Saturday 9 May 2009

May 9, 2009

1,280 years ago
729


Died on this date
Osric
. King of Northumbria, 718-729. Osric was preceded on the throne by Coenred and succeeded by Ceolwulf.

1,000 years ago
1009


War
Lombard forces led by Melus revolted in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy.

125 years ago
1884

Baseball

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Toledo Blue Stockings 9-1 in an American Association game at League Park in Cincinnati. Toledo catcher Fleet Walker, the first Negro player in the major leagues, went 0 for 4 at bat.

120 years ago
1889


Horse racing
Spokane, with Thomas Kiley up, won the 15th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:34 1/2. Proctor Knott placed second and Once Again finished third in the eight-horse field.

Baseball
Ad Gumbert‚ normally a pitcher‚ played left field and hit a grand slam home run to give the Chicago Colts a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Alleghenys at West Side Park in Chicago.

110 years ago
1899

Baseball

With the help of 10 Washington errors, the New York Giants routed the Washington Senators 19-1 at the Polo Grounds in New York.

100 years ago
1909


Born on this date
Don Messer
. Canadian musician. Mr. Messer, a native of Tweedside, New Brunswick, was Canada's best-known fiddler. He began appearing on CBC radio in 1934, and made his first television appearance in 1956. The Don Messer Show, which soon became Don Messer's Jubilee, aired on CBC from 1959-1969 and on CHCH in Hamilton from 1969-1973. Mr. Messer died of a heart attack in Halifax on March 26, 1973 at the age of 63.

Baseball
For reasons having more to do with publicity than concern for health, the St. Louis Cardinals took out a $50,000 insurance policy on manager Roger Bresnahan.

70 years ago
1939


Religion
The Roman Catholic Church beatified its first Native Canadian: Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk from Kanawake, Quebec.

60 years ago
1949


On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes), on MBS
Tonight’s episode: The Three Garridebs

Died on this date
Louis II, 78
. Prince of Monaco, 1922-1949. Louis II acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Albert I. He tried to keep Monaco neutral during World War II, but he supported the Vichy French regime, leading to conflict with his son Rainier III, who supported the Allies, and who succeeded him on the throne.

William Lurye. U.S. labour activist. Mr. Lurye, a special organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, was fatally stabbed in a New York building where the ILGWU had recently conducted four strikes. Union President David Dubinsky charged that an anti-union dress manufacturer had arranged the killing.

Diplomacy
Former U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was re-elected chairwoman of the United Nations Social Council's Committee on Human Rights.

Politics and government
Colombian President Mariano Ospina Perez appointed a new cabinet of seven Conservatives and six Liberal Party members due to Conservative objections to the composition of the previous cabinet.

The Iranian constitution was amended to give the Shah power to dissolve Parliament.

Economics and finance
The U.K. House of Commons completed action on a bill to nationalize most of the nation's steel industry by May 1, 1930.

Baseball
The first-place New York Giants parlayed 10 bases on balls and home runs by Sid Gordon and Willard Marshall into a 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs before 22,445 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Sheldon Jones pitched a 9-hit complete game and was the winning pitcher for the Giants, who won their seventh game in a row. Cubs' starter Ralph Hamner, who allowed just 1 hit in 3 innings, took the loss. Cliff Aberson made his major league debut with the Cubs, popping out as a pinch hitter in the 4th inning.

Eddie Kazak's grand slam climaxed a 5-run 8th inning and concluded the scoring as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 14-5 before 13,042 fans at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Johnny Van Cuyk, the fourth of six Brooklyn pitchers, allowed 2 hits and 2 runs--both earned--with 1 base on balls and no strikeouts in 1 inning in the 7th and last game of his 3-year major league career.

Vern Bickford pitched a 3-hitter and singled and scored a run for the Boston Braves as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 before 13,706 fans at Braves Field.

Ted Gray outduelled Vic Raschi as the Detroit Tigers beat the first-place New York Yankees 5-2 before 11,733 fans at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Each pitcher gave up just 5 hits, but one of the Tigers' hits was a home run by left fielder Dick Wakefield.

50 years ago
1959


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Venus--Frankie Avalon (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (7th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Die Gitarre und das Meer--Freddy Quinn (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I/I Need Your Love Tonight--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 The Happy Organ--Dave "Baby" Cortez
2 (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I--Elvis Presley
3 Pink Shoe Laces--Dodie Stevens
4 Come Softly to Me--The Fleetwoods
5 Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)--The Impalas
6 Kansas City--Wilbert Harrison
7 Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)--Edward Byrnes & Connie Stevens
8 Turn Me Loose--Fabian
9 Since I Don't Have You--The Skyliners
10 Guitar Boogie Shuffle--The Virtues

Singles entering the chart were You Made Me Love You (#71)/I Must Be Dreaming (#74) by Nat "King" Cole; Hey Little Lucy! (Don’tcha Put No Lipstick On) by Conway Twitty (#83); I'm Ready by Fats Domino (#84); Tallahassee Lassie by Freddy Cannon (#87); Old Spanish Town by the Bell Notes (#92); Little Dipper by the Mickey Mozart Quintet (#93); Summer Dreams (#94)/Peace (#97) by the McGuire Sisters; (It Took) One Kiss by Jaye P. Morgan (#95); My Heart is an Open Book by Carl Dobkins, Jr. (#96); Just Keep it Up by Dee Clark (#98); and What a Diff'rence a Day Makes by Dinah Washington (#100).

Died on this date
Albert H. Fuller
. U.S. businessman. Mr. Fuller was president of the Fuller Brush Compny. He and his wife Dora were killed in a car accident near Lunning, Nevada.

Defense
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in another personal message to U.S.S.R. Premier Nikita Khrushchev, again called for a limited ban on atmospheric nuclear tests pending an agreement to ban underground and high-altitude tests.

Politics and government
Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis and Turkish Prime Minister Ethem Menderes reached agreements following three days of talks in Ankara which would permit the formation of an independent Cypriot government within a year.

40 years ago
1969


Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down--The Beatles with Billy Preston
2 Hair--The Cowsills
3 Sweet Cherry Wine--Tommy James and the Shondells
4 Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show--Neil Diamond
5 Morning Girl--Neon Philharmonic
6 Badge--Cream
7 Hawaii Five-O--The Ventures
8 Playgirl--Thee Prophets
9 Love is Just a Four-Letter Word--Joan Baez
10 Goodbye--Mary Hopkin

Singles entering the chart were Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet by Henry Mancini, his Orchestra and Chorus (#25); In the Ghetto by Elvis Presley (#28); Bad Moon Rising/Lodi by Creedence Clearwater Revival (#29); and Do Re Mi by Mock Duck (#30).

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Get Back--The Beatles with Billy Preston (2nd week at #1)
2 Hair--The Cowsills
3 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension
4 Long Green--The Fireballs
5 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet
6 The Boxer--Simon & Garfunkel
7 Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'--Crazy Elephant
8 Galveston--Glen Campbell
9 The Letter--The Arbors
10 Gitarzan--Ray Stevens

Died on this date
Josef Jonsson, 81
. Swedish composer and music critic. Mr. Jonsson wrote three symphonies, a violin concerto, and orchestral overtures and suites, but was best known as a composer of vocal music, to words by prominent Swedish poets. He was the music critic for Östergötlands Folkblad (1922-1966).

Music
Led Zeppelin made their first appearance in Edmonton, performing at the Edmonton Gardens.

War
Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca, who had deserted in January 1969 in order to fight against the country's military dictatorship, began his campaign by robbing two banks.

Religion
A revised Roman Catholic calendar of church feasts, dropping more than 200 saints and adding saints from outside Europe, was published in Rome. Among those dropped because of doubt that they ever existed was St. Christopher.

Politics and government
In what was considered the most blunt criticism of U.S. President Richard Nixon by a Republican Senator since he occupied the White House, Jacob Javits of New York attacked Mr. Nixon’s policy on the Vietnam peace talks as insufficiently flexible in dealing with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.

30 years ago
1979


Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Bright Eyes--Art Garfunkel (5th week at #1)

Died on this date
Cyrus Eaton, 95
. Canadian-born U.S. banker and activist. Mr. Eaton, who was born on a farm near Pugwash, Nova Scotia, had his higher education in Ontario, and then settled in Cleveland, becoming wealthy as an investment banker. He was perhaps best known for his Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, beginning in 1957, which reflected Mr. Eaton's dislike for American Cold War policy.

Charlie Hargreaves, 82. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Hargreaves was a catcher with the Brooklyn Robins (1923-1928) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1928-1930), batting .270 with 4 home runs and 139 runs batted in in 423 games.

Habib Elghanian, 67. Iranian businessman. Mr. Elghanian was the founder and owner of the plastics firm Plasco, the largest such firm in Iran. He was president of the Tehran Jewish Society, which made him a target when the Islamic revolution toppled the Shah early in 1979. Mr. Elghanian was executed after having been convicted by a revolutionary tribunal of various charges, including corruption, contacts with Israel and Zionism, and "friendship with the enemies of God." His murder triggered a mass exodus of Jews from Iran.

Eddie Jefferson, 60. U.S. singer and songwriter. Mr. Jefferson was a jazz singer who has been credited with being an innovator of vocalese, in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Shortly after concluding a performance at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit, he was shot and killed while walking out of the building. The suspect, identified as a dancer once fired by Mr. Jefferson, was acquitted of murder.

War
Israeli troops attacked Lebanon in retaliation for a Palestine Liberation Organization raid on a kibbutz in northern Israel.

Diplomacy
United States Secretary of State Cyrus Vance announced that a basic agreement had been reached with the Soviet Union on the SALT-II treaty. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and U.S.S.R. leader Leonid Brezhnev were scheduled to sign the accords in June.

Abominations
24 demonstrators were shot dead and many wounded after police opened fire on anti-government protesters outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador.

Politics and government
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau gave a passionate election speech on national unity to 18,000 screaming Liberal Party supporters at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in the largest political rally in Canadian history.

Energy
The Interior committee of the United States House of Representatives approved a six-month moratorium on construction permits for nuclear reactors, and banned operations at new plants until federal authorities approved emergency contingency plans for all nuclear plants.

Baseball
Four bench-clearing brawls, 10 ejections, and 2 grand slams highlighted the Pittsburgh Pirates' 17-9 win over the Atlanta Braves before 6,855 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. John Milner hit a grand slam for the Pirates, while Gary Matthews hit one for the Braves. Bill Robinson hit a pair of solo home runs for Pittsburgh.

Bob Watson singled home Jeff Leonard with 2 out in the bottom of the 16th inning to give the Houston Astros a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 11,566 fans at the Astrodome.

Dick Ruthven pitched a 1-hiter for the Philadelphia Phillies as they shut out the San Diego Padres 2-0 before 15,606 fans at San Diego Stadium. Dan Briggs broke up Mr. Ruthven's bid for a no-hitter when he doubled with 2 out in the 7th inning.

Gary Roenicke's double in the 7th inning was the only hit given up by Mike Norris as the Oakland Athletics scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning to break a 2-2 tie and defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 before 11,147 fans at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Joe Rudi led off the top of the 9th inning with a triple and Brian Downing followed with a home run to give the California Angels an 8-7 lead over the Boston Red Sox, but Jim Rice drew a base on balls with 1 out in the bottom of the inning and Carl Yastrzemski followed with a home run to give the Red Sox a 9-8 win before 24,815 fans at Fenway Park in Boston.

Ed Figueroa pitched a 5-hitter and Reggie Jackson hit a 3-run home run to climax a 4-run 7th inning for the New York Yankees as they shut out the Seattle Mariners 5-0 before 14,738 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Bobby Bonds batted 4 for 5 with a home run, 2 runs, and 3 runs batted in for the Cleveland Indians as they withstood a 3-run 9th inning rally and held on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-7 before 10,829 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Sid Monge was credited with one of the worst saves ever recorded when he balked home a run and issued 2 bases-loaded walks before striking out Robin Yount to end the game.

Steve Braun hit a solo home run with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning for the eventual deciding run as the Kansas City Royals edged the Texas Rangers 4-3 before 18,324 fans at Arlington Stadium. With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Buddy Bell doubled and Al Oliver followed with a single to drive him home, but Richie Zisk grounded into a double play to end the game. Renie Martin allowed 2 hits and 1 earned run in 1 1/3 innings with no bases on balls or strikeouts, and was credited with the save in his major league debut. Winning pitcher Rich Gale had a shutout going after 6 2/3 innings, but was removed from the game because of an elbow injury. Ferguson Jenkins pitched a 7-hit complete game, taking his first loss of the season after 4 straight wins.

25 years ago
1984


Politics and government
Roberto d'Aubuisson, the candidate of the National Republican Alliance (Arena), who had lost the May 6 presidential election to Christian Democratic party candidate Jose Napoleon Duarte, chaged that Mr. Duarte was a "puppet" of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Arena claimed irregularities in the voting and refused to participate in the vote count.

Defense
U.S. President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech in which he defended his Central American policies, warning that Cuba and Nicaragua would win the civil war in El Salvador unless the United States provided more military aid. He characterized the U.S.-backed Contras fighting against the Sandanista regime in Nicaragua as "freedom fighters." Representative Michael Barnes (Democrat--Maryland) delivered his party's response by saying that administration policies relied too much on military solutions at the expense of diplomacy.

Baseball
In a game that ended the day after it began, the Chicago White Sox edged the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in 25 innings before 14,754 fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The game, which had started on May 8 and had been suspended after 17 innings with the score tied 3-3, took 8 hours and 6 minutes to play, the most time-consuming game in major league history. Ben Oglivie hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 21st to give Milwaukee a 6-3 lead, but Chicago rallied for 3 in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Don Sutton started on the mound for the Brewers and pitched 7 innings. Chuck Porter, the sixth Milwaukee pitcher, pitched 7 1/3 innings of relief, losing the game when Harold Baines hit the game's 753rd pitch for a home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 25th. Bob Fallon pitched the first 6 innings for the White Sox. Juan Agosto, the fifth Chicago pitcher, pitched 7 innings of relief without giving up a run. Tom Seaver, the eighth White Sox pitcher of the game, pitched a scoreless 25th inning and was credited with the win. Another member of the Chicago pitching staff, Rich Dotson, didn't pitch, but played as a pinch runner and scored one of the runs in the White Sox' 21st-inning rally.

20 years ago
1989


On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Whose Woods Are These?

Died on this date
Timothy Farrell, 66
. U.S. actor. Mr. Farrell, whose real name was Timothy Sperl, was known for his deadpan acting style in low-budget movies such as Glen or Glenda (1953); Jail Bait (1954); and The Violent Years (1956). He spent 26 years with the Los Angeles County Marshal's Office, eventually becoming County Marshal in 1971. Mr. Sperl was fired in 1975 after his conviction on felony charges for "illegal use of deputy marshals in political activities." Mr. Farrell died of a heart attack.

At the movies
Geopolitical analyst Chris Milner and this blogger went to Listen To Me, a turkey about college debating, at the Eaton Centre Cineplex in Edmonton. We’d heard the bad reviews, and weren’t disappointed. Roy Scheider is hilarious as the hard-drinking coach of the debate team.

Science
At a meeting of the Electrochemical Society in Los Angeles, scientists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons defended their experiment in cold fusion--nuclear fusion at room temperature--claiming that the experiment was producing 10-50 times more energy than had been put in. Drs. Fleischmann and Pons, who had announced the results of their experiment in March, were coming under heavy criticism from within the scientific community after the failure of a number of attempts by other scientists to replicate the results.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference Finals
Philadelphia 2 @ Montreal 1 (OT) (Montreal led best-of-seven series 3-2)

Baseball
New York Mets' shortstop Kevin Elster had played 88 consecutive games without an error, and Boston Red Sox' catcher Rick Cerone had played 159 consecutive errorless games, but both major league record streaks ended on this day. Mr. Elster made an error on a ground ball by Barry Larkin leading off the 9th, but the error wasn't costly, and he had already singled in a run and scored a run to help the Mets defeat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 before 12,645 fans at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Mr. Cerone's error, on the other hand, was costly. With a runner on base and none out in the top of the 8th, he dropped a foul fly off the bat of Tim Laudner, who then doubled and eventually scored. Mr. Cerone's error led to 3 unearned runs, helping the Twins win 6-2 before 25,951 fans at Fenway Park in Boston.

10 years ago
1999


Protest
100,000 people in Beijing, and hundreds in other major Chinese cities, demonstrated against the recent bombing by NATO forces of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Division Finals
Toronto 4 Pittsburgh 2 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)
Detroit 4 Colorado 0

IIHF Men's World Championships
Quarter-Final
Canada 4 U.S.A. 1

Baseball
New York Yankees' pitcher Mike Stanton made his first career start, ending a major league record streak of 552 consecutive relief appearances before the first career start. He pitched 4 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits, before being relieved by Jason Grimsley, who allowed just 1 hit in 4 innings to get the win and improve his 1999 record to 4-0 as the Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 6-1 before 49,622 fans at Yankee Stadium.

The Texas Rangers amassed 20 hits as they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 11-6 before 20,374 fans at SkyDome in Toronto.

Pittsburgh Pirates' shortstop Pat Meares got 5 hits, including a double, as the Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 12-9 before 45,458 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Pittsburgh first baseman Brant Brown added a 3-run inside-the-park home run.

In NCAA action, the Florida State Seminoles whipped the Maryland Terrapins 26-2. Florida State second baseman Marshall McDougall hit a single in his first at bat, then followed with 6 consecutive home runs. His 6 home runs and 16 runs batted in were NCAA records.

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