October 29, 1921, 100 years ago: The Harvard University football team loses to Centre College of Danville, Kentucky, 6-0 at Harvard Stadium in Boston, ending a 25-game winning streak. This is considered one of the biggest upsets in college football, as the "Praying Colonels" (no, I'm not making that mascot name up), from a school of just 300 students at the time, were the 1st team from outside the old Northeast (Jim Thorpe's Pennsylvania-based Carlisle counts) to beat one of the old "Big Three" of Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
All over Danville, graffiti appeared with the score: "C6H0." This could be read as a scientific formula: Six parts carbon, zero parts hydrogen. Since that can't be done, it become known as "The Impossible Formula."
Today, Harvard, like all the Ivy League teams, is in the FCS, the Football Championship Subdivision, what used to be known as Division I-AA. Since the official founding of the Ivy League as a sports conference in 1955, Harvard has won its football championship 15 times, most recently in 2015.
Centre would prove that their 1921 win over Harvard was no fluke. They finished their regular season undefeated, 10-0, having also beaten Clemson, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Auburn, Tulane and Arizona. They were invited to play Texas A&M in the Dixie Classic, a precursor game to the Cotton Bowl. A&M won, 22-14, in a game that became known for the origin story of their "12th Man" tradition. Their biggest star of 1921, Bo McMillin, was a rough Texan who was one of the 1st good NFL quarterbacks, and would coach Indiana to its 1st football title in the Big Ten in 1945.
They had also beaten Kentucky and Virginia Tech the year before. In 1922, they beat Clemson away, Mississippi, Virginia Tech away, Louisville, Kentucky away and South Carolina. However, they lost a rematch away to Harvard on October 21, 24-10. They also lost to Auburn at Rickwood Field, the Birmingham ballpark.
In 1923, they went 7-1-1, their conquests including Clemson, Kentucky, and Auburn at Rickwood again. They tied Georgia, and their only loss was the Penn at the original Franklin Field in Philadelphia. On 4 consecutive Saturdays in 1924, the Colonels defeated Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.
Today, however, Centre are in Division III, but have won their league 15 times, including 6 times from 1980 to 1990. Their last title was in 2014. Their current enrollment: 1,430, to Harvard's 27,000.Nor would Harvard's loss be a fluke: A week later, they went down to Princeton, and lost again.
In 1950, the Associated Press named C6H0 the greatest upset of the 1st half of the 20th Century, in any sport. In 2005, The New York Times called it "arguably the upset of the century in college football." (They did not use capital letters.) In 2006, ESPN named it the 3rd-biggest upset in college football history.
In anticipation of the game's 75th Anniversary, in 1996, Centre challenged Harvard to a rematch. Harvard declined. Harvard went 4-6 that season. I can't find a record of how Centre did that year, but they won their league the year before. Who knows, maybe history could have repeated itself.
This year? Harvard won its 1st 5 games before losing to Princeton last week. They host Dartmouth tomorrow. Centre take a 5-2 record into tomorrow's game, home to Rhodes College of Memphis.
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October 29, 1859: Charles Hercules Ebbets is born in Manhattan. In 1883, he got a job with a new baseball team, then known as the Brooklyn Grays. By 1890, he had become the majority owner. In 1912, knowing that Washington Park was insufficient for a major league team in the wake of new stadiums like Shibe Park and Forbes Field, he began building a new ballpark for his team, by then known as the Dodgers. He was told that since it was his idea, it should be called Ebbets Field. And so the Dodgers played at Ebbets Field from 1913 until 1957.
Under his guidance, the team, under various names, won Pennants in 1889 (in the American Association, thereafter in the National League), 1890, 1899, 1900, 1916 and 1920. He invented Ladies Day, with women admitted at half-price, in 1899. His experience as a bookkeeper led him to the concept that the best schedule for baseball was for the 8 NL teams to play each other 22 times a season: 22 times 7 = 154, so he created the 154-game schedule that was in place from 1904 to 1960 (and until 1961 in the NL).
In 1906, he installed a visiting team clubhouse, complete with showers, at Washington Park, eliminating the need for teams to change at their hotels and arrive in open vehicles (horse-drawn carriages, and by this point early taxis) in their uniforms, where home fans could throw things at them. He invented the rain check in 1911. As early as 1922, he suggested that players wear uniform numbers -- although his suggestion was on the cap or the sleeve, not on the back as would happen starting in 1929. He also served in the New York State Assembly and on the New York City Council, as a Democrat.
Unfortunately, his messy personal life would have consequences for baseball, and, indirectly, the entire world. He had lived with his eventual 2nd wife for 12 years before his divorce from his 1st wife became final. And, unlike later team owners Branch Rickey and Walter O'Malley, he was not a lawyer who would have known a way around this: To guarantee his alimony payments, he deposited his shares of the Dodgers with the Mechanics Bank, which was later bought by the Brooklyn Trust Company.
He died in 1925, with the team in dire financial straits. To make matters worse, it rained at his funeral, and one of his co-owners, Ed McKeever, caught a cold, which developed into the flu, and, in those pre-antibotic days, he outlived Ebbets by only 11 days.
That left Ebbets' widow Grace, his son-in-law Joseph Gilleaudeau, and Brooklyn Trust as half-owners of the Dodgers, and Ed's brother Steve McKeever as owner of the other half. When Steve died in 1938, his half-share passed to his daughter Elizabeth "Dearie" Mulvey and her husband James. But the team was still, financially, in bad shape.
So Brooklyn Trust appointed Cincinnati Reds general manager Larry MacPhail as team president. He straightened things out, until leaving to re-enter the U.S. Army in World War II. He was replaced by Rickey. In 1944, Rickey and John L. Smith bought out Mrs. Ebbets and Gilleaudeau. Rickey and Smith were now each 1/4 owners.
O'Malley was the lawyer who handled the Dodgers for Brooklyn Trust, and eventually bought the bank's shares. In 1950, he bought Rickey and Smith out, and the Mulveys pretty much did what he wanted, including approving the move of the team to Los Angeles after the 1957 season, before O'Malley bought them out in 1975.
The move not only betrayed Ebbets' vision and the Dodger fans in the New York Tri-State Area, but made Los Angeles a "major league city" in a way that even the NFL's Rams hadn't, elevating it to the status of the loftiest city in the American West.
O'Malley died in 1979. His son Peter owned the team until selling to Rupert Murdoch in 1998. Frank McCourt bought them in 2004, but, learning nothing from the example of Charlie Ebbets, had to sell them in 2012 to pay off his divorce settlement. For $2 billion, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson became their owner, and remains so today.
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October 29, 1881, 140 years ago: John Riegel DeWitt is born in Phillipsburg, Warren County, New Jersey, and grows up nearby in Riegelsville, Pennsylvania, which an ancestor of his had founded. A guard and kicker at Princeton University at the dawn of the 20th Century, he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
In 1920 Walter Camp named "The Princeton Strong Boy" to his all-time All-America team. A 1919 article for a Princeton magazine called him the school's best player ever. A 2009 article by Football Foundation, choosing retroactive Heisman Trophies for 1935 and earlier, chose him for 1903.
John DeWitt was also a track & field star, specializing in throwing events, and won the Silver Medal in the hammer throw at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. He became a prominent businessman in New York, commuted into The City from a home in Connecticut, and died unexpectedly of a heart attack on his commute in 1930, only 48 years old.
October 29, 1889: The National League Champion New York Giants win their 2nd consecutive World Championship by taking this year's best-of-11 matchup in 9 games.
After spotting the American Association Champion Brooklyn Bridegrooms (the once-and-future Dodgers were so named because 3 of their players had gotten married in the 1887-88 off-season) 2 runs in the 1st‚ the Giants rally to win 3-2 behind Hank O'Day's pitching -- the same Hank O'Day who would be the umpire who ruled against them in the Fred Merkle Game 19 years later. Slattery scores the winning run in the 7th inning‚ coming in from second as catcher Doc Bushing misses a two-out 3rd strike.
The next season, the 'Grooms would join the NL, and win the Pennant. They would win 2 more Pennants before the Giants won another, in 1899 and 1900. But over the next 40 years, the Superbas/Robins/Dodgers would win just 2 Pennants, while the Giants would win 13. And the Yankees, not even formed yet, would win 11. Ah, but over the last 17 years of New York's 3-team availability, it would be a different story: The Yankees would win 12 Pennants, the Dodgers 7, the Giants only 2.
The last survivor of the 1889 Giants was 3rd baseman Art Whitney, who lived on until 1943.
October 29, 1891, 130 years ago: Fania Borach is born in Manhattan. Like her fellow Lower East Siders the Marx Brothers, she was a child of a Jewish immigrant from Alsace, France. By 1910, under the name Fanny Brice, she was starring on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies. In 1912, she created the character of Baby Snooks, a mischievous little girl.
In 1944, she began the CBS radio program The Baby Snooks Show, even though she was already 52 years old. The show helped give comedy legend Danny Thomas his start. In 1949, she was filmed in character, clowning with the Chicago White Sox at their Spring Training complex. She died on May 29, 1951, of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 59, and the show was canceled.
In 1921, she had a hit song, "Second Hand Rose." In 1964, Barbra Streisand began appearing on Broadway as Brice in the musical Funny Girl, and the song became more identified with Streisand than it ever was with Brice. The musical was filmed in 1968, and a sequel, Funny Lady, was filmed in 1975. Today, if anybody knows Fanny, they know her through Barbra Joan.
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October 29, 1901, 120 years ago: Leon Czolgosz is executed in the electric chair at Auburn Prison (now Auburn Correctional Facility) in Auburn, in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York. The assassin of President William McKinley was 28, and had outlived his victim by 45 days.
His last words were, "I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people, the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime. I am sorry I could not see my father."
October 29, 1911, 110 years ago: Bernard Joy (no middle name) is born in Fulham, West London. On May 9, 1936, the centreback played for England in a 3-2 loss to Belgium. To this day, he is the last amateur to play for the England senior team. Later that year, he was the Captain of the Great Britain soccer team at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. They did not win a medal.
He was soon signed by Arsenal, and helped them win the League in 1938. But World War II came right in the middle of his prime: He served in the Royal Air Force, and he never won another trophy. He retired in 1947, just before Arsenal began another title-winning season.
He became a sportswriter, writing for The Star, The Evening Standard and the Sunday Express, covering soccer and tennis. In 1952, he wrote Forward, Arsenal! It was the 1st comprehensive history of the team, but it contained many inaccuracies (presumably unintentional), including some which wouldn't be cleared up until the gentlemen at Untold Arsenal did some legwork over half a century later. Joy wrote several more soccer books, and lived until 1984.
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October 29, 1920: The Yankees sign Red Sox manager Ed Barrow as business manager – the job that will, in a few years, begin to be called "general manager" – completing the front office team that will build the game's most successful record. Hugh Duffy, the Boston Braves star who batted a record .438 in 1894, replaces Barrow at Fenway Park.
Barrow had managed the Red Sox to the 1918 World Series, and, regarding the hitting and pitching talents of Babe Ruth, said, "I'd be a fool to turn the best lefthanded pitcher in the game into an outfielder."
The choice had already been made for him, but he would help the Yankees win 14 Pennants and 10 World Series in his 26 seasons as Yankee GM. Shortly before his death in 1953, he was elected to the Hall of Fame. At the Yankees' next home opener, a plaque was dedicated in his memory and hung on the outfield wall near the Monuments, and would later be moved to Monument Park.
He is buried in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, along with several other baseball-connected personalities: The Yankee owner who hired him, Jacob Ruppert; a Yankee slugger he signed, Lou Gehrig; the Boston owner and Broadway promoter who previously hired him, Harry Frazee; the Governor of New York who sometimes threw out the first ball at big Yankee games, Herbert Lehman; the opera singer who often sang the National Anthem at Yankee games, Robert Merrill; and the Brooklyn-born comedian who remained a Dodger fan after they moved West to his own new home of Hollywood, and was a member of the first ownership group of the Seattle Mariners, Danny Kaye.
Also on this day, William Juzda (no middle name) is born in Winnipeg. A defenseman, Bill Juzda briefly played for the New York Rangers before going into World War II, and later made 2 NHL All-Star Games and helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win the 1949 and 1951 Stanley Cups. He was named to the Manitoba Sports and Manitoba Hockey Halls of Fame, and played in old-timers' games into his 70s. He lived until 2008.
Barrow had managed the Red Sox to the 1918 World Series, and, regarding the hitting and pitching talents of Babe Ruth, said, "I'd be a fool to turn the best lefthanded pitcher in the game into an outfielder."
The choice had already been made for him, but he would help the Yankees win 14 Pennants and 10 World Series in his 26 seasons as Yankee GM. Shortly before his death in 1953, he was elected to the Hall of Fame. At the Yankees' next home opener, a plaque was dedicated in his memory and hung on the outfield wall near the Monuments, and would later be moved to Monument Park.
He is buried in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, along with several other baseball-connected personalities: The Yankee owner who hired him, Jacob Ruppert; a Yankee slugger he signed, Lou Gehrig; the Boston owner and Broadway promoter who previously hired him, Harry Frazee; the Governor of New York who sometimes threw out the first ball at big Yankee games, Herbert Lehman; the opera singer who often sang the National Anthem at Yankee games, Robert Merrill; and the Brooklyn-born comedian who remained a Dodger fan after they moved West to his own new home of Hollywood, and was a member of the first ownership group of the Seattle Mariners, Danny Kaye.
Also on this day, William Juzda (no middle name) is born in Winnipeg. A defenseman, Bill Juzda briefly played for the New York Rangers before going into World War II, and later made 2 NHL All-Star Games and helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win the 1949 and 1951 Stanley Cups. He was named to the Manitoba Sports and Manitoba Hockey Halls of Fame, and played in old-timers' games into his 70s. He lived until 2008.
October 29, 1929: Black Tuesday. The stock market completes the crash that began the preceding Thursday. The Roaring Twenties are over. The Dirty Thirties, and the Great Depression, have begun.
The incumbent Republican President, Herbert Hoover, gets blamed for it, when it was his Republican predecessors, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, who set the table for it. Hoover shouldn't be blamed for the Depression. And he shouldn't be blamed for doing nothing: He tried a few things.
What he should be blamed for is giving up. Some of the things he tried worked a little, but not enough, and he abandoned his efforts. And in 1932, he lost in a landslide, to the Democratic Governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
At the height of the stock boom in early September 1929, America's unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. By the end of 1930, it was 8.7. 1931, 15.9. At the 1932 election, 23.6. At the depth, on March 4, 1933, when FDR was inaugurated and the banking crisis was critical, the rate was 24.9 percent. Fully 1 out of 4 Americans who wanted to work couldn't get work. Some people have suggested the rate was considerably higher than that, as much as 31 percent, or nearly 1 in 3.
The Great Depression left scars on people that never went away. My grandmother grew up in Queens in that era, and knew how important it was to save money. She grew up in the Depression, so, due to her pinching pennies as an adult, my mother also "grew up in the Depression." And because of that, I "grew up in the Depression." Am I saying that I'm cheap? Yes, I am cheap, but not by choice.
The people who grew up in the Depression are now dead or very old. We cannot allow their memories to fade. Remember our forgotten men and women.
At the height of the stock boom in early September 1929, America's unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. By the end of 1930, it was 8.7. 1931, 15.9. At the 1932 election, 23.6. At the depth, on March 4, 1933, when FDR was inaugurated and the banking crisis was critical, the rate was 24.9 percent. Fully 1 out of 4 Americans who wanted to work couldn't get work. Some people have suggested the rate was considerably higher than that, as much as 31 percent, or nearly 1 in 3.
The Great Depression left scars on people that never went away. My grandmother grew up in Queens in that era, and knew how important it was to save money. She grew up in the Depression, so, due to her pinching pennies as an adult, my mother also "grew up in the Depression." And because of that, I "grew up in the Depression." Am I saying that I'm cheap? Yes, I am cheap, but not by choice.
The people who grew up in the Depression are now dead or very old. We cannot allow their memories to fade. Remember our forgotten men and women.
I was going to do a "Scores On This Historic Day" for the date, but it was after the MLB season ended, before the NHL season started, before the NBA was founded, and in the middle of the week of the NFL season. So there's no games to report.
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October 29, 1931, 90 years ago: For the 1st time under the current format, as voted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, the Most Valuable Player awards are given. In the American League, the choice is an easy one, and is unanimous: Robert "Lefty" Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics, who had, statistically speaking, maybe the best season any pitcher has ever had, going 31-4 with a 2.08 ERA, and helping the A's win their 3rd straight Pennant. They did lose the World Series, so I can't call it "the best season any pitcher has ever had."
The 1st official NL MVP is Frankie Frisch, 2nd baseman for the Pennant-winning Cardinals. The Fordham Flash batted .311 and led the NL in stolen bases, before leading them to victory over the A's in the World Series, avenging the previous season's defeat. He will become player-manager in 1934, and lead "the Gashouse Gang" to another World Championship, his 4th as a player, also including 1921 and 1922 with the Giants. He and Grove, who'd won the Series with the A's in 1929 and 1930, will both become easy choices for the Hall of Fame.
October 29, 1939: The Babe Siebert Memorial Game is played at the Montreal Forum. It raised $15,000 for his family -- about $281,000 in today's money.
Charles Albert Siebert was a left wing who won Stanley Cups with the 1926 Montreal Maroons and the 1933 New York Rangers. With Nels Stewart and Hooley Smith, he formed one of the first named forward lines in hockey, the S-Line. In 1934, playing for the Boston Bruins, he played in the 1st All-Star benefit game for an NHL player, Ace Bailey of the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose career was ended by a vicious check by Bruin defenseman Eddie Shore.
But Siebert and Shore couldn't get along, and, in 1936, the Bruins traded him to the Montreal Canadiens. He was immediately named Captain, and won the 1937 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. The following fall, he played in another All-Star benefit game, this time for Canadiens superstar Howie Morenz, who had died in March from complications from leg surgery.
In 1939, 35 years old and plagued with injuries, he retired. He was immediately offered the Canadiens' head coaching position, and accepted. But he never got the chance to coach a game. On August 25, 1939, while vacationing with his family and swimming with his daughters Judy and Joan, then just 11 and 10 years old, at a family cottage on the shore of Lake Huron, he drowned attempting to retrieve an inflatable tire they were playing with.
The league organized an all-star benefit game to aid Siebert's widow (who was paralyzed and had mounting medical bills) and daughters. The Canadiens faced an all-star team composed of the best players from the remaining teams. The All-Stars won, 5-2. Though only about 6,000 fans showed up, the organizers met their target of $15,000.
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October 29, 1941, 80 years ago: Harvey Hendrick shoots and kills himself at his farm in Covington, Tennessee. He was only 43. A star football player at Vanderbilt University, he was a rookie 1st baseman and outfielder on the Yankees' 1st World Championship team in 1923, and, after Lou Gehrig, was the 2nd man to have played on that team to die. His baseball career ended in 1934, with a .308 lifetime batting average (though as mainly a reserve player), and I guess his farm wasn't working out well.
In 1939, 35 years old and plagued with injuries, he retired. He was immediately offered the Canadiens' head coaching position, and accepted. But he never got the chance to coach a game. On August 25, 1939, while vacationing with his family and swimming with his daughters Judy and Joan, then just 11 and 10 years old, at a family cottage on the shore of Lake Huron, he drowned attempting to retrieve an inflatable tire they were playing with.
The league organized an all-star benefit game to aid Siebert's widow (who was paralyzed and had mounting medical bills) and daughters. The Canadiens faced an all-star team composed of the best players from the remaining teams. The All-Stars won, 5-2. Though only about 6,000 fans showed up, the organizers met their target of $15,000.
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October 29, 1941, 80 years ago: Harvey Hendrick shoots and kills himself at his farm in Covington, Tennessee. He was only 43. A star football player at Vanderbilt University, he was a rookie 1st baseman and outfielder on the Yankees' 1st World Championship team in 1923, and, after Lou Gehrig, was the 2nd man to have played on that team to die. His baseball career ended in 1934, with a .308 lifetime batting average (though as mainly a reserve player), and I guess his farm wasn't working out well.
Judging by the reaction when active Yankee Cory Lidle was killed in a plane crash just after the 2006 regular season, I can imagine that, today, if a former Yankee player committed suicide, the story would soak the news (in blood) for days.
But Hendrick has been just about forgotten. The Yankees did not wear black armbands or any kind of memorial patch during the 1942 season -- just the red, white & blue "HEALTH" shield that all teams wore in that 1st full year of World War II for the U.S. And there is no mention of him in Monument Park, or anywhere else in Yankee Stadium.
But Hendrick has been just about forgotten. The Yankees did not wear black armbands or any kind of memorial patch during the 1942 season -- just the red, white & blue "HEALTH" shield that all teams wore in that 1st full year of World War II for the U.S. And there is no mention of him in Monument Park, or anywhere else in Yankee Stadium.
Also on this day, Charles Andrew Russell is born in Detroit, and grows up in the St. Louis suburb of Ladue, Missouri. A star linebacker at the University of Missouri, Andy Russell was a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, then missed 2 years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
He was with the Steelers when they bottomed out in the late 1960s, but was still there when they rose to the top. A 7-time Pro Bowler, he and center Ray Mansfield were the senior Steelers when they finally won Super Bowl IX on January 12, 1975. Each was still with them for Super Bowl X, and each lasted 1 more year before retiring. Russell is still alive, and a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team and Hall of Honor.
Also on this day, Ernest William Accorsi Jr. is born in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The man from the Chocolate City (sorry, George Clinton) has had a long and sweet career. After reporting on sports for The Charlotte News, The Baltimore Sun and The Philadelphia Inquirer, he served in the athletic departments at Philadelphia's St. Joseph's University (when Dr. Jack Ramsay was the head basketball coach) and Pennsylvania State University (in the early tenure of head football coach Joe Paterno).
In 1970, he was named public relations director of the Baltimore Colts. In his 1st season there, they won Super Bowl V. He later served as their last general manager, resigning rather than make the move to Indianapolis in 1984. He was named GM of the Cleveland Browns, building a team that made 3 AFC Championship Games, but lost all 3.
In 1994, he was named assistant GM of the New York Giants. In 1998, he became full general manager, staying until 2006, building the teams that lost Super Bowl XXXV and won Super Bowl XLII (with many of his players still being there to win Super Bowl XLVI). He has since served as a consultant in the front offices of the Carolina Panthers, the Chicago Bears, the Giants again, the Arizona Cardinals, and, currently, the Detroit Lions.
Also on this day, the Kaunas Massacre takes place in Lithuania. The Nazis' SS shot and killed 9,200 Jews. It was the largest single-day execution in Nazi history.
October 29, 1942: Robert Norman Ross is born in Daytona Beach, Florida. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age 18, serving among the mountains in Alaska, which would later inspire his painting. He also decided that, having had to be mean as a First Sergeant, once he was discharged, he would never scream again. The persona of Bob Ross was born.
From 1983 to 1994, his program The Joy of Painting appeared on PBS. Like Julia Child, Fred (Mr.) Rogers, Bob Vila and Carl Sagan, he used his appearances on that network to show himself as a kindly person who not only knew his stuff, but wanted you to know it, too, and explained it in ways that would be understood, but never insulting your intelligence.
His show stopped only because he developed lymphoma, and died in 1995. His legacy goes on, with his portrayal by "Nice Peter" Shukoff against "Epic Lloyd" Ahlquist as Pablo Picasso on a 2013 episode Epic Rap Battles of History, and Target Stores having released the board game "Bob Ross: The Art of Chill." It should sell well: After all, as the man himself said, "I don't believe in mistakes."
From 1983 to 1994, his program The Joy of Painting appeared on PBS. Like Julia Child, Fred (Mr.) Rogers, Bob Vila and Carl Sagan, he used his appearances on that network to show himself as a kindly person who not only knew his stuff, but wanted you to know it, too, and explained it in ways that would be understood, but never insulting your intelligence.
His show stopped only because he developed lymphoma, and died in 1995. His legacy goes on, with his portrayal by "Nice Peter" Shukoff against "Epic Lloyd" Ahlquist as Pablo Picasso on a 2013 episode Epic Rap Battles of History, and Target Stores having released the board game "Bob Ross: The Art of Chill." It should sell well: After all, as the man himself said, "I don't believe in mistakes."
October 29, 1946, 75 years ago: Frank Watts Baker is born in Meridian, Mississippi. A shortstop, he played 146 games for the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles from 1970 to 1974, batting .191. He is still alive.
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October 29, 1951, 70 years ago: New York City gives a ticker-tape parade to servicemen from all United Nations wounded in the Korean War.
October 29, 1953: Denis Charles Potvin is born in Hull, Quebec, across the Ottawa river from the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario. One of the greatest defensemen in hockey history, he was the Captain of the New York Islanders' 4 straight Stanley Cups of 1980 to 1983.
Arguably the team's greatest player ever, and certainly its most important, his Number 5 has been retired, and he was the first Isles player elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. His brother Jean Potvin also played for the Isles for a time, and his cousin Marc Potvin also played in the NHL.
However, his name is best remembered for an incident in the Ranger-Islander rivalry. On February 25, 1979, the teams played at Madison Square Garden, and Potvin checked Ranger All-Star Ulf Nilsson into the boards, breaking Nilsson's ankle.
In spite of the fact that no penalty was called, and the fact that Nilsson himself has always maintained that it was a clean hit, and that fact that then-Ranger coach Fred Shero also said it was a clean hit, the moron Ranger fans have spent almost 40 years chanting, "Potvin sucks!" – against all opponents, not just the Islanders. This led to some confusion, years later, when Felix Potvin (no relation) would tend goal for various teams, including the Islanders for a time.
In retaliation, Islander fans have done a "Rangers suck!" chant for every home game, regardless of opponent, and New Jersey Devils fans do the same. Ranger fans also had a chant of "Beat your wife, Potvin, beat your wife!" Denis Potvin, who has never been charged with beating his wife, usually beat the Rangers instead.
Part of Ranger mythology is that Potvin's hit knocked Nilsson out for the season, and that's why they lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens. In fact, Nilsson returned in time for those Finals, in which the Rangers won Game 1 at the Montreal Forum, but then dropped the next 4, including all 3 at the Garden.
Arguably the team's greatest player ever, and certainly its most important, his Number 5 has been retired, and he was the first Isles player elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. His brother Jean Potvin also played for the Isles for a time, and his cousin Marc Potvin also played in the NHL.
However, his name is best remembered for an incident in the Ranger-Islander rivalry. On February 25, 1979, the teams played at Madison Square Garden, and Potvin checked Ranger All-Star Ulf Nilsson into the boards, breaking Nilsson's ankle.
In spite of the fact that no penalty was called, and the fact that Nilsson himself has always maintained that it was a clean hit, and that fact that then-Ranger coach Fred Shero also said it was a clean hit, the moron Ranger fans have spent almost 40 years chanting, "Potvin sucks!" – against all opponents, not just the Islanders. This led to some confusion, years later, when Felix Potvin (no relation) would tend goal for various teams, including the Islanders for a time.
In retaliation, Islander fans have done a "Rangers suck!" chant for every home game, regardless of opponent, and New Jersey Devils fans do the same. Ranger fans also had a chant of "Beat your wife, Potvin, beat your wife!" Denis Potvin, who has never been charged with beating his wife, usually beat the Rangers instead.
Part of Ranger mythology is that Potvin's hit knocked Nilsson out for the season, and that's why they lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens. In fact, Nilsson returned in time for those Finals, in which the Rangers won Game 1 at the Montreal Forum, but then dropped the next 4, including all 3 at the Garden.
October 29, 1959: The Greensboro Coliseum opens in Greensboro, North Carolina, as a memorial to the city's fallen from World Wars I and II and the Korean War. The opening event is Holiday On Ice.
The complex includes an arena, an amphitheater, an aquatic center, a banquet hall, a convention center, a museum, a theater, and an indoor pavilion. The arena, which is what people usually mean when they say "the Greensboro Coliseum," opened with 7,100 seats, was expanded to 15,000 in 1972, and had a 3rd tier added in 1993 to push capacity to 23,000.
It has hosted 27 of the last 54 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournaments, and 21 of the last 22 ACC women's tournaments. In 1974, it hosted the NCAA Final Four, featuring David Thompson and North Carolina State ending UCLA's dynasty in the Semifinal before beating Marquette in the Final. On March 23, 1976, Rutgers University had the greatest moment in its sports history at the Coliseum, defeating Virginia Military Institute (VMI) 91-75, to advance to the NCAA Final Four with an undefeated record. (Indiana beat them in the Semifinal.)
Since 2009, it has been home court for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. From 1959 to 1989, it hosted some home games for Wake Forest University for which the Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum would have been too small, prior to the building of the on-campus Joel Coliseum. The Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association played there from 1969 to 1974. In minor-league basketball, it has hosted the Greensboro City Gators (1991-92) and the Greensboro Swarm (since 2016).
When the Hartford Whalers moved to become the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997, they played 2 seasons at the Greensboro Coliseum, until their new arena is Raleigh was ready. Since the locals knew this was a temporary setup, the 'Canes' attendance was even worse in Greensboro. In minor-league hockey, the Coliseum hosted the Greensboro Generals (1959-77, and again 1999-2004), and the Greensboro Monarchs (1989-97). In arena football, it hosted the Greensboro Prowlers (2000-03), the Greensboro Revolution (2006-07) and the Carolina Cobras (debuting this year).
Elvis Presley sang at the Greensboro Coliseum on April 14, 1972, and again on April 21, 1977, on what turned out to be his final tour.
Also on this day, Jesse Lee Barfield is born in Joliet, Illinois, outside Chicago. Possessor of one of the best right field arms ever, he also hit 241 home runs in the major leagues. He was an All-Star in 1986, leading the American League in home runs, and a Gold Glove winner in 1986 and 1987.
But his luck was bad in terms of postseason play. He was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays' 1st AL Eastern Division Champions in 1985, but was traded to the Yankees for Al Leiter in 1989, missing the Jays' 1989 and '91 Division titles and their 1992 and '93 World Championships.
And his arrival with the Yankees coincided with their collapse from a near-miss run from 1985 to 1988, when they really could have used someone like him -- especially in the 2nd half of 1987, when Dave Winfield, also with one of the great outfield arms of the era, got hurt. Had Barfield played on the Yankees when he was with the Jays, and vice versa, he could have gone from All-Star to true baseball legend.
Injuries led him to retire at age 34, with 241 home runs. He is now a Blue Jays broadcaster. His sons Josh and Jeremy also played pro baseball, with Josh playing a season for the Baltimore Orioles and 3 for the Cleveland Indians.
Also on this day, Michael Alfred Gartner is born in Ottawa. Mike Gartner was a right wing who starred for several hockey teams, including the Washington Capitals, who retired his Number 11. But he never appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals, being traded by the Rangers at the trading deadline in 1994, in a trade that helped them win the Cup, to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who made it to the Western Conference Finals before losing.
Among players who have never won a Cup, he is 2nd to Phil Housley in games played, and 2nd to Marcel Dionne in goals, with 708. He is a member of the Hockey and Ontario Sports Halls of Fame. In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players. He and former Caps teammate Wes Jarvis run a string of ice rinks in the Toronto area.
Elvis Presley sang at the Greensboro Coliseum on April 14, 1972, and again on April 21, 1977, on what turned out to be his final tour.
Also on this day, Jesse Lee Barfield is born in Joliet, Illinois, outside Chicago. Possessor of one of the best right field arms ever, he also hit 241 home runs in the major leagues. He was an All-Star in 1986, leading the American League in home runs, and a Gold Glove winner in 1986 and 1987.
But his luck was bad in terms of postseason play. He was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays' 1st AL Eastern Division Champions in 1985, but was traded to the Yankees for Al Leiter in 1989, missing the Jays' 1989 and '91 Division titles and their 1992 and '93 World Championships.
And his arrival with the Yankees coincided with their collapse from a near-miss run from 1985 to 1988, when they really could have used someone like him -- especially in the 2nd half of 1987, when Dave Winfield, also with one of the great outfield arms of the era, got hurt. Had Barfield played on the Yankees when he was with the Jays, and vice versa, he could have gone from All-Star to true baseball legend.
Injuries led him to retire at age 34, with 241 home runs. He is now a Blue Jays broadcaster. His sons Josh and Jeremy also played pro baseball, with Josh playing a season for the Baltimore Orioles and 3 for the Cleveland Indians.
Also on this day, Michael Alfred Gartner is born in Ottawa. Mike Gartner was a right wing who starred for several hockey teams, including the Washington Capitals, who retired his Number 11. But he never appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals, being traded by the Rangers at the trading deadline in 1994, in a trade that helped them win the Cup, to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who made it to the Western Conference Finals before losing.
Among players who have never won a Cup, he is 2nd to Phil Housley in games played, and 2nd to Marcel Dionne in goals, with 708. He is a member of the Hockey and Ontario Sports Halls of Fame. In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players. He and former Caps teammate Wes Jarvis run a string of ice rinks in the Toronto area.
Also on this day, Finola Hughes (no middle name) is born in London. She started out as a dancer, then became a soap opera legend by playing Anna Devane on General Hospital. She's been a character in productions of both Marvel Comics (as Emma Frost of the X-Men in Generation X) and DC Comics (the voices of Superman's mother Lara Lor-Van in Superman: The Animated Series, and supervillain Lady Shiva in Beware the Batman).
Not being a soap opera fan, I first saw her on Jack's Place, a 1992-93 ABC drama starring Hal Linden, which was essentially The Love Boat in a restaurant that also served as a ja club, where she played the head waitress. She became part of the long line of British brunettes to capture my fancy.
*
October 29, 1961, 60 years ago: Joel Stuart Otto is born in Elk River, Minnesota. The center won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989. He scored 195 goals in a career that lasted from 1985 to 1998. He has returned to Calgary, as an assistant coach for the minor-league Calgary Hitmen.
October 29, 1961, 60 years ago: Joel Stuart Otto is born in Elk River, Minnesota. The center won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989. He scored 195 goals in a career that lasted from 1985 to 1998. He has returned to Calgary, as an assistant coach for the minor-league Calgary Hitmen.
October 29, 1964: Ground is broken for the current Madison Square Garden, on top of Penn Station at 32nd Street & 7th Avenue.
October 29, 1966: Detective Comics #359 is published, with a date of January 1967. The title of the story is "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" Batgirl is Barbara Gordon, a librarian, and the daughter of Jim Gordon, the Police Commissioner of Gotham City. In the following TV season, she is written into the Batman TV series on ABC, played by Yvonne Craig. In comics, October 29 is retconned in as her birthday.
On TV, Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, discovers her dual identity, but keeps it a secret even from Batman and Robin -- and he keeps theirs, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, respectively, from her. In the comics, though, Bruce and Dick find out, and eventually her father does as well. (Whether the Commissioner knows the identities of Batman and the various Robins has been debated, but not established in canon.)
In the 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, an uncostumed Barbara was shot and paralyzed by the Joker. Though confined to a wheelchair, she adopted a new nom de guerre, Oracle, and became a computer hacker and information broker for crimefighters. In the 2011 "New 52" reboot, the paralysis was retconned as not having happened, and she was once again Batgirl.
In the 1997 film Batman and Robin, Batgirl was rewritten as Barbara Wilson, Alfred's niece, played by Alicia Silverstone. In the 2002 Fox TV series Birds of Prey, Dina Meyer played Barbara Gordon, as Oracle, with flashbacks showing her in the Batgirl costume. In 2019, a young Barbara was played by Jeté Laurence on the Fox TV series Gotham. This year, Hispanic actress Leslie Grace was cast in a DC Extended Universe Batgirl film.
While she has been apparently referenced on The CW's Arrow, and is played by Savannah Welch on the DC Universe network's Titans (having been paralyzed, yet been awarded her late father's job as Police Commissioner), she has not yet been shown in "The Arrowverse." Instead, since 2019, they have focused on the separate character of Batwoman, Bruce Wayne's gay Jewish cousin Kate Kane, played by Ruby Rose on the show's 1st season. After Rose was fired, she was replaced by a new character created for the show, Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie), who is gay and black, but grew up poor and with no connection to the Wayne or Kane families.
October 29, 1969: The 1st-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, thus making this a possible birthdate for the Internet.
*
October 29, 1971, 50 years ago: Winona Laura Horowitz is born in Winona, Minnesota. Her hippie parents named her for her birthplace. Sometimes, that works, as with Italian-born Florence Nightingale. Sometimes it doesn't, as with David and Victoria Beckham's son Brooklyn.
October 29, 1971, 50 years ago: Winona Laura Horowitz is born in Winona, Minnesota. Her hippie parents named her for her birthplace. Sometimes, that works, as with Italian-born Florence Nightingale. Sometimes it doesn't, as with David and Victoria Beckham's son Brooklyn.
She renamed herself Winona Ryder, after 1960s rocker Mitch Ryder. She is best known for playing Veronica Sawyer in Heathers. You don't like that? "Lick it up, baby, lick it up!" She recently played Evelyn Finkel, eventually Evelyn Bengelsdorf, in the HBO miniseries based on Philip Roth's alternate-history story The Plot Against America.
What does she have to do with sports? As far as I know, nothing, although the climactic bomb in Heathers was in the high school gym.
What does she have to do with sports? As far as I know, nothing, although the climactic bomb in Heathers was in the high school gym.
Also on this day, Matthew Lawrence Hayden is born in Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia. A longtime star for the Queensland state cricket team, he was a member of the Australia teams that won the 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups. He was named in a poll as the best opener in the national team's history. He now works for the Queensland state tourist board.
Also on this day, Duane Allman is killed in a motorcycle accident in his native Georgia. He was only 24 years old, and, in spite of his hard-living image, was not under the influence of alcohol or any other drug. A truck had to make a sudden stop, and he couldn't avoid it.
He had already made himself a legend, recording "Whipping Post" (with his brother Gregg singing lead and playing keyboards) for The Allman Brothers Band, and doing a dueling guitar solo with Eric Clapton on "Layla" by Derek & the Dominoes. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named him 2nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, behind Jimi Hendrix.
A little more than a year after Duane's crash, just 3 blocks away from the site, Allman Brothers bass guitarist Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash, slamming into a stopped bus. They are buried next to each other in Macon.
Also on this day, Duane Allman is killed in a motorcycle accident in his native Georgia. He was only 24 years old, and, in spite of his hard-living image, was not under the influence of alcohol or any other drug. A truck had to make a sudden stop, and he couldn't avoid it.
He had already made himself a legend, recording "Whipping Post" (with his brother Gregg singing lead and playing keyboards) for The Allman Brothers Band, and doing a dueling guitar solo with Eric Clapton on "Layla" by Derek & the Dominoes. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named him 2nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, behind Jimi Hendrix.
A little more than a year after Duane's crash, just 3 blocks away from the site, Allman Brothers bass guitarist Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash, slamming into a stopped bus. They are buried next to each other in Macon.
October 29, 1973: Robert Emmanuel Pirès is born in Reims, France, the son of a Portuguese father and a Spanish mother. A midfielder, "Super Rob" was a member of France's World Cup winners in 1998, and the Arsenal champions of 1998 (League and FA Cup "Double"), 2002 (another Double) and 2004 (undefeated League season). He is now on the Arsenal coaching staff.
Also on this day, Vonetta Jeffery (no middle name) is born in Birmingham, Alabama. Under her married name of Vonetta Flowers, she and Jill Bakken won Gold Medals in the two-woman bobsled at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Bakken was the driver, Flowers the brakewoman. This made the former University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) sprinter the 1st black person, of any country, of either gender, to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics.
Also on this day, and this has nothing to do with sports, Match Game 73 aired this exchange on CBS:
Gene Rayburn, host, reading a card with a clue: "Bertha was so fat!"
Bert Convy, host of other game shows, and one of the panelists, interrupts: "How fat was she, Gene?"
Gene: "I'll tell you how fat Bertha was: They had to use (blank) to get her through the revolving door. That's how fat Bertha was."
Richard Voelsing, contestant: "Grease."
Bert: "I'm in the family. I said, 'Lard.'" Ironically, given how fat she apparently was. The show's judges counted it as a match.
Brett Somers, actress and Match Game regular: "I didn't say, 'Lard," I didn't say, 'Grease,' I said, 'Pushers!'"
Jack Carter, comedian: "You should see what pushers are selling nowadays! Well, I know Bertha's sister. She's so fat, she needs a bookmark to find her chins! She used, 'Suction!'"
Fannie Flagg, actress and writer, previously known for her work on Candid Camera, making her 1st appearance on the show before becoming a regular panelist: "This man and I are thinking alike: I said, 'Axle grease.'" It was counted as a match. Only, due to her dyslexia, she unleashed the 1st of her many Match Game misspellings: "Axil grease." Spelling didn't count on that show, much to the relief of Fannie and, later on, Hungarian-born actress Eva Gabor, who said on a 1977 installment, "Darling, I speak 4 languages, but I can't spell in any of them!"
Richard Dawson, actor, and later host of the game show Family Feud: "'Grease!'"
Ann Elder, comedy-show writer, who had been on Laugh-In with Dawson a couple of years earlier: "Well, I wrote a word that was near and dear to my heart as I tried to think of an answer. I wrote, 'Pressure.'" So, 3 matches.
A little later, Gene read, rolling his eyes, "The Vanderwinkles' guest bathtub is soooo huge... " And Convy took the hint and went along with it, asking, "How huge is it, Gene?" And Gene said, "They put up a sign saying, 'No (blank)ing!'" The answer was, "No swimming."
Johnny Carson released a record album, Here's Johnny.... Magic Moments From The Tonight Show, in 1974, and there's a "How hot was it?" line on it. I can find no reference to when that show was broadcast. It could have been before October 29, 1973, but I can't prove it. So this Match Game
episode is the earliest example I have yet found of the old "How (adjective) is/was (pronoun)?" bit on TV.
But on a 1975 Match Game episode, somebody yelled out a response from the audience, and Brett asked, "What is he, Ed McMahon?" This suggests that McMahon, Carson's announcer and sidekick, was the 1st to do the routine -- or, at least, that Brett thought he was.
In October 1974, DC Comics released Action Comics #442, a story titled "The Midnight Murder Show!" Their analogue to Johnny Carson was Johnny Nevada, since the capital of Nevada is Carson City. Like Carson, Nevada had a habit of going on vacation and needing a guest host. This time, it was Steve Lombard, quarterback-turned-sportscaster, who said, "It was so hot in Metropolis today!" The audience yelled, "How hot was it?" Steve said, "It was so hot, I saw the Flash chasing the Mirror Master, and they were both walking!" So, at least by then, the routine was familiar enough with the general public that even kids who bought comic books, who might be in school when Match Game aired and in bed when The Tonight Show did, would know it.
I have no way of knowing about the contestants on that Match Game installment, but Convy died in 1991, Rayburn in 1999, Somers in 2007 (shortly before fellow regular panelist Charles Nelson Reilly did), Dawson in 2012, Carter in 2015, and Flagg and Elder are still alive.
*
October 29, 1981, 40 years ago: Bill Giles‚ the Philadelphia Phillies' vice president for the past 11 years‚ heads a group of investors which purchases the club for just over $30 million‚ the highest price paid to date for an MLB club.
Giles is the son of longtime National League President Warren Giles. He turned over day-to-day operation of the club to David Montgomery in 1997, and since 2000 has been NL President himself, although this is a powerless, purely ceremonial role, pretty much limited to awarding the trophy named for his father to the NL's Pennant winner.
Also on this day, Amanda Ray Beard is born in Newport Beach, California. The swimmer won Gold Medals at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics.
Also on this day, Jonathan Brown (no middle name) is born in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. Now retired from Australian Rules Football, he was the Captain of the Brisbane Lions. He was a 3-time league player of the year, and won 3 league titles with the Lions.
Also on this day, Vonetta Jeffery (no middle name) is born in Birmingham, Alabama. Under her married name of Vonetta Flowers, she and Jill Bakken won Gold Medals in the two-woman bobsled at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Bakken was the driver, Flowers the brakewoman. This made the former University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) sprinter the 1st black person, of any country, of either gender, to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics.
Also on this day, and this has nothing to do with sports, Match Game 73 aired this exchange on CBS:
Gene Rayburn, host, reading a card with a clue: "Bertha was so fat!"
Bert Convy, host of other game shows, and one of the panelists, interrupts: "How fat was she, Gene?"
Gene: "I'll tell you how fat Bertha was: They had to use (blank) to get her through the revolving door. That's how fat Bertha was."
Richard Voelsing, contestant: "Grease."
Bert: "I'm in the family. I said, 'Lard.'" Ironically, given how fat she apparently was. The show's judges counted it as a match.
Brett Somers, actress and Match Game regular: "I didn't say, 'Lard," I didn't say, 'Grease,' I said, 'Pushers!'"
Jack Carter, comedian: "You should see what pushers are selling nowadays! Well, I know Bertha's sister. She's so fat, she needs a bookmark to find her chins! She used, 'Suction!'"
Fannie Flagg, actress and writer, previously known for her work on Candid Camera, making her 1st appearance on the show before becoming a regular panelist: "This man and I are thinking alike: I said, 'Axle grease.'" It was counted as a match. Only, due to her dyslexia, she unleashed the 1st of her many Match Game misspellings: "Axil grease." Spelling didn't count on that show, much to the relief of Fannie and, later on, Hungarian-born actress Eva Gabor, who said on a 1977 installment, "Darling, I speak 4 languages, but I can't spell in any of them!"
Richard Dawson, actor, and later host of the game show Family Feud: "'Grease!'"
Ann Elder, comedy-show writer, who had been on Laugh-In with Dawson a couple of years earlier: "Well, I wrote a word that was near and dear to my heart as I tried to think of an answer. I wrote, 'Pressure.'" So, 3 matches.
A little later, Gene read, rolling his eyes, "The Vanderwinkles' guest bathtub is soooo huge... " And Convy took the hint and went along with it, asking, "How huge is it, Gene?" And Gene said, "They put up a sign saying, 'No (blank)ing!'" The answer was, "No swimming."
Johnny Carson released a record album, Here's Johnny.... Magic Moments From The Tonight Show, in 1974, and there's a "How hot was it?" line on it. I can find no reference to when that show was broadcast. It could have been before October 29, 1973, but I can't prove it. So this Match Game
episode is the earliest example I have yet found of the old "How (adjective) is/was (pronoun)?" bit on TV.
But on a 1975 Match Game episode, somebody yelled out a response from the audience, and Brett asked, "What is he, Ed McMahon?" This suggests that McMahon, Carson's announcer and sidekick, was the 1st to do the routine -- or, at least, that Brett thought he was.
In October 1974, DC Comics released Action Comics #442, a story titled "The Midnight Murder Show!" Their analogue to Johnny Carson was Johnny Nevada, since the capital of Nevada is Carson City. Like Carson, Nevada had a habit of going on vacation and needing a guest host. This time, it was Steve Lombard, quarterback-turned-sportscaster, who said, "It was so hot in Metropolis today!" The audience yelled, "How hot was it?" Steve said, "It was so hot, I saw the Flash chasing the Mirror Master, and they were both walking!" So, at least by then, the routine was familiar enough with the general public that even kids who bought comic books, who might be in school when Match Game aired and in bed when The Tonight Show did, would know it.
I have no way of knowing about the contestants on that Match Game installment, but Convy died in 1991, Rayburn in 1999, Somers in 2007 (shortly before fellow regular panelist Charles Nelson Reilly did), Dawson in 2012, Carter in 2015, and Flagg and Elder are still alive.
*
October 29, 1981, 40 years ago: Bill Giles‚ the Philadelphia Phillies' vice president for the past 11 years‚ heads a group of investors which purchases the club for just over $30 million‚ the highest price paid to date for an MLB club.
Giles is the son of longtime National League President Warren Giles. He turned over day-to-day operation of the club to David Montgomery in 1997, and since 2000 has been NL President himself, although this is a powerless, purely ceremonial role, pretty much limited to awarding the trophy named for his father to the NL's Pennant winner.
Also on this day, Amanda Ray Beard is born in Newport Beach, California. The swimmer won Gold Medals at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics.
Also on this day, Jonathan Brown (no middle name) is born in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. Now retired from Australian Rules Football, he was the Captain of the Brisbane Lions. He was a 3-time league player of the year, and won 3 league titles with the Lions.
October 29, 1994: Had the 1994 baseball season been allowed to reach a conclusion, this would have been the day Game 6 of the World Series was played, at the National League Champions' home park.
But there was a baseball championship on this day, and it was in a Game 6, of the Japan Series. The Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants beat the Tokorozawa-based Seibu Lions, 3-1 at Seibu Lions Stadium, now the MetLife Dome. Henry Cotto, an outfielder who had reached the Playoffs with the 1984 Chicago Cubs, played for the Yankees from 1985 to 1987, and was an original 1993 Florida Marlin, hits a home run in what turns out to be his last professional game.
Despite being named for the old New York Giants, and having their colors of black and orange, Yomiuri are the Yankees of Japan: This was their 18th win in the Japan Series, and they now have 22, most recently in 2012. They have won 37 Central League Pennants, most recently in 2019.
But this is the only season in which they could legitimately have claimed to be "the World Champions of Baseball." They do not claim this, but they could. It's not like the Pacific Coast League Champion Albuquerque Dukes, or the Governor's Cup-winning Richmond Braves could.
October 29, 1996, 25 years ago: The NBA announces its 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players:
* 18 Guards, in alphabetical order: Nate "Tiny" Archibald, Dave Bing, Bob Cousy, Clyde "the Glide" Drexler, Walt "Clyde" Frazier, George "Iceman" Gervin, Hal Greer, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Sam Jones, Michael "Air" Jordan, "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Earl "the Pearl" Monroe, Oscar "the Big O" Robertson, Bill Sharman, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, Jerry "Mr. Clutch" West and Lenny Wilkens.
* 16 Forwards: "Pitchin'" Paul Arizin, "Sir" Charles Barkley, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, Billy Cunningham, Dave DeBusschere, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, John "Hondo" Havlicek, Elvin "Big E" Hayes, Jerry Lucas, Karl "the Mailman" Malone, Kevin McHale, Bob Pettit, Scottie Pippen, Dolph Schayes, and "Big Game" James Worthy.
* 15 Centers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain, Dave Cowens, Patrick Ewing, George Mikan, Moses Malone, Hakeem "the Dream" Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Parish, Willis Reed, David "the Admiral" Robinson, Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld and "the Roaring Redhead" Bill Walton.
Only Maravich was already dead, in 1988. He has been followed into the Great Gym In the Sky by Chamberlain in 1999, DeBusschere in 2003, Mikan in 2005, Arizin in 2006, Sharman in 2013, Moses Malone and Schayes in 2015, Thurmond in 2016, Greer in 2018, Havlicek in 2019 and Wes Unseld in 2020. So, 38 of the 50 are still alive. Shaq, in 2011, was the last one still active.
In 2021, the NBA named a 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players. All of the 50 Greatest were included, plus 2 who were eligible then but denied: Bob McAdoo and Dominique Wilkins.
*
October 29, 2003: LeBron James, the most-hyped high school basketball player ever, makes his professional debut, 2 months before his 19th birthday. At the ARCO (now Sleep Train) Arena in Sacramento, he plays 42 minutes, scores 25 points, and doesn't make a difference, as his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers lose to the Sacramento Kings, 106-92.
October 29, 2008: After a 2-day delay for rain, Game 5 of the World Series is resumed at Citizens Bank Park. It begins in the bottom of the 6th, with the game tied 2-2. Geoff Jenkins doubles, is bunted to 3rd by Jimmy Rollins, and is driven in by a Jayson Werth single. Rocco Baldelli ties the game with a home run in the 7th. Later in the inning, Utley takes a grounder, fakes a throw to 1st, then throws Jason Bartlett out at home for the 3rd out in a play later described as having saved the Series for the Phillies.
In the bottom of the 7th, Pat Burrell leads off with a double. Eric Bruntlett, pinch-running for Burrell, scores on a single by Pedro Feliz to put the Phillies up by a run again, 4–3.
In the top of the 9th, Brad Lidge gives up a single and a stolen base, but faces Eric Hinske with the chance to give the city its 1st World Series win since 1980, and its 1st World Championship in any sport since the 1983 76ers. Harry Kalas, the Hall of Fame voice of the Phils, had the call:
One strike away, nothing-and-two to Hinske. Fans on their feet. Brad Lidge stretches. The 0–2 pitch! Swing and a miss! Struck him out! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball!
Brad Lidge does it again, and stays perfect for the 2008 season, 48-for-48 in save opportunities! And let the city celebrate! Don't let the 48-hour wait diminish the euphoria of this moment and celebration! Twenty-five years in this city that a team has enjoyed a World Championship, and the fans are ready to celebrate. What a night! Phils winning, 4–3, Brad Lidge gets the job done once again!
Harry would die early the next season. He deserved that title.
Also on this day, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who for the previous 41 years had been the Seattle SuperSonics, make their debut. Kevin Durant is not yet the superstar he would become, and scores only 12 points. Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and Michael Redd each score 20 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Thunder, 98-87 at the Ford Center (now the Chesapeake Energy Arena).
Also on this day, a North London Derby is played at the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal. Their arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, take an early 1-0 lead. David Bentley, a member of Arsenal's 2003-04 "Invincibles" who never quite panned out, scores against them for Tottenham. But Arsenal come back, and, on goals by Mikael Silvestre, William Gallas, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie (the first 2 considerably more surprising as scorers than the second 2), lead 4-2 in the 88th minute. Darren Bent, always a problem for Arsenal, scored the other goal for "Spurs," but Arsenal are in command.
And they blow it. Jermaine Jenas scores in the 89th, and, with more stoppage time given than necessary, Aaron Lennon scores in the 94th. It's a 4-4 draw.
Within 12 hours, before the last chorus of "Four-two, and you fucked it up!" can stop ringing around North London, Tottenham release a DVD of this match. That's right, they released a video of a draw. True, Arsenal celebrated a draw at White Hart Lane in 2004, but that draw gave them the 1 point they needed to clinch the League title away to their arch-rivals. What did "Spurs" get out of this draw? Not bragging rights: They still hadn't won a League game against Arsenal in 9 years. (That streak would end in 2010.)
Because they're both young black Englishmen who play on the right wing, Lennon (from Leeds in West Yorkshire) and Arsenal's Theo Walcott (from the Stanmore section of Northwest London) often got compared to each other. Tottenham fans call Walcott "a shit Aaron Lennon." No, Aaron Lennon is a shit Aaron Lennon. (That refers only to his performance. He is regarded by all as a man of fine character.)
October 29, 2009: Game 2 of the World Series. The Yankees' finest season in 6 years is in trouble after losing Game 1, the 1st Series game played at the new Yankee Stadium. While the Phillies -- wearing "HK" memorial patches for Kalas -- are the defending champs, that shouldn't matter: The Yankees have to step it up. Especially considering that the starting pitcher for the Phillies is, perhaps, the most despised pitcher in the history of Yankee opponents, Pedro Martinez.
With a pregame ceremony that includes native New Yorkers Jay-Z and Alicia Keys singing their current duet hit "Empire State of Mind," the Yankees do, indeed, step it up. Mark Teixeira takes Pedro over the wall in the 4th inning, and Hideki Matsui does the same in the 6th, reminding him that the Yankees are his "daddy." A.J. Burnett allowed a run in the 2nd inning, but cruises after that. With tomorrow being a travel day, using Mariano Rivera for 2 innings is no problem, and he shuts the Phils down. Yankees 3, Phils 1. The Series goes to Philadelphia tied.
*
October 29, 2011, 10 years ago: A rare October snowstorm hits the New York Tri-State Area. Eric LeGrand, paralyzed from the neck down during a Rutgers football game the year before, returns to High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, and, in his wheelchair, leads the Rutgers team onto the field. The photo of him doing so while large snowflakes fell around him was voted "Sports Moment of the Year" by Sports Illustrated readers on the magazine's website.
Unfortunately, as is so often the case for Rutgers when something nice happens, they actually had to play a game. The opponent was West Virginia, then ranked Number 24 in the country. Rutgers lost, 41-31.
Also on this day, Arsenal cross London to play away to Chelsea, whose Stamford Bridge has been a difficult place to play for nearly 2 decades. But 3 goals from van Persie, and goals from Walcott and the much-maligned left back Andre Santos, give Arsenal a stunning 5-3 win. It was the 3rd straight win for the Gunners in a streak that would eventually reach 8.
October 29, 2012: Hurricane Sandy hits the New York Tri-State Area, causing devastation all over the Jersey Shore, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, and causing flooding in Lower Manhattan. In some places, power was out for a week. It was a Monday, and power wasn't restored to my residence until the following Monday.
In terms of damage, it was the 2nd-worst hurricane in American history, behind Katrina, which nearly destroyed New Orleans in 2005. In terms of lives lost, there are 286 that were blamed either directly or indirectly on the "superstorm."
In sports terms, the main effect around here was that the Nets' 1st game as a Brooklyn team, scheduled for November 1 against the Knicks at the Barclays Center, was postponed, and was instead played on November 3, the regularly-scheduled 2nd game against the Toronto Raptors. The Nets won, 107-100. The New York City Marathon was also canceled, for what remains the only time in its history.
Today, some parts of the Shore, Queens and Long Island have still not recovered, due to Republican members of Congress not authorizing funds for States that vote Democratic, as New York and New Jersey tend to do.
Even Republican officials like Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York (until he left office at the end of 2013) and Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey (until he left office near early in 2018) were unable to sway those lawmakers, some of whom come from Republican-voting States since devastated by hurricanes: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
Late in 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, and Texas lawmakers demanded relief from the federal government. But when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico -- which, though not a State, is part of the United States of America, and its people citizens thereof -- they did nothing.
Donald Trump ignored his duty as President, and refused to help. The death toll? It depends on who you ask. The federal government said it was 66. Funeral directors on the island have gotten together, and said that they have processed the remains of over 3,000 people -- about as many as were killed on September 11, 2001.
Donald Trump loves Russian dictators so much, he even covers up the effects of disasters like one. Look up how casualties were reported in World War II, the 1982 Luzhniki Stadium disaster, and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown.
Previous Presidents have handled hurricanes fairly well: Franklin Roosevelt got aid to the Northeast after the Hurricane of 1938 (they began to be named for women in 1955, and for men in 1975), Richard Nixon to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Camille in 1969 and the Northeast after Hurricane Agnes in 1972, Jimmy Carter to Florida and the Northeast after Hurricane David in 1979, George H.W. Bush to the Carolinas after Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and Florida after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and, of course, President Barack Obama after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
In contrast, George W. Bush screwed up after Hurricane Katrina wrecked New Orleans in 2005, and Trump, rather than screwing up (making mistakes), willfully ignored the suffering after Hurricane Maria. What does he care? The people of Puerto Rico legally could not vote for him even if they liked him. They sure don't now.
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October 29, 2014: For only the 2nd time since Bud Selig -- now, thankfully, overseeing his final game as Commissioner -- declared in 2003 that the League that wins the All-Star Game would have home-field advantage for the World Series, a Series goes to a Game 7. That means that the Kansas City Royals will host it at Kauffman Stadium.
And the 1st time was in 2011, and the St. Louis Cardinals won Games 6 and 7 to beat the Texas Rangers. And the last time the road team has won a Game 7 in the World Series was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, 35 years earlier. And that means that, despite most of the San Francisco Giants having at least 1 ring (2012) and many of them 2 rings (2010 and 2012), and the Royals are in their 1st World Series in 29 years, the Giants have no chance, right?
Wrong. The teams trade blocks of 2 runs in the 2nd inning, and in the top of the 4th, Pablo Sandoval reaches on an infield single, and advances to 3rd on a single by Hunter Pence. Michael Morse singles him home to give the Giants the lead.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy gambles, sending Madison Bumgarner out to pitch the 5th on 2 days' rest. "MadBum" gave up a hit, but, in a display that wouldn't have seemed so courageous as recently as the 1970s, didn't allow another baserunner until the 9th, retiring 14 batters in a row.
With 1 out to go, Alex Gordon hits a liner that rolls to the wall, and he gets to 3rd. Salvador Perez had already gotten the game-winning hit in the AL Wild Card game. But Bumgarner induces a foul popup that is caught by Sandoval, completing the longest save in World Series history: 5 full innings.
The Giants win, 3-2, and take their 3rd World Championship in the last 5 years -- their 8th World Series win, counting their New York period. The Royals would have to wait at least 1 more year. Gordon would have to wait 1 more World Series game to become a baseball legend.
Also on this day, the Charlotte Hornets name is officially revived. The original Hornets, who played from 1988 to 2002, moved to New Orleans, but were enticed to give the name up in 2013, and take the name of a former minor-league baseball team, the New Orleans Pelicans. The Charlotte Bobcats, created as an expansion team in 2004, are officially allowed to take the Charlotte Hornets name.
Like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the new Hornets play their 1st game at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. Unlike the Thunder, the Hornets win, 108-106 at Time Warner Cable Arena (now the Spectrum Center). Kemba Walker leads all scorers with 26 points.
And Arsenal lost to Huddersfield Town, 3-1 at Highbury in North London.
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