June 29, 1776: The Presidio of San Francisco

The calendar year 1776 was a pivotal one on the Atlantic Coast of North America. Most Americans know that. What many may not be aware of is that it was also a pivotal year on the Pacific Coast.

June 29, 1776: El Presidio Real de San Francisco, or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis, is established, marking the birth of what would become the City of San Francisco. It was named for St. Francis of Assisi, not St. Francis Xavier or any other St. Francis.

A "presidio," meaning a jail or a fortification, was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire, mainly between the 16th and 18th Centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word "praesidium," meaning protection or defense. This may seem strange to people who think of St. Francis of Assisi as a pacifist.

In the Mediterranean Sea and the Philippines, the presidios were outposts of the Christian defense against Islamic raids. In the Americas, the fortresses were built to protect against raids by pirates, rival colonial powers, and Native Americans. Later, having gained their independence from Spain, the Mexicans garrisoned the Spanish presidios on their northern frontier, and followed the same pattern in unsettled frontier regions such as the Presidio de Sonoma in California, and the Presidio de Calabasas in Arizona.

The Presidio of San Francisco was a simple fort made of adobe, brush, and wood. It was often damaged by earthquakes or heavy rains. In 1783, its company had only 33 men. Presidio soldiers' duties were to support Mission Dolores by controlling Indian workers in the Mission and farming, ranching, and hunting to supply themselves and their families. Support from Spanish authorities in Mexico was minimal.

In 1821, Mexico became independent of Spain. The Presidio received even less support from Mexico. Residents of Alta California, which included the Presidio, debated separating from Mexico. In 1835, the Presidio garrison, led by Mariano Vallejo, relocated to Sonoma, 40 miles to the north.

In 1846, the Mexican-American War began. American settlers and adventurers in Sonoma staged the Bear Flag Revolt against Mexican rule. The U.S. Army occupied the Presidio, which began a long era of directing operations to control and protect Native Americans as headquarters for scattered Army units on the West Coast.

From 1898 to 1906, The Presidio became the nation's center for assembling, training, and shipping out forces to the Spanish-American War in the Philippine Islands and the subsequent Philippine Insurrection. President Theodore Roosevelt visited in 1903. Troops from there were instrumental in providing security and fighting fires following the earthquake of 1906.

From 1914 to 1916, General John J. Pershing served as commanding officer, a prelude to his leadership in World War I. For that war, The Presidio produced the 30th Infantry Regiment, which the French nicknamed "The Rock of the Marne" for its service at the pivotal Second Battle of the Marne in 1918.

U.S. Route 101 was extended through the Presidio with the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 and the MacArthur Tunnel in 1940. Due to the Pacific Theater of World War II, The Presidio again became a major U.S. Army facility.

Afterward, it was responsible for all U.S. Army forces in the Western U.S., including training, supplies, and deployment. This went on to include supporting roles in the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, and hosting the signing of the ANZUS Treaty between the U.S. and the Pacific nations of Australia and New Zealand. In 1994, the Army closed The Presidio, and transferred control of it to the National Park Service.

In the future imagined by the Star Trek franchise, The Presidio became the headquarters for the United Federation of Planets' Starfleet Command, including Starfleet Academy.

Also on June 29, 1776: The Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet was fought, off the coast of what is now Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. It was an important, early naval victory for the Continental Navy and the man who went on to become known as the "Father of the American Navy," Captain John Barry.

It was the first privateer battle of the War of the American Revolution, and turned out to be the only battle of that war fought in Cape May County, the southernmost County of New Jersey.

June 28, 2001: The Kidd-Marbury Trade

June 28, 2001, 25 years ago: The New Jersey Nets trade Stephon Marbury to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Kidd. This is a classic "my headache for your headache" trade, as both had been divas unable to move their teams out of the dumps.

Marbury, the youngest of 5 brothers who had starred for Abraham Lincoln High School in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, had played 1 season at Georgia Tech, turned pro, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, and was immediately traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. For 3 years, he underachieved with them, before being traded to the Nets. For 2 seasons at the Meadowlands, he was still an underachiever, and came to be regarded as a bad influence on the team, a "clubhouse cancer."

Kidd came out of Oakland, stayed local by going to the University of California, playing 2 years with them. He was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, and was traded to the Suns after 2 years. He was a Rookie of the Year, an All-Star, and an NBA assists leader, but wasn't getting along with his teammates.

How did the players react to their respective changes of scenery? Marbury made an All-Star Game with the Suns, but they tired of his act after 3 lackluster seasons, and he went on to the Knicks, becoming one of the few players to mess up two teams in one market.

He last played in the NBA with the Boston Celtics in 2009 -- the year between NBA Finals appearances for them, winning in 2008 and losing in 2010. He was only 32 when he played his last NBA game. Of course, none of his highly-touted brothers played in the NBA, although a cousin, Sebastian Telfair, did. From 2010 to 2018, Marbury played in China's league, and went on to coach there.

In his 1st season with the Meadowlands team, Kidd led the Nets from a hopeless 26-56 to 52-30, their 1st Atlantic Division title, and their 1st NBA Finals. He got them another Division title and Finals berth the next season. He got them another Division title the next season. He got them to the Playoffs the next season. He got them another Division title the next season.

In other words, the Nets had done more in 5 seasons with Kidd than they had done in the previous 25 years without him. Never in the history of team sports has one man made that much difference that fast. So this may have been the most lopsided NBA trade since 1956, when the Boston Celtics traded Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks for the rights to Bill Russell.

After the 2008 season, the Nets, in the process of moving to Brooklyn, traded Kidd back to the Mavericks. Now a respected elder statesman among players, he helped them win their 1st NBA Championship in 2011. He played one more season with them, and then one last season with the Knicks, 2012-13.

He then retired, and crossed town to the Brooklyn Nets, coaching them for a season, then 4 with the Milwaukee Bucks. He won a 2nd ring as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and in 2021 was hired as head coach of the Mavericks. He got them to the Conference Finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024, but missed the Playoffs the last 2 years, and was fired a few days ago.

He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, was named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players, and had his Number 5 retired by the Nets.

June 28, 1976: The Mark Fidrych Game

Fidrych at Tiger Stadium, 1976.

The famous blue and orange seats

were installed the next season.

June 28, 1976, 50 years ago: America -- at least, that part of it outside the Detroit area -- gets its first good look at Mark Fidrych, on ABC Monday Night Baseball.

He took the American League by storm in 1976, and when he pitched, the Detroit Tigers, then an awful team in a suffering city, went from an average attendance of 14,000 at already-creaky Tiger Stadium to 40,000. His start on on June 28, in front of 47,855 paying customers, was a national phenomenon, and he beat the soon-to-be-Pennant-winning New York Yankees, 5-1.

He went the distance, advancing to 8-1 on the season, allowing 1 run on 7 hits. He only struck out 2 batters, but he didn't walk any. The only Yankee run came in the top of the 2nd inning, a home run by Elrod Hendricks, who was catching that day due to an injury to Thurman Munson.

The Tigers scored 2 in the 1st. Their other storybook player, the speedy ex-con Ron LeFlore, led off with a walk, and Rusty Staub hit a home run off Ken Holtzman. It was still only 2-1 Detroit into the 7th, when Aurelio Rodríguez homered. The Tigers iced the game with 2 runs in the 8th.

It wasn't just that he was talented. He was also a big character. He tried to explain that he would talk to himself on the mound, saying things like, "Settle down, you're getting too nervous." But somehow, it incorrectly got around that he was "talking to the ball," telling it where he wanted it to go, where in and around the strike zone, or, after being hit, to which fielder. He would smooth out the mound. He would walk over to an infielder who'd made a great play and shake his hand.

You see, in baseball, which has so often been culturally behind the times -- the world's 1970s were baseball's "Sixties" -- this was considered weird. What's wrong with thanking your fielder for making a great play, or fixing the mound the way you want it?

Fidrych finished the season 19-9. In all other games, the Tigers were 53-78. He led the AL with a 2.34 earned run average (ERA), and started for it in the All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, although he ended up as the losing pitcher. He was named the AL's Rookie of the Year, but finished 2nd in the Cy Young Award voting, to Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles, who went 22-13 with a 2.51 ERA.

Fidrych was just 21 years old, from Northborough, Massachusetts, a town of 14,000 people, an hour's drive west of Boston, and he was as amazed by his sudden fame as anyone else. He seemed both goofy and cool at the same time. A Massachusetts "Park ya cah" accent, so often sounding obnoxious from some guys, sounded charming (or "chahming") coming from him. After the season, he dictated a quickie autobiography to sportswriter Tom Clark, choosing the title No Big Deal.

For all of this, he was making what was then the major league minimum salary of $19,000, although, through bonuses, the Tigers bumped it to $60,000.

In Spring Training the next season, Fidrych, known as "the Bird" because his curly blond hair reminded someone of the Sesame Street character Big Bird -- hurt his knee. Trying to favor it, he hurt his shoulder, tearing his rotator cuff. He wasn't the first pitcher to cause a new injury by favoring an old one, but he may have been the most costly. At least when Dizzy Dean, a great character from an earlier era of baseball, hurt his arm by changing his motion to favor a bad toe, he was at his peak, and had already (if just barely) won enough games to make the Hall of Fame. Fidrych was still near the beginning of his career.

The amazing thing is -- forgive me if this sounds like a Yogi Berra line -- when he could pitch, he could still pitch. He had a nine-strikeout, no-walk 2-1 win over the Yankees in that 1977 season. But he couldn't pitch without pain often enough, and that was his last season of any productiveness. After 1980, he was done, a nobody at 21, a superstar at 22, a has-been at 24.

The amazing thing about Fidrych is that he didn't look at his career as tragic. Even though he got hurt and left baseball before salaries really took off, he had the attitude of, "So what? It's not the end of the world. I've got another life." And for about 30 years, he did have another life, running a farm and a gas station in Northborough. He married in 1986, and had a daughter. He thought it was a good life, and who are we to doubt him?

Still, he accepted that baseball fans liked him, and participated in memorabilia shows, old-timers' games, the Tiger Stadium finale in 1999, things like that. I know this is going to sound like another Yogi-ism -- so what, Yogi was a character, too -- but it was good that the good things that happened to him happened to him.

Fidrych at the Tiger Stadium finale in 1999

On the morning of April 13, 2009, he was working on his farm, trying to fix his truck, and an accident with it brought his strange and amazing life to a painful close. He was 54 years old. He remains a cult figure in baseball, a symbol of an age of weirdness and wonder.

June 28, 1951: Everybody Turns On "Amos 'n' Andy" -- and Not In a Good Way

Top: Tim Moore as George "Kingfish" Stevens.

Bottom: Spencer Williams as Andy Brown (left)

and Alvin Childress as Amos Jones.

June 28, 1951, 75 years ago: After 23 years on radio, Amos 'n' Andy premieres on CBS' television network. When people heard white actors on radio, pretending to be black, they loved it. But when they saw the roles they thought they knew played by actual black actors -- Alvin Childress as Amos Jones, Spencer Williams as Andy Brown, Tim Moore as George "Kingfish" Stevens, and Ernestine Wade as Kingfish's wife Sapphire -- they didn't like it. The NAACP objected as well, saying it indulged in racial stereotypes.

A total of 78 half-hour episodes were eventually produced. Childress and Williams were instructed to keep their voices and speech patterns close as possible to those of the roles' originators, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, respectively. Nevertheless, the show was a bust, lasting just 2 seasons.

Even if the show had succeeded, they would have had to replace Moore after his death in 1958. Williams lived until 1969, Wade until 1983, and Childress until 1986. To the end, though, Childress said he never thought the show was a negative portrayal of black people, because it was the only television show of the time to show them as businessmen, policemen, judges and doctors, rather than in subservient roles such as maids and janitors.

Black actors Redd Foxx and Marla Gibbs, both of whom starred in later sitcoms, emphasized the importance of the show featuring black actors in lead roles and expressed disagreement with the NAACP's objections that had contributed to the program's downfall.

The shows were preserved, and have been released on DVD, so that current viewers may decide for themselves if the show indulged in stereotypes, or was just good clean fun.

June 25, 1966: The Brooklyn Navy Yard Closes

A recent photo of the Navy Yard,

which has been redeveloped for residential and retail use.

The Williamsburg Bridge is in the background.

June 25, 1966, 60 years ago: The Brooklyn Navy Yard is closed, emblematic of New York City's loss of industry.

At the height of World War II production, what was officially named the New York Naval Shipyard had 75,000 people working there. In 1947, it was down to 10,000 workers. It doubled back up to 20,000 by the end of the Korean War in 1953, but after that war ended, it was back to 10,000 again.

In 1960, with the Yard's workforce 11,000 strong, the aircraft carrier USS Constellation was being built there, and an accident caused a fire that killed 49 people. The investigation showed that, although this fact was not responsible for the fire, the Yard was obsolete, especially since it was determined that, in order to reach the open sea, ships built there had to pass under the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge; and ships going there for repairs also had to pass under those bridges -- and most new ones were too big. 

And so, on June 25, 1966, a closing ceremony was held at the Yard, with work stopping for good on June 30, and the last 9,500 workers were laid off.

This was symbolic of the loss of industry in New York City. The loss of jobs crushed the Borough economically, and was much more damaging to the communities of Brooklyn than the so-often-cited move of baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957 had been.

Indeed, it was crushing to the City as a whole. It wasn't the first time industry had been phased out: The Gashouse District, between 1st Avenue and the Hudson River, from 14th to 23rd Street, its name already appropriated for baseball's St. Louis Cardinals, "the Gashouse Gang," was torn down in World War II, to build the housing projects Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

*

June 25, 1966 was a Saturday. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dikembe Mutombo was born on this day. 

Yanks Take 2 of 3 In Detroit, Head for Boston

"Who loves ya, baby?"

Since the 2006 American League Division Series, the Detroit Tigers have provided the Yankees with more difficulty than they had before it, including 3 postseason series wins. The Yankees went to Comerica Park for a 3-game series in the Motor City.

After a few years with the Houston Astros, including some postseason trouble for the Yankees, Framber Valdez signed as a free agent with the Tigers. Again, on Monday night, he gave the Yankees trouble, going 6 strong innings. In contrast, Gerrit Cole only pitched 4 1/3rd innings, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits. At least his control was good: Of 89 pitches, 62 were strikes, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts. Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough went the rest of the way, allowing just 2 baserunners, both walks by Yarbrough.

The Yankees stranded men on 1st & 2nd in the 1st inning. With 2 out in the 2nd, José Caballero walked and stole 2nd, and Ali Sánchez doubled him home. It was 1-0 Yankees. They stranded men on 1st & 2nd in the 3rd, and then fell 3-1 behind the Tigers, and then 4-1 behind in the 4th, and 5-1 in the 5th.

With 2 out in the 7th, Sánchez was hit by a pitch, and Amed Rosario hit a home run. But they could get no closer, again stranding men on 1st & 2nd in the 8th. Tigers 5, Yankees 3.

*

Carlos Rodón was a bit better on Tuesday night, allowing 3 runs over 5 1/3rd. The bullpen, with Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick and David Bednar, was scoreless the rest of the way, allowing just 2 hits and a walk.

At one point, Jazz Chisholm went out to 2nd base with a green lollipop in his mouth. Aaron Boone got upset with that. What if he got hit with a line drive? Even if it wasn't in the mouth, having that lollipop would have been unsafe.

Well, in the top of the 6th, with the Tigers up, 2-1, Paul Goldschmidt singled, and Chisholm hit a home run. Getting back to the dugout, he held his bucket of lollipops up to the camera. As a great New Yorker, Telly Savalas, who was at the Chris Chambliss Game in 1976, would have said while sucking on a lollipop while starring on Kojak, "Who loves ya, baby?" After the game, Boone said he can have as many lollipops as he wants, just not on the field.

After the homer, Spencer Jones struck out, but Caballero singled, and Austin Wells doubled him home, making it 4-2 Yankees. The Tigers closed to within 4-3 in the bottom of the 6th, but that was as close as they got.

*

Last night, Goldschmidt led off the game with a home run. He hit another in the 3rd. Both were off Tarik Skubal, possibly the best pitcher in baseball right now, These homers were the 385th and 386th of his career, and, on the all-time list, he surpassed Dwight Evans and... Aaron Judge. He tied Aramis Ramírez. Next up for him: Johnny Bench, with 389.

Ryan Weathers started for the Yankees, and was strong: 6 innings, 2 runs, only 1 earned, 6 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts. Camilo Doval, Cruz and Bednar went scoreless the rest of the way. Jasson Domínguez added a homer in the 6th, and the Yankees won, 4-2, to take the series.

Meanwhile, in a rain-forced doubleheader, the Mets got swept by the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field, 10-3 and 10-5. Twenty runs in one day? So much for "run prevention." And you thought Brazil beat Scotland badly.

*

The Yankees are 48-31, on a pace to go 98-64. They have the best record in the AL. They lead the Tampa Bay Rays by 3 games in the AL Eastern Division, though just 2 in the loss column, as the Rays have 2 games in hand.

Ryan McMahon has an infection, so he's been put on the Injured List. Oswaldo Cabrera has been called back up, having not played for the big club since May 12, 2025, though he was doing well at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year. He hasn't been called up because Chisholm, Caballero and McMahon, and sometimes even Anthony Volpe, have been doing well at the positions he can play. There hasn't been a place for him. Now, there is.

And now... off to the Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy, for 4 games. Fortunately, the Yankees did not follow the pattern of unloading a bunch of runs right before going to Boston, and then playing as if we'd used them all up, as has not always happened, but has happened often enough to stand out. Hopefully, this means we have a few runs to spare, to spread all over that little green pinball machine in the Back Bay.

I also hope, for our fans' sake, the Hub City has restocked the bars, now that the Tartan Army have gone down to Miami. Scotland fans took over Fenway Park last week, while their team was playing World Cup games in Foxborough, and made an appearance at Yankee Stadium II as well. They were certainly better behaved than most Red Sox fans. Better dressed, too.

Here's the pitching matchups:

* Tonight, first pitch scheduled for 7:10 PM, on YES: Cam Schlittler vs. Connelly Early.

* Friday, 7:10, on YES: Will Warren vs. Payton Tolle.

* Saturday, 1:00, on ABC: Gerrit Cole vs. Jake Bennett.

* Sunday, 7:20, on NBC: Carlos Rodón vs. former Yankee Sonny Gray.

I must say, I'm liking MLB's return to the classic networks, NBC (Saturday Game of the Week) and ABC (Monday Night Baseball). If only we had This Week In Baseball as a pregame show. I can hear the opening theme now. And the closing theme... 

Anyway, BEAT THE SCUM!

June 25, 1876: The Battle of the Little Bighorn

June 25, 1876, 150 years ago: The Battle of the Little Bighorn is fought in the Montana Territory. The 7th Cavalry of the U.S. Army fights several tribes of Native Americans. The tribes win.

The main group of Natives was the Lakota Sioux, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The Cavalry was led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. He had graduated 35th and last in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1861. Because the Civil War was raging, he rose fast, and had the brevet (temporary) rank of Major General. After the war, his questionable actions led the Army to drop him back down to Lieutenant Colonel.

Custer had managed some victories against Natives in the intervening 11 years, and began to believe he was invincible. But on the Little Bighorn River, he found out otherwise. The legend that there were no U.S. Army survivors isn't even close to being true, but of the 700 men under Custer's command, 274, including Custer himself, a 36-year-old Ohioan, died. The Natives lost about half that many, out of around 2,500.

Reports of the battle began to reach the Eastern United States on Centennial Day, July 4, 1876. The anger of "the white man" toward "the red man" was stronger than ever. A year later, Crazy Horse was captured and executed. Sitting Bull, too, would eventually face what the white man would call "justice," in 1890, at Standing Rock, South Dakota, not long before the last major battle with the Natives, called Wounded Knee.

The most familiar photograph of Sitting Bull.

There is no known photograph of Crazy Horse,

due to a Native superstition about a camera "capturing the soul."

The battle was nicknamed Custer's Last Stand, and Custer was seen as a hero. In truth, he was an unearned egomaniac, and deserves to be ridiculed by history.

The site of the battle is now part of the Crow Indian Reservation, in the southeastern part of the State of Montana. The closest city is Billings, 60 miles to the northwest. The closest major league city is Denver, nearly 500 miles south -- unless you consider the Canadian Football League to be a "major league," in which case the closest is Regina, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 460 miles northeast.

In 1960, novelty singer Larry Verne had a Number 1 hit with "Mr. Custer." Even by the standards of that time, in which Westerns dominated television and were still big in movies, it was racist as hell toward Natives. It also perpetuated the myth of the cavalry charge order, "Forward, ho!" No such order has ever existed in the U.S. Army.