me by Information Society (#70); Pride and Passion by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (#73); Nature of Love by Waterfront (#75); Don't Look Back by Fine Young Cannibals (#77); Need a Little Taste of Love by the Doobie Brothers (#80); Closer to Fine by Indigo Girls (#83); Runnin' Down a Dream by Tom Petty (#85); And the Night Stood Still by Dion (#90); Oh Daddy by Adrian Belew (#92); You're My One and Only (True Love) by Seduction (#94); and Love Cries by the Stage Dolls (#96).

Died on this date
William Shockley, 79. U.K.-born U.S. physicist. Dr. Shockley shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain for co-inventing the transistor; his work helped to inspire the creation of "Silicon Valley" in California. In his later years, Dr. Shockley attracted controversy and criticism for his advocacy of eugenics.

Samuel Okwaraji, 25. Nigerian soccer player. Mr. Okwaraji, a midfielder with Nigeria's national team, collapsed and died of congestive heart failure in the 77th minute of a World Cup qualification match against Angola at Lagos National Stadium.

Politics and government
F.W. de Klerk, the newly-chosen leader of South Africa’s ruling National Party and also the country’s education minister, met with most of the cabinet members but not with President P.W. Botha.

20 years ago
1994

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Love is All Around--Wet Wet Wet (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Riverdance--Bill Whelan (15th week at #1)

Canadiana
The first Congrès mondial acadien (World Acadian Congress) opened in Moncton, New Brunswick, running until August 22.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.3% in July.

Labour
Major league baseball players went on strike to fight owners' demands for a salary cap; the rest of season canceled September 14, 1994, leaving the Montreal Expos with the best record in the majors at 74-40. The strike wiped out the World Series, and lasted 234 days.

Football
CFL
Edmonton (4-2) 7 @ Saskatchewan (3-3) 20

Tom Burgess completed a 25-yard pass to Dan Farthing in the 2nd quarter for the game's only touchdown as the Roughriders defeated the defending Grey Cup champion Eskimos before 24,548 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. Dave Ridgway added a convert and 4 field goals for Saskatchewan. The Eskimos failed to score a touchdown that counted, and lost one that should have counted when quarterback Damon Allen completed a pass to wide receiver Mike Lee for an apparent touchdown, but the play was whistled down early by an ignorant first-year American official.



10 years ago
2004

Died on this date
Godfrey Hounsfield, 84. U.K. electrical engineer. Sir Godfrey shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Allan McLeod Cormack for his part in developing the diagnostic technique of X-ray computed tomography (CT). The Hounsfield scale, a quantitative measure of radiodensity used in evaluating CT scans, is named in his honour. Sir Godfrey died 16 days before his 85th birthday.

Politics and government
Lee Hsien Loong was sworn in as Prime Minister of Singapore.

Law
The California Supreme Court voided the nearly 4,000 same-sex marriages sanctioned in San Francisco earlier in the year.

Scandal
New Jersey Governor James McGreevey announced his resignation because of an affair with another man.

Disasters
Hurricane Bonnie pounded the Florida Panhandle, forcing the evacuation of 1.9 million people.

Football
CFL
Toronto (5-3) 10 @ Montreal (8-1) 22
Edmonton (3-5) 14 @ Winnipeg (3-5) 25