Fri-Sunday, August 12-21, 2005

A 10-pack to go...

With the Cape beckoning on Sunday, a rather ambitious 10-day blogathon is coming your way that will cover all the major events, factoids, birthdays and commentary you can probably stand. May I suggest that with so much packed into one blog that you make daily visits, much like you would in reading a page from your daily desk calendar each day. Now to the headlines for August 12th...

Pinstripe team-mates enter The Hall, so too do a pair of Dodgers...The Green get more green...we hear a Beatle apology, witness a Vietnam farewell and a Fleetwood Mac hello. Baseball strikes out. Louganis takes a dive and a Patriot is paralyzed. It all happened on August 12th through the years...

August 12 Memories...

1877) Thomas Edison invents the phonograph and makes the first sound recording...

1966) John Lennon apologizes for his remark about Jesus and The Beatles...

1967) Fleetwood Mac make their stage debut in England...

1969) The Boston Celtics are sold for $6 million, the highest price ever paid for a basketball team at the time...

1972) The last American combat ground troops leave Vietnam...

1974) Yankees' Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford enter Baseball's Hall of Fame...

1978) Patriot receiver Darryl Stingley is paralyzed from the chest down in a pre-season game...

1984) Diver Greg Louganis wins his second gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 10-meter platform competition...

1984) Dodgers' Don Drysdale and Pee Wee Reese enter Baseball's Hall of Fame...

1992) The North American Free Trade Agreement is signed by the U.S., Canada and Mexico...

1994) Major League baseball players go on strike. As a result the World Series will be wiped out for the first time in 90 years...

2001) Mel Phillips and Diane Brady say, "I do"...

Happy Birthday to...

1926) John Derek...

1927) Dolly Parton discoverer Porter Wagoner...

1929) Buck Owens...

1939) George Hamilton...

1949) Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler...

1959) Suzanne Vega...

1965) Peter ("Six Feet Under") Krause...

1971) Pete Sampras...

Saturday, August 13, 2005

The word "Taxi" pops into our vocabulary...The Mick goes down swinging...An airplane takes off...a Supreme release and a tragic injury, all top the news on this date through the years...now to the headlines...

August 13 Memories...

1907) The first taxicab hits the streets of Manhattan...

1965) The Jefferson Airplane make their stage debut in San Francisco...

1966) The Supremes release "You Can't Hurry Love"...

1990) Singer Curtis Mayfield is paralyzed after a light rack falls on him at a concert in Brooklyn...

1995) Mickey Mantle succumbs to cancer at 63...

Happy Birthday to...

1926) Fidel Castro...

1929) Pat ("One Day At A Time") Harrington...

1930) Don Ho...

1934) L'il Abner...

1942) Bambi...

1944) Kevin Tighe...

1949) Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke...

1951) Dan Fogelberg...

1958) Scott Hamilton...

1959) Danny Bonaduce...

Commentary...

A pall fell over Yankee Stadium the day after Mickey Mantle lost his heroic battle with cancer. There was little joy at "The House That Ruth Built" that day as the setting was somber even when fans waited for their favorite Yankee to enter the Stadium for batting practice. I don't remember who the Yankees played or what the outcome of the game was, I do remember how quite Yankee Stadium was that day...

Mantle often joked about his wild, booze filled days and the women in his life but he was also proud of being the longest surviving male in his family. No male had made it over the age of 50. And he made his final days count. He started an organ donation foundation and talked about saving lives until his was taken. Mickey Mantle died a hero...

Sunday, August 14, 2005

August 14th through the years: The McCoys hang on...Rod Stewart flips for Maggie...A Beatle loses a catalogue, a peanut farmer gets the call, #44 retires and what, another blackout ? Now to the headlines...

1935) FDR signs the Social Security Act into law creating unemployment insurance and pension plans for those over 65...

1953) The whiffle ball is invented...

1965) The McCoys release "Hang On Sloopy"...

1971) Rod Stewart release "Reason To Believe"/"Maggie May"...

1973) Bombing in Cambodia ends...

1976) "Rock 'N Me" is released by The Steve Miller Band...

1980) The Democratic National Convention in New York City nominates Jimmy Carter for president...

1985) Michael Jackson outbids Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono for the ATV Music Publishing catalogue containing the rights to more than 250 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Total price: $47.5 million...

1992) Wayne Newton files for bankruptcy...

1992) Platters' lead singer Tony Williams dies at 64...

1993) The Yankees retire Reggie Jackson's #44 uniform at "Reggie Jackson Day"...

1994) International terrorist "Carlos The Jackal" is captured...

1995) The Citadel accepts their first female cadet...

1996) The Republican National Convention nominates Bob Dole for president...

1997) Timothy McVeigh is sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing...

2003) A huge blackout hits the northeast, 50 million lose power

Happy Birthday to...

1926) Buddy Greco...

1926) Alice Ghostley...

1930) Earl Weaver...

1940) Dash Crofts...

1941) David Crosby...

1945) Steve Martin...

1946) Larry (Sly and the Family Stone) Graham...

1946) Susan St. James...

1947) Danielle Steel...

1950) "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson...

1959) Magic Johnson...

1968) Halle Berry...

1968) "JAG" star Catherine Bell...

1975) Patriot Mike Vrabel...

Monday, August 15, 2005

The two major events on August 15th revolve around music...

On this date in 1965 The Beatles set a record for having the largest single crowd at a concert. Shea Stadium swelled to 56,000. Consider the fact that promoter Sid Bernstein didn't spend a cent to promote it and that will give you some idea of how big the Beatles were in 1965...The Beatles only played 12 songs at that concert and this magical musical event was summed up by John Lennon and George Harrison with the following quotes, Lennon: "It was ridiculous. I heard one jet taking off and I thought it was one of our amplifiers blowing up. We couldn't hear ourselves sing." Harrison: "When you're competing with 56,000 people, it's ridiculous. We were not quite sure if anybody could even see us, let alone hear us."...

On the same August 15th, in 1969, Richie Havens kicked off 3 days of music, mud and love at Woodstock. Other acts appearing were Crosby, Stills & Nash, Janis Joplin, Sly & the family Stone, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Blood, Sweat & Tears but there were more, 24 acts in all. The 3-day concert would draw 400,000 people...

1939) "The Wizard of Oz" premieres in Hollywood...

1948) CBS-TV inaugurates the first nightly news broadcast with anchorman Douglas Edwards...

1965) The Beatles pack Shea Stadium (feature story)...

1969) The Woodstock Music and Art Fair begins in Bethel, New York (feature story)...

1971) President Nixon announces a 90-day freeze on wages, rents and prices...

1990) Cancer sufferer, Giant pitcher Dave Dravecky breaks his arm while throwing a pitch in a televised game...

1991) Paul Simon plays a free concert in Central Park before 750,000...

Happy Birthday to...

1923) Rose Marie...

1925) Mike ("Mannix") Connors...

1925) Jazz great Oscar Peterson...

1925) The Drifters' Bill Pinckney...

1935) Vernon Jordan...

1944) Linda Ellerbee...

1950) Princess Anne...

1964) Debi Mazar...

1972) Ben Affleck...

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

August 16th was the day we lost both a King and a Bambino...

On this date in 1948 Babe Ruth lost his battle with throat cancer at 53. This legendary, bigger-than-life "Sultan of Swat" was reduced to a shrunken frame that was painful to watch. It wasn't long after he was given his day at Yankee Stadium that he would fade from the scene forever, his legend forever following the mention of his name. The magnitude of his death was so huge that his body would lie in state at Yankee Stadium as people circled the Stadium to get one more look at the Mighty Babe Ruth...

On the same date in 1977, Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 in Memphis. Like Babe Ruth's passing, this too was a monumental loss. "The King" who like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, can be mentioned in the same breath as the biggest icons of his generation, was gone forever but his legend would grow and never stop growing. It would grow into a major industry. Today Elvis is bigger in death than he ever was in life. Elvis Presley's official cause of death was "a coronary arrhythmia"...

More August 16 Memories...

1948) The Babe is gone (feature story)...

1954) Sports Illustrated publishes its first issue...

1962) Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as Beatles drummer...

1966) The Monkees release their first single, "Last Train To Clarksville"...

1977) The King checks out (feature story)...

1983) Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher tie the knot...

1985) Madonna and Sean Penn are married in Malibu...

1988) George Bush taps Dan Quayle as running mate...

2000) The Democratic National Convention names Al Gore to run for president...

2003) Despot, Idi Amin dies in exile, at 80...

Happy Birthday to...

1925) Fess Parker...

1928) Ann Blyth...

1930) Robert Culp...

1930) Frank Gifford...

1930) Tennis great Tony Trabert...

1932) Eydie Gorme...

1933) Julie Newmar...

1946) Lesley Ann Warren...

1953) Kathie Lee Gifford...

1953) J.T. Taylor (Kool and the Gang)...

1954) "Titanic" director James Cameron...

1958) Madonna...

1958) Angela Bassett...

1959) Laura ("ER") Innes...

1960) Timothy Hutton...

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

We had our first and only, to-date, baseball fatality on this date way back in 1920...

Ray Chapman of the Indians was hit in the head by a Carl Mays (Yankees) fastball on August 16th and he would succumb to that beaning the following day, August 17, 1920. Although there was some bitterness against Mays among the Cleveland players, Indian manager Tris Speaker was quoted as saying: "It is the duty of all of us, of all the players, not only for the good of the game, but also out of respect to the poor fellow who was killed, to suppress all bitter feeling." Let's just hope we never see anything like this in our time...

More August 17 Memories...

1920) Ray Chapman (feature story)...

1964) The Kinks release "You Really Got Me"...

1968) Deep Purple's "Hush" is released...

1969) Woodstock comes to an end after 3 days...

1969) The Jets beat the Giants in their first pre-season meeting...

1969) Hurricane Camille sweeps through Mississippi and Louisiana killing 256...

1973) The Temptations' Paul Williams is a suicide victim...

1987) Rudolph Hess, also commits suicide...

1998) President Bill Clinton finally admits to an improper relationship with Monica Lewinsky...

Happy Birthday to...

1921) Maureen O'Hara...

1943) Robert DeNiro...

1952) Guillermo Vilas...

1960) Sean Penn...

1969) Donnie Wahlberg...

1970) Jim Courier...

1971) Yankee catcher Jorge Posada...

Thursday, August 18, 2005...

August 18th through the years...A star shines...we bid farewell to a King...a bird flies the coop and a wall is completed...Now let's get to the headlines...

1937) The first FM construction permit is issued in Boston...

1955) Hurricane Diane kills 400 in the U.S...

1961) Construction of the Berlin Wall is completed...

1962) Ringo Starr makes his first appearance as Beatle drummer at The Cavern Club...

1962) Peter, Paul and Mary release "If I Had A Hammer"...

1963) James Meredith becomes the first black to graduate from the University of Mississippi...

1967) WCBS goes all-news...

1967) The Red Sox' Tony Conigliaro is beaned by the Angels' Jack Hamilton at Fenway Park...

1973) The Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" is released...

1977) Funeral services for Elvis Presley are held at Graceland...

1989) Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as Yankee manager...

1992) Larry Bird announces his retirement from the Celtics after 13 years...

1996) A record 6,654 tap their brains out at Macy's Tap-o-mania in front of Macy's 34th Street...

Happy Birthday to...

1917) Former secretary of defense Casper Weinberger...

1920) Shelley Winters...

1927) Rosalynn Carter...

1933) Roman Polanski...

1937) Robert Redford...

1939) Singer Johnny Preston...

1940) Frankie Avalon...

1941) Matt Snell...

1943) Martin Mull...

1943) LaBelle's Sarah Dash...

1945) LaBelle's Nona Hendryx...

1952) Patrick Swayze...

1957) Dennis Leary...

1969) Edward Norton...

1969) Christian Slater...

1970) Malcolm-Jamal ("The Cosby Show") Warner...

Commentary...

August 18th was a bad day for Boston sports with the horrific beaning of "Tony C" in 1967 and the retirement of "Larry Legend" in 1992...

Tony Conigliaro was a true star in the making with all the talent you could ever ask for in a baseball player, he had power, he could hit for average and he was a good fielder. All of that ended when he was beaned on this date in 1967. The pictures of Tony with a closed, black eye were frightening to look at the next day in the Boston papers. He was lucky not to have died from those injuries. He would survive but he would never recapture the skills that made him one of baseball's rising superstars. Tony not only had good looks but he could sing, releasing a single in 1967 that we played on WRKO. He would often visit the station, drawing gasps from the female employees who were instantly smitten by Tony within a few minutes of meeting him. While 1967 would become "The Impossible Dream" year for the Red Sox, Tony suffered on the sidelines, unable to contribute to the team that would make it into the World Series...

1992 brought an end to the career of one of the best players to ever wear a Boston Celtic uniform with the announcement of Larry Bird's retirement. The superstar from French Lick, Indiana played his college basketball at Indiana State and along with Magic Johnson, would enter the NBA as true superstars. I'll never forget the time I saw Larry come back from one of his back injuries that made him miss several games, only to down three-point shots like he was warming up. It was a game in Oakland and Larry scored 40 points in helping the Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors...

Boston lost a budding superstar and a legend on a bad day for Beantown on August 18th...

Friday, August 19, 2005...

It was on this date that The Beatles began their first U.S. tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The tour would cover 26 cities and draw a total of 481,000. It was also on this date that we said goodbye to 2 TV series, "Charlie's Angels" and "Cheers"...

Here are the headlines for August 19th through the years...

1964) "Beatlemania" arrives in the U.S. as The Beatles open their first tour of America...

1972) John Denver hosts the first "Midnight Special"...

1973) Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson walk down the aisle...

1976) President Gerald Ford wins the Republican presidential nomination...

1977) Groucho Marx tells his last joke...

1979) "My Sharona" by The Knack goes to #1 where it will stay for 42 days...

1981) The final episode of "Charlie's Angels" airs...

1984) Ronald Reagan is nominated by the Republicans for president...

1993) "Cheers" ends its 11-year run...

1993) Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin tie the knot...

1993) Mattel and Fisher Price merge...

2004) Google goes public, ending the day at $100 a share...

Happy Birthday to...

1939) Cream drummer Ginger Baker...

1940) Johnny Nash...

1940) Jill St. John...

1942) Actor/senator Fred Thompson...

1943) Billy J. Kramer...

1946) Bill Clinton...

1948) Tipper Gore...

1948) Gerald McRaney...

1953) Mary Matalin...

1956) Adam Arkin...

1960) Former Met Ron Darling...

1963) John Stamos...

1965) Kyra Sedgwick...

1966) Lee Ann Womack...

1969) Matthew Perry...

Saturday, August 20, 2005...

Through the years on August 20...There's turmoil in the Bronx...Bo prooves he knows Diddley...Tiger picks up a hat trick and Rocky gets within a heartbeat....Now the headlines...

1955) Bo Diddley debuts at the Apollo Theater...

1966) The Temptations release "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep"...

1973) The Rolling Stones release "Angie"...

1974) Nelson Rockefeller becomes Vice President...

1989) Jose and Kitty Menendez are fatally shot by sons Lyle and Erik...

1990) George Steinbrenner steps down as Yankee owner. Gene Michael is named VP/GM...

1992) The Republicans renominate President Bush and VP Quayle...

2000) Tiger Woods wins his 3rd consecutive major PGA title...

Happy Birthday to...

1931) Don King...

1942) Isaac Hayes...

1944) Graig Nettles...

1946) Connie Chung...

1947) Chicago's Jim Pankow...

1948) Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant...

1953) Peter Horton...

1954) Al Roker...

1956) Joan Allen...

Sunday, August 21, 2005...

Through the years on August 21st...Sting gets stung...we say "aloha" to Hawaii Five-Oh...Linda says hello to Broadway and the "Scud Stud" is assigned to the unemployment line...Here are the headlines...

1959) Hawaii becomes our 50th State...

1965) Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" is released...

1980) Linda Ronstadt debuts on Broadway in "The Pirates of Penzance"...

1983) "La Cage aux Folles" opens on Broadway...

1992) NBC fires "Scud Stud" Arthur Kent after he refuses assignment to Croatia...

1992) Sting and Trudi Styler tie the knot...

Happy Birthday to...

1932) Melvin Van Peebles...

1938) Kenny Rogers...

1939) Clarence ("Mod Squad") Williams III...

1944) Jackie DeShannon...

1945) Patty McCormack...

1951) Harry Smith...

1956) Kim Cattrall...

1974) "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher...

Off to the Cape. See ya with a fresh blog on August 22...