August 1, 2015

300 years ago
1715

Law
The Riot Act came into force in England.

225 years ago
1790

Americana
The first U.S. census was completed, showing a population of 3,929,214 people.

200 years ago
1815

Born on this date
Richard Henry Dana, Jr. U.S. lawyer. Mr. Dana was best known for his book Two Years Before the Mast (1840), a memoir of his time from 1834-1836 as a sailor aboard a merchant marine vessel. His experiences led him, when he became a lawyer in Massachusetts in 1840, to champion the oppressed, especially sailors. His book The Seaman's Friend (1841) became a standard text on the rights and responsibilities of sailors. Mr. Dana supported the abolition of slavery, served as a United States Attorney during the Civil War, and was a member of the Massachusetts state legislature from 1867-1868. He died of influenza in Rome on January 6, 1882 at the age of 66.

175 years ago
1840

Society
Labourer slaves in most of the British Empire were emancipated.

130 years ago
1885

Crime
Metis leader Louis Riel was found guilty in Regina of treason and sentenced to death; the defense's plea of insanity was not believed by the Anglo-Saxon, Protestant jury.

90 years ago
1925

Football
NFL
Tim Mara and Will Gibson were granted a franchise for New York, and Jimmy Conzelman was granted a franchise for Detroit.

75 years ago
1940

War
Part of the 2nd Canadian Division reached Liverpool. Japan demanded transit rights for their forces through Indochina to attack the Chinese.

Diplomacy
The Japanese government issued a statement hinting at the introduction of totalitarianism at home and the construction of "a new order in Greater East Asia."

Defense
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with a delegation fro the Century Group who urged immediate executive action to transfer U.S. destroyers to British control.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Roosevelt approved a priority aid program to bolster the defenses of Latin American countries against possible German aggression.

Aviation
Pan-American Airways' first stratoplane, flying at an altitude of 17,000 feet, completed its maiden voyage from Miami, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Politics and government
U.S. President Roosevelt chose Edward J. Flynn to succeed James Farley as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and also to direct his campaign for a third term as President of the United States in the November 1940 election.

Disasters
The toll from the July 30 earthquake in Turkey topped 1,000.

70 years ago
1945

War
Former Vichy France leader Pierre Laval and his wife, captured the previous day in Barcelona, rached Paris by plane from Austria, and he was lodged in the Fresnes prison.

Diplomacy
In a readjustment of the Austrian occupation zones, the U.S.S.R. held all territory north of the Danube River, with the Americans on the south bank.

At the opening of the first Zionist Conference since 1939 in London, President Chaim Weizmann asked the United Nations to recognize the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.

Defense
U.S. Army General Hap Arnold said that the United States must maintain its position with the most powerful air force in the world during peacetime.

Economics and finance
Albania signed an agreement to receive United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration aid.

The United States Labor Department reported that the cost-of-living index, as of June 15, stood at 129% of the 1935-1939 average, the highest since the spring of 1921.

Agriculture
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Clinton Anderson said that due to a cut in government requirements, the civilian butter supply for August would be increased to 100 million pounds.

Baseball
Mel Ott of the New York Giants became the first National League player to hit 500 career home runs, with a shot off Johnny Hutchings of the Boston Braves before 19,318 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. The Giants won 9-2.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored 8 runs in the 2nd inning as they routed the Cincinnati Reds 15-3 before 6,160 fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Every man in the St. Louis starting lineup had at least 1 hit.

After giving up 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning, the Detroit Tigers rallied for 4 in the bottom of the 9th to edge the St. Louis Browns 9-8 before 12,527 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The game was scoreless through 4 innings, but the Browns scored 5 in the top of the 5th, with Lou Finney's grand slam the big blow.

60 years ago
1955

At the movies
No Man's Woman, directed by Franklin Adreon, and starring Marie Windsor, John Archer, Patric Knowles, and Nancy Gates, opened in theatres in New York City.



Canadiana
Schefferville, Quebec was incorporated as a city.

40 years ago
1975

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Paloma Blanca--George Baker Selection (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Gary Sanders, 25. U.S. golfer. Mr. Sanders was an All-American at the University of Southern California before turning professional. He had difficulty adjusting to the professional tour, but won the 1974 Amelia (Florida) Open on the satellite tour. Mr. Sanders was scheduled to undergo surgery for lymphatic cancer on August 4, 1975, but died two days after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, which apparently wasn't related to the cancer. His cancer wasn't believed to be enough to keep him out of action for more than a few weeks; in fact, Mr. Sanders had played in the Canadian Open the week before his death.

Diplomacy
The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe concluded with the signing by representatives of 35 nations of the non-binding Helsinki Accords, and served as the groundwork for the creation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Politics and government
Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel made a nationwide speech in which he rejected a return to democracy.

Labour
In what was believed to be a major league baseball first, the Boston Red Sox forced Detroit radio station WJR to cancel its broadcast of the game between the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers because of a picket line set up outside Fenway Park in Boston by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1228 in Boston, who were protesting WJR's new policy of not employing a technician at its broadcasts of Tiger games in 1975. Red Sox general manager Dick O'Connell, citing the possible danger to the near-capacity crowd because stadium electricians declined to cross the line, refused to let WJR broadcast the game unless it hired a duly authorized engineer. The station, attempting to cut expenses by having announcer Paul Caray handle the technical aspects of the broadcast, refused, preferring to skip the broadcast in order to make its point. The picketing electricians and television engineers then entered the park, enabling the game to be televised back to Detroit. A union technician was on duty in the Detroit broadcast booth the following day.

Football
CFL
Saskatchewan (3-0) 14 @ Toronto (0-2) 12

An 11-yard pass from Ron Lancaster to Rhett Dawson in the 2nd quarter was the only touchdown as the Roughriders edged the Argonauts before a CFL regular season record crowd of 37,305 at CNE Stadium in the only game of the season to be played on a Friday. Zenon Andrusyshyn kicked 4 field goals for Toronto, the last with 9:06 remaining in the game. Saskatchewan fullback George Reed rushed 26 times for 109 yards; it was the 59th time in his career that Mr. Reed had rushed for 100 yards or more in a game, a pro football record.

NFL
Pre-season
College All-Star Game @ Soldier Field, Chicago
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) 21 College All-Stars 14

Baseball
Bill Virdon was fired as manager of the New York Yankees and replaced by Billy Martin, who had been fired by the Texas Rangers on July 21. The change was made after the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians 5-4 for their third straight win to improve their record for 1975 to 53-51. Yankee President Gabe Paul said that the move wasn't a criticism of Mr. Virdon, but that the club didn't want to pass up the opportunity to hire Mr. Martin, who had played second base for the Yankees from 1950-1957.

The St. Louis Cardinals purchased pitcher Lloyd Allen from the Chicago White Sox and assigned him to their American Association affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers. Mr. Allen was 0-2 with an earned run average of 12.60 in 3 games with the White Sox in 1975, and had taken the loss the previous day in an exhibition game against the American Association All-Stars.

Steve Busby pitched a 6-hit shutout and George Brett hit a 2-run home run as part of a 4-run 7th inning as the Kansas City Royals blanked the Oakland Athletics 6-0 before a Royals Stadium crowd of 32,958, including this blogger and his parents.

Tommy Davis hit his second grand slam against the Milwaukee Brewers in six days as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Brewers 6-4 in the first game of a twi-night doubleheader before 19,041 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Orioles completed the sweep with a 3-2 win in the second game, as Ross Grimsley pitched a 5-hit complete game to win the pitchers' duel over Tom Hausman, who pitched a 9-hit complete game.

Throwing errors by shortstop Gene Michael and pitcher Gene Pentz contributed to a 2-run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning as the Boston Red Sox edged the Detroit Tigers 8-7, overcoming a 4-run Detroit rally in the top of the 9th. Detroit designated hitter Willie Horton batted 3 for 5 with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in, and catcher Bill Freehan was 3 for 5 with 2 homers and 2 RBIs.

Catfish Hunter allowed 9 hits and 3 runs--all earned--in 7 1/3 innings, but was the winning pitcher as the New York Yankees edged the Cleveland Indians 5-4 before 15,841 fans at Shea Stadium in New York in Bill Virdon's last game as manager of the Yankees.

The Chicago White Sox scored 5 runs in the 3rd inning on home runs by Pat Kelly and Ken Henderson as they beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 in a game that was called with 1 out in the bottom of the 6th inning of the first game of a scheduled twi-night doubleheader before 12,239 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Wilbur Wood allowed 7 hits and 1 earned run in 5 1/3 innings to win the pitching matchup with Dave Goltz, who allowed 9 hits and 5 earned runs in 6 innings. The second game was, of course, postponed by rain.

Consecutive home runs by Tom Grieve and Roy Howell in the bottom of the 7th inning gave the Texas Rangers a 2-1 win over the California Angels before 30,038 fans at Arlington Stadium. The Angels scored their run in the 1st inning when Morris Nettles walked and eventually scored on a ground out by Adrian Garrett, who was playing his first game with California after being acquired from the Chicago Cubs' organization the day before. Gaylord Perry pitched a 2-hit complete game victory, not allowing a hit after the 3rd inning. Losing pitcher Ed Figueroa allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored 4 runs in the 5th inning and 4 in the 8th as they beat the Chicago Cubs 9-4 before 18,038 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Bob Gibson pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of winning pitcher John Denny to get his first save in 10 years. Mr. Gibson also singled in a run in the 8th, after pinch hitter Lou Brock had doubled in 2 runs.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored 2 runs in the top of the 10th inning to defeat the Montreal Expos 8-6 in the first game of a twi-night doubleheader before 17,820 fans at Jarry Park in Montreal. The key hit for the Phillies took place in the 8th inning, when a 3-run home run by pinch hitter Tony Taylor erased a 5-3 deficit. Jim Dwyer and Mike Jorgensen each hit 2-run homers for the Expos in the 1st inning of the 2nd game to give them a 4-0 lead, and they held on to win 6-4.

Jesus Alou singled in 2 runs with the bases loaded in the 5th inning to break a 2-2 tie as the New York Mets defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 before 18,082 fans at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Craig Reynolds made his major league debut with the Pirates, entering the game in the bottom of the 7th inning as a pinch runner for Bob Robertson, and staying in the game at shortstop, making 4 assists in 2 innings.

Willie Montanez and Chris Speier hit consecutive home runs off J.R. Richard to begin the bottom of the 9th inning to give the San Francisco Giants a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros before 2,653 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Ed Halicki pitched an 8-hit complete game and allowed 1 earned run to get the win, with Mr. Richard allowing 8 hits and giving up 2 earned runs in 8+ innings in taking the loss.

Randy Jones pitched a 3-hitter to improve his record for the season to 14-6 as the San Diego Padres shut out the Atlanta Braves 4-0 before 11,348 fans at San Diego Stadium. Losing pitcher Phil Niekro allowed 5 hits and just 1 earned run in 8 innings in pitching a complete game.

Willie Crawford singled with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th inning and Ron Cey followed with a home run to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds before 50,331 fans at Dodger Stadium. Cincinnati third baseman Pete Rose batted 5 for 5 with 2 doubles, but Los Angeles left fielder Lee Lacy fielded Mr. Rose's fifth hit, a single, in the top of the 10th and threw out Darrel Chaney at home plate. Mr. Lacy had also thrown out Johnny Bench at home in the 9th.

Rick Langford entered the game as a pinch hitter and hit a grand slam, and became the winning pitcher in relief as the Charleston Charlies defeated the Syracuse Chiefs 12-7 in an International League game at Watt Powell Park in Charleston. Mr. Langford later doubled in a run, while teammate Ken Macha hit a home run off Syracuse pitcher Bob Kammeyer that travelled well over 400 feet, over the center field wall and high into the trees outside the park.

Ken Kravec of the Knoxville White Sox of the AA Southern League was 1 out away from a no-hitter against the Jacksonville Suns, but Doug Clark tripled. Mr. Kravec settled for a 1-hit 2-0 win, walking 7 hitters and striking out 9.

25 years ago
1985

Hit parade
Canada's Top 16
1 Never Surrender--Corey Hart
2 If You Love Somebody Set Them Free--Sting
3 The Power of Love--Huey Lewis and the News
4 Into the Groove--Madonna
5 Everytime You Go Away--Paul Young
6 Walk of Life--Dire Straits
7 Sussudio--Phil Collins
8 Angel--Madonna
9 You Give Good Love--Whitney Houston
10 Sentimental Street--Night Ranger
11 Voices Carry--'Til Tuesday
12 Glory Days--Bruce Springsteen
13 Get it On (Bang a Gong)--Power Station
14 Strange Animal--Gowan
15 19--Paul Hardcastle
16 Crazy in the Night--Kim Carnes

Canadiana
The world's tallest unsupported flagpole, at 282 feet, 4 inches, was erected in Vancouver.

World events
A U.S. icebreaker left Greenland for a voyage through the Northwest Passage and Canada's Arctic waters without Canadian permission.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (5-0) 43 @ Toronto (2-3) 18

Keyvan Jenkins rushed 16 times for a team record 206 yards to lead the Lions over the Argonauts before 31,276 fans at Exhibition Stadium. He ran 51 yards for a touchdown, and had other runs of 41 and 39 yards. Mr. Jenkins also caught a 46-yard touchdown pass. B.C. quarterback Roy Dewalt completed 21 of 35 passes for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed 1 yard for a touchdown. His other touchdown pass covered 41 yards to Jim Sandusky. Mark Casale passed to Terry Greer for the first Toronto touchdown, and backup quarterback Mike Hohensee threw to Kerry Taylor for the other.

25 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): I Promised Myself--Nick Kamen (5th week at #1)

World events
The attempted coup by Negro Muslim rebels in Trinidad and Tobago ended when 113 rebels surrendered.

Diplomacy
Talks between Iraq and Kuwait over oil and border disputes broke off. Iraq had massed 100,000 soldiers on its border with Kuwait. Kuwait’s army numbered only 20,000 men, and it was overmatched by Iraq in all categories of weaponry.

Protest
12,000 angry residents of Chateaugay, Quebec chanting "Bring in the army" marched on city hall to demand government action to remove the Mohawk Indian blockade of Mercier Bridge.

Politics and government
The Bulgarian parliament chose Zhelyu Zhelov, leader of the 16-party opposition coalition, as the country’s new president. A philosopher, he had been expelled from the Socialist (Communist) party in 1965 for questioning the theories of V.I. Lenin.

Economics and finance
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin signed a unity agreement to work together to transform the Soviet economy from central planning to a market system. The two men set up a commission to draft proposals, and it was reported that a 500-day plan developed by Russia would be the basis for the commission’s plan. The 500-day plan would legalize private property; abolish government subsidies; lift price controls; and take other as yet unspecified steps to stabilize the economy.

20 years ago
1995

Crime
Ottawa sportscaster Brian Smith was shot in the head by a deranged man, Jeffrey Arenburg, as he (Mr. Smith) was leaving work at CJOH-TV; he died the following day.

War
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 298-128 to require President Bill Clinton to end U.S. participation in the arms embargo imposed on Bosnia.

Economics and finance
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien ended the Crowsnest Pass freight rate subsidy.

Business
Westinghouse Electric Corporation struck a deal to buy CBS for $5.4 billion. The combined company would have 39 radio stations and 15 television stations.

10 years ago
2005

Died on this date
Fahd, 84. King of Saudi Arabia, 1982-2005. Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, one of 37 sons of King Ibn Saud, succeeded his half-brother Khalid on the throne after serving as
Crown Prince since 1975, and de facto Prime Minister as a result of King Khalid's poor health during the last few years of his reign. King Fahd was credited with introducing the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992, but suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995, and was unable to completely perform his duties. His half-brother Crown Prince Abdullah served as de facto regent until succeeding Fahd on the throne.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (1-5) 27 @ Toronto (4-2) 34