August 9, 2021

680 years ago
1341

Died on this date
Eleanor of Anjou, 51-52. Queen consort of Sicily, 1302-1337. Eleanor, the third daughter of King Charles II of Naples, married King Federico II of Sicily in 1302, and remained queen consort until Federico's death in 1337. The eldest of their nine children succeeded Federico II as King Pietro II.

160 years ago
1861

Died on this date
Vincent Novello, 79. U.K. musician and publisher. Mr. Novello was a chorister and organist whose compositions were mainly of sacred music. He was best known for importing in to England many European compositions now considered standard, and created the music publishing house Novello & Co in 1811, which his son Joseph Alfred took over in 1829 and expanded. Vincent Novello died four weeks before his 80th birthday.

140 years ago
1881

Born on this date
Antônio Gastão of Orléans-Braganza. Brazilian Royal Family member and military aviator. Prince Antônio Gastão was the third and youngest son of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, and a grandson of Emperor Pedro II. Prince Antônio Gastão lived in exile in Europe after his grandfather was deposed in a coup, and joined the Royal Canadian Dragoons during World War I, serving as a pilot and spy attached to the Royal Flying Corps. Prince Antônio Gastão was promoted to captain in 1916, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1917. He spent the last few months of the war with the War Office, and died in Edmonton, London on November 29, 1918 at the age of 37, from injuries suffered in a plane crash shortly after the end of the war.

Baseball
The Brooklyn Atlantics scored 11 runs in the 9th inning to defeat the New York Metropolitans 14-12 at the Polo Grounds in New York.

125 years ago
1896

Born on this date
Jean Piaget. Swiss psychologist. Dr. Piaget was perhaps the most influential figure in the field of developmental psychology, with an emphasis on the education of children. He referred to his theory of cognitive development and knowledge as "genetic epistemology," and argued that children's education is influenced by the understanding and experience they acquire prior to beginning school. Dr. Piaget created and directed the Centre international d'épistémologie génétique from 1955 until his death on September 16, 1980 at the age of 84.

110 years ago
1911

Born on this date
Eddie Futch. U.S. boxer and trainer. Mr. Futch posted a 37-3 amateur record as a lightweight before retiring in 1936 because of a heart murmur before he could turn professional. He trained 21 professional world champions, including Joe Frazier and Larry Holmes, in a career spanning more than 50 years. Mr. Futch trained Mr. Frazier for his three fights against Muhammad Ali (1971-1975), and became Mr. Frazier's manager after the death of Yancey Durham in 1973. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994, and died on October 10, 2001 at the age of 90.

100 years ago
1921

Baseball
George Sisler batted 6 for 9 with a triple, 2 runs, and a run batted in for the St. Louis Browns as they defeated the Washington Nationals 8-6 in 19 innings before 3,500 fans at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Dixie Davis (11-10) pitched a complete game for the Browns, allowing 13 hits, but none over the last 9 innings. Joe Judge hit 3 triples for the Nationals. Luke Stuart started at second base for St. Louis and batted 0 for 2 with a run and no fielding chances in his third and last major league game.

Bob O'Farrell doubled with 1 out and nobody on base in the bottom of the 10th inning, advanced to third base on an outfield fly by Virgil Cheeves, and scored on a single by Max Flack to give the Chicago Cubs an 8-7 win over the New York Giants before 10,000 fans at Cubs Park. The Giants hit 3 home runs, but also made 3 errors. Mr. Cheeves (2-2), the fourth Chicago pitcher, pitched 2 scoreless innings to get the win over Phil Douglas (9-7).

80 years ago
1941

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Daddy--Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye (vocal refrain by the Kaye Choir) (6th week at #1)

Diplomacy
U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived aboard the Prince of Wales at Argentia, Newfoundland for his conference with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Colombian President Eduardo Santos ordered strict enforcement of a 1940 decree under which aliens engaged in propaganda activities on behalf of belligernt nations may be expelled.

Defense
U.S. War Resources Board chairman Edward Stettinius placed steel under 100% priority control to ensure deliveries for defense.

Labour
The American Federation of Labor Executive Council urged U.S. President Roosevelt to set up a planning agency composed of government, industry, labour, and agriculture to draw up a program for a rapid shift from war to peace production to avoid a depression at the end of the present war.

Golf
Sam Snead won the Canadian Open at Lambton Golf Club in Toronto with a 6-under-par total score of 274, 2 strokes ahead of Bob Gray, Jr. It was Mr. Snead's second straight Canadian Open win, and third in four years. First prize money was $1,000.

75 years ago
1946

At the movies
The Last Crooked Mile, directed by Philip Ford, and starring Donald Barry, Ann Savage, and Adele Mara, opened in theatres.



War
After fruitless efforts to mediate the dispute between Nationalists and Communists in China, U.S. Army General George Marshall and U.S. Ambassador to China John Stuart stated that a settlement seemed impossible and that civil war "threatens to engulf the country."

World events
A Yugoslavian fighter plane forced down a U.S. Army C-47 transport with 10 passengers near Ljubljana.

Politics and government
Allied commanders in Berlin agreed on a constitution restoring political freedom and self-government to the city.

British Viceroy Sir Archibald Wavell renewed his efforts to persuade the All-India Congress Party to enter a coalition central government.

Health
The U.S. public health service reported that 5,622 people had been stricken and 154 killed so fan in 1946 by the worst polio outbreak since 1916.

70 years ago
1951

War
The Communist command promised to respect the neutrality of Kaesong in the future, and urged the U.S. to resume Korean truce talks.

Diplomacy
Chile resumed diplomatic relations with Venezuela after a three-year lapse.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate a record peacetime military appropriation of $56 billion, but rejected a proposal to bar sending more than six divisions of ground troops to Europe without congressional approval.

Politics and government
Francisco Higinio Craveiro Lopes took office as President of Portugal.

Hasan al-Hakim, proponent of a policy of cooperatini with the West, formed a moderate Syrian cabinet.

Speaking before the U.S. Senate, Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican--Wisconsin) listed 26 allegedly disloyal State Department employees, including Ambassador-at-large Philip Jessup, Tangiers Consul General John Carter Vincent, and veteran diplomat John Paton Davies, Jr.

Scandal
U.S. Military Academy head football coach Earl "Red" Blaik said that recent dismissals because of cheating had cut his squad from 45 players to 2. U.S. President Harry Truman ordered an investigation to determine whether the Army and Navy academies were overemphasizing football.

Labour
The 30,000-member American Federation of Hosiery Workers reaffiliated with the American Federation of Labor after 16 years as an independent union.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution giving the Agriculture Department $950,000 to recruit Mexican farm workers under a U.S.-Mexican agreement.

60 years ago
1961

Baseball
Matty Alou led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a home run to give the San Francisco Giants a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs before 10,822 fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, completing a comeback from a 4-0 5th-inning deficit. Mr. Alou doubled home a run and scored in the 4-run 7th inning.

Don Drysdale (10-6) hit a grand slam and struck out 11 batters to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Milwaukee Braves 8-3 before 23,385 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 2 of the 4 hits off Mr. Drysdale were home runs by Joe Adcock. Don Nottebart (3-6) was the losing pitcher who gave up Mr. Drysdale's grand slam in the 2nd inning.

50 years ago
1971

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Eagle Rock--Daddy Cool (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Watashi no Jōkamachi--Rumiko Koyanagi (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Fin de Semana--Los Diablos (3rd week at #1)

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Kavita Duggal!

Diplomacy
India and the U.S.S.R. signed a 20-year friendship treaty in which both nations agreed to avoid interfering in one another's internal affairs.

Law
Northern Irish Prime Minister Brian Faulkner introduced a new law giving authorities the right to indefinitely detain suspected terrorists without trial.

Football
CFL
British Columbia (1-2) 29 @ Winnipeg (0-3) 16

B.C. punter Ken Phillips, who had been assigned the placekicking duties in place of erratic veteran Ted Gerela, tied a CFL single-game record with 5 field goals as the Lions defeated the Blue Bombers at Winnipeg Stadium.

Baseball
Satchel Paige was among eight new members inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Mr. Paige was the first man to be honoured for his contribution to the Negro leagues. The other inductees, elected by the Veterans Committee, were: Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Chick Hafey, Harry Hooper, Joe Kelley, Rube Marquard, and George Weiss. The Cleveland Indians scored 8 runs in the top of the 5th inning as they beat the Chicago Cubs 13-5 before 9,791 fans at Doubleday Field in the annual Hall of Fame Game.

Pinch hitter Rico Petrocelli's single with 2 out in the 9th inning scored John Kennedy from second base and gave the Boston Red Sox a 12-11 win over the Detroit Tigers before 20,116 fans at Fenway Park in Boston. The Tigers hit 6 home runs--3 by Bill Freehan, 2 by Willie Horton, and 1 by Aurelio Rodriguez--while the Red Sox' only homer was a grand slam by Bob Montgomery in the 8-run 4th inning as the Red Sox came back from a 7-2 deficit. Dean Chance, the second of six Detroit pitchers, faced 2 batters in the 4th, allowing singles by Luis Aparicio and Reggie Smith, both of whom scored. It was the 406th and last game of Mr. Chance's 11-year major league career.

Wes Parker batted 4 for 5 with 3 doubles, 2 runs, and a run batted in to help the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 before 26,723 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Willie Davis also batted 4 for 5 for the Dodgers with an RBI.

40 years ago
1981

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Stars on 45--Stars on 45 (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Bette Davis Eyes--Kim Carnes (6th week at #1)

Football
CFL
British Columbia (5-0) 28 @ Saskatchewan (2-3) 24

The biggest offensive play of the game at Taylor Field in Regina was a 100-yard touchdown pass by Saskatchewan quarterback Joe Barnes to Chris De France.

Baseball
Major League All-Star Game @ Cleveland Stadium
National League 5 @ American League 4

Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos hit 2 solo home runs and Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 8th inning off Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers as the NL defeated the AL before 72,086 fans. The game had been rescheduled from July 14 because of the major league players' strike. It was the NL's 10th straight win and 17th in the last 18 games.



Intercontinental Cup @ Renfrew Park, Edmonton
Panama (0-4) 2 @ U.S.A. (3-0) 3
Australia (1-3) 7 @ Japan (1-2) 6
Dominican Republic (2-2) 1 @ South Korea (2-1) 9
Canada (3-1) 2 @ Cuba (2-1) 1

The game between Australia and Japan was played at South Side Industrial Park. The U.S.A. scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning when Dan Jones was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Edmonton's Perry Lychak pitched a 3-hitter as Canada handed Cuba its first loss in international competition in three years. The Cubans said it was the best pitching performance against them since Burt Hooton ten years earlier.

30 years ago
1991

Died on this date
Al Davidson, 65. Canadian sportscaster. "Big Al," so nicknamed because of his 5' 5" height, worked at several radio stations in a career spanning more than 40 years, but was best known for his strong opinions as the sports voice of Vancouver-area radio station CKNW from 1958 until his dismissal in 1987 after allegedly threatening the life of fellow sportscaster Neil Macrae. Mr. Davidson won a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. He died of cancer, and had other health problems.

Antonino Scopelliti, 56. Italian jurist. Mr. Scopelliti was a prosecutor at the Italian Corte di Cassazione (Supreme Court) who was preparing the government's case in the final appeal of the Maxi Trial against the Cosa Nostra when he was ambushed on a road by the crime organization 'Ndrangheta on behalf of the Sicilian Mafia while vacationing with his family. His murder remains unsolved.

Football
CFL
Toronto (4-1) 37 @ Saskatchewan (1-4) 35

Rickey Foggie quarterbacked the Argonauts to victory over the Roughriders before 27,093 fans at Taylor Field in Regina. This was the final game of the 12-year Hall of Fame career of defensive lineman James Parker, who had been cut by the Argonauts just before the start of the regular season and reactivated for this game.

25 years ago
1996

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): e.p.--Gyllene Tider (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Wannabe--Spice Girls

Died on this date
Frank Whittle, 89. U.K. military engineer. Sir Frank was an Air Commodore with the Royal Air Force who was credited with inventing the turbojet engine.

War
Rebel forces in Chechnya had 7,000 Russian soldiers trapped in the capital city of Grozny and claimed to be in control.

Diplomacy
Zaire joined neighbouring states in proclaiming sanctions against the leaders of the coup in Burundi.

Politics and government
Russian President Boris Yeltsin was sworn during a brief ceremony that reassured no one about the state of his health.

Football
CFL
Ottawa (1-6) 27 @ Winnipeg (4-3) 31

Michael Richardson rushed 20 times for 120 yards for the Blue Bombers as they beat the Rough Riders before 25,219 fans at Winnipeg Stadium. The winning touchdown came midway through the 4th quarter on a 55-yard pass from Kent Austin to Eric Guliford.



20 years ago
2001

Abominations
U.S. President George W. Bush approved federal funding for existing lines of embryonic stem cells.

Baseball
Sammy Sosa hit 3 consecutive solo home runs, but his Chicago Cubs still lost 14-5 to the Colorado Rockies before 38,345 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mr. Sosa's homers gave him 40 for the season.

The Toronto Blue Jays scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning and withstood a 2-run rally in the bottom of the 9th as they held on to defeat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 before 45,670 fans at Safeco Field in Seattle. The Mariners had runners on first and third bases with 2 out in the 9th, but John Olerud grounded out to shortstop to end the game.