Monday, October 31, 2005

The mighty Kelso...

This past Saturday over $15,000,000 in purses were awarded to the fastest thoroughbreds in the world at the 'Breeder's Cup' races at Belmont Race Track but it was on this day in 1964 that racing history was made about 6 miles away from Belmont at Aqueduct Race Track by the mighty Kelso...

It was on October 31, 1964 that the 7-year old gelding owned by Mrs. Richard C. du Pont became the greatest money-earner in the history of thoroughbred racing by winning a 2-mile race by the fastest time ever recorded for that distance on a dirt track and he did it with ease, beating Roman Brother by a full 5 1/2 lengths...

Kelso's victory in the 1964 'Jockey Club Gold Cup' clinched his 5th consecutive 'Horse of the Year' award. The mighty Kelso retired in March of 1966, earning nearly $2,000,000, a record for that time, finishing in the money in 53 of his 63 races...

In Kelso's time, purses were in the high 5 figures, occasionally topping 6 but nothing close to the multi-million dollar races that are common today. This makes his money making accomplishments even more impressive. Kelso, called "King Kelly" by many is generally ranked among the top 5 greatest thoroughbreds of all-time. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame before his death on October 16, 1983...

More October 31 Memories...

1926) Magician Harry Houdini dies of complications from a ruptured appendix on Halloween...

1941) Mount Rushmore with 60-foot busts of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln is declared complete after 14 years of work...

1950) West Virginia's Earl Lloyd becomes the NBA's 1st black player when he debuts with the Washington Capitols (the Capitols will fold 9 weeks later and Lloyd will spend most of his 9-year career with the Syracuse Nationals)...

1956) Brooklyn ends its streetcar service (buses with electric poles replace the streetcars)...

1964) Barbra Streisand's "People" LP goes #1 for 5 weeks...

1968) President Johnson orders a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam...

1970) Michelle Phillips and actor Dennis Hopper get hitched but not for long (the marriage ends in divorce 8 days later)...

1984) India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by Sikh security guards (son Rajiv is sworn in as new prime minister)...

1985) Stevie Wonder tops the charts with "Part-Time Lover"...

1986) 'Dr. J' (Julius Erving) of the 76ers announces his retirement at the end of the season...

1987) Chris Antley becomes the 1st jockey to win 9 races in 1 day (Belmont Race Track)...

1988) Debbie Gibson holds a seance at her Halloween party to contact the spirits of Liberace and Sid Vicious (you couldn't make this stuff up)...

1988) Distinguished director, producer and actor John Houseman dies at 86...

1991) Broadway producer Joseph Papp dies of cancer at 70...

1993) Movie director Federico Fellini dies in Rome at 73...

1999) EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes off the coast of Nantucket, killing all 217 aboard...

2001) A 61-year old New York Hospital worker becomes the 4th person to die from anthrax inhalation...

Happy Birthday To...

1920) Ex-jockey, author Dick Francis...

1927) Lee Grant...

1931) Dan Rather...

1950) Jane Pauley...

1961) "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson...

1964) Actor-comedian Rob Schneider...

Commentary...

Halloween is not just for kids but an industry that has taken on epic proportions in the sale of candy, costumes, greeting cards and on and on. While it hasn't been just for kids for a long time now, we need to keep a watch out for kids who will be trick-or-treating tonight. And if you're celebrating and dressing up like a fool, have fun but make it safe...

Friday-Sunday, October 28-30, 2005

The lamp of liberty is lit...

This was the day way back in 1886 that the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York harbor by President Grover Cleveland. Originally known as "Liberty Enlightening The World" until wiser heads prevailed and then we started referring to the lady in the harbor as simply "The Statue of Liberty". Thank you, wiser heads, from preventing us from saying "hey today the class will visit 'Liberty Enlightening The World". Huh ???

On October 28, 1936 the Statue of Liberty was rededicated by President Roosevelt on its 50th anniversary and in 1986 as many of you remember we had that big blowout with fireworks and network TV coverage to mark the centennial of the statue...

On a personal note, every time I see the statue I'm amazed at the site and also the size of 'The Lady' which weighs 225 tons and stands, torch in hand, a majestic 152 feet tall. The Statue of Liberty is a must-see, not only for tourists but for natives, as well. It may be 119 years old but it's still a site to behold...

More October 28 Memories...

1636) Harvard College is founded in the Bay State. The first school of higher education was originally called 'Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony' (as happened with the Statue of Liberty name change, wiser heads prevailed changing the name of the school)...

1886) The Statue of Liberty is dedicated (feature story)...

1950) "The Jack Benny Show" debuts on CBS-TV (it will run until August 30, 1977)...

1953) The 'Old Redhead' Red Barber takes his 'catbird seat' to the Bronx to do play-by-play of Yankee games...

1956) Elvis Presley makes his second appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show". On the same day "Love Me Tender" replaces "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" at the top of the charts after 11 weeks. Elvis becomes the first artist to replace himself with a #1 tune ("Love Me Tender" stays at #1 for 5 weeks)...

1961) Ground is broken for the Flushing Meadow Stadium that will become Shea Stadium, the home of the Mets (Shea will open for the start of the 1964 season)...

1962) Giant QB Y.A. Tittle passes for 7 touchdowns stopping the Redskins 6 game winning streak, 49-34...

1962) Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informs the U.S. that he has ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba, ending the Cuban Missile Crisis...

1965) Pope Paul VI issues a decree absolving Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ...

1971) John Lennon and Yoko Ono record "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" in New York City...

1973) Secretariat wins his final race in Canada and then goes to stud with 16 wins in 21 races (the greatest horse of our generation lives to 19 before being put down in 1989)...

1975) Houston's Calvin Murphy begins an NBA free throw streak of 58 games...

1975) Elton John tops the charts for the 3rd time in '75 with "Island Girl"...

1976) Former presidential aide John D. Erlichman begins his sentence for Watergate-related wrong doings...

1979) Dick Howser replaces Billy Martin as Yankee manager...

1980) Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan asks voters during a debate with President Jimmy Carter in Cleveland "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" (obviously the answer was a big, fat, resounding "NO!")...

1981) The Dodgers come back from a 2-0 deficit in games to beat the Yankees in 4 straight to win the World Series (Yankee reliever George Frasier is the loser of 3 of those games)...

1985) John A. Walker Jr. and his son, Michael Lance Walker plead quilty to charges of spying for the Soviet Union...

1989) Despite Giant great Willie Mays throwing out the first pitch, the A's complete a sweep of the Giants in the earthquake delayed World Series with a 9-6 victory as Dave Stewart (series MVP) becomes the first pitcher to win 2 games in both the ALCS and World Series...

1995) The Atlanta Braves beat Cleveland in 6 games to win the World Series, becoming the first team to win the WS in 3 different cities (1914 Boston, 1957 Milwaukee and 1995 Atlanta)...

Happy Birthday To...

1926) Former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn...

1936) Charlie Daniels (who I worked with at Epic Records)...

1937) NBA Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens...

1939) Jane Alexander...

1944) Dennis Franz...

1948) Telma Hopkins (Dawn)...

1949) Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner...

1955) Bill Gates...

1967) Julia Roberts...

1974) Joaquin Phoenix...

Saturday, October 29, 2005...

"Good night Chet...good night David...and good night for NBC News"...

That was the signature sign-off for the most famous of all TV news anchors, Chet Huntley (from New York) and David Brinkley (in Washington). 'The Huntley-Brinkley Report' began its 15 year run on this date, October 29 in 1956...

It was producer Reuven Frank who is credited with the development of the show and is generally credited with the idea of having 2 anchors. It would also be Frank who authored the famous closing line, one of television's most famous catchphrases...

Up against the 'CBS Evening News' anchored by Douglas Edwards (and directed by the legendary Don Hewitt of "60 Minutes" fame) Huntley-Brinkley struggled at first but a one-year sponsorship by Texaco and some great chemistry between the two anchors eventually won out and maintained higher ratings throughout most of the 60's...

More on "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" in my commentary...

More October 29 Memories...

1652) The Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaims itself to be an independent commonwealth...

1929) "Black Tuesday" ushers in "The Great Depression"...

1940) The first peacetime military draft begins in the U.S...

1950) Cleveland's Marion Motley sets an NFL record for the highest average gain (11.5 yds.) in a game with 188 yards on 17 carries in the Browns 45-7 blowout of the Steelers (Motley will become the first black inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968)...

1956) Israel invades Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal Crisis...

1956) "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" debuts on NBC-TV (feature story)...

1957) Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy!" is released...

1964) The Star of India and other gems are stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan (3 men are later convicted of the heist)...

1966) The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded...

1967) "Hair" opens off-Broadway...

1970) Neil Diamond receives a gold record for "Cracklin' Rosie"...

1971) Duane Allman is killed in a motorcycle crash in Macon, Georgia...

1973) Buffalo's O.J. Simpson sets 2 NFL records carrying the ball 39 times, picking up 157 yards and putting him over 1,000 yards in just the 7th Bills game...

1977) Meat Loaf's "Bat Out Of Hell" LP is released...

1987) Jazz great Woody Herman dies at 74...

1991) Buck Showalter replaces Stump Merrill as Yankee manager...

1995) Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers becomes the NFL's career leader in receiving yards with 14,040...

1998) The space shuttle 'Discovery' blasts off with 77-year old John Glenn on board (in 1962 Glenn was the 1st American to orbit the earth)...

Happy Birthday To...

1944) Denny Laine (Wings)...

1945) Melba Moore...

1947) Richard Dreyfuss...

1948) Kate Jackson...

1953) Islander great Denis Potvin...

1967) Joely Fisher...

1971) Winona Ryder...

Commentary...

"The Huntley-Brinkley Report" replaced John Cameron Swayze's "Camel News Caravan" and would be replaced by the current "NBC Nightly News" in 1970 when Chet Huntley retired...

It is common knowledge that both Huntley and Brinkley disliked their signature closing of "Good Night Chet, good night David and good night for NBC News" but it was producer Reuven Frank's baby and it remained to become one of the most famous of all TV catchphrases...

Chet Huntley was seldom seen after retiring in 1970 but David Brinkley moved over to ABC News where he anchored a Sunday morning show and was quite active for years after 'The Huntley-Brinkley Report"...

Chet Huntley died on March 20, 1974. David Brinkley passed away on June 11, 2003...

Sunday, October 30, 2005...

"War of the Worlds" creates havoc...

On this date in 1938 the medium of radio proved how powerful it really was and still is. The show was called "Mercury Theater on the Air presents Orson Welles' production of H.G. Wells' 'War of the Worlds" and it was a fictional drama. Tell that to the 6 million listeners of the broadcast and more than 1.7 million that believed the story to be true. That's almost a full third of the audience, folks! How's that for numbers ???

The story about a Martian invasion in the fictional town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey aired on Halloween and sparked a panic among listeners who believed the play was an actual news broadcast. Despite being assured it wasn't real by the radio stations that carried the show and by local authorities, the country was in an uproar and who knows, some people in New Jersey might still be bearing arms in some air raid shelter where they've been hunkered down for 67 years. That's how convincing Orson Welles was...

Tom Cruise recently starred in a remake of 'War of The Worlds' with not quite the same impact...

More October 30 Memories...

1961) The Soviet Party Congress orders the removal of Josef Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb (if somebody asks you who's buried in Stalin's tomb the answer is "not Stalin")...

1966) Johnny Unitas breaks Y.A. Tittle's record as all-time passing leader with 252 yards in a game (Johnny U. will become the 1st QB to pass for over 40,000 yards while with San Diego in 1973 and I might add that I am fortunate enough to have an autographed photo of the greatest QB of all-time)...

1971) Cornell running back Ed Marinaro runs for 272 yards against Columbia to surpass 4,000 yards and break Steve Owens' record at Oklahoma...

1972) The worst U.S. rail accident in 14 years kills 45 in Chicago...

1973) John Lennon releases his "Mind Games" LP...

1974) Kathy Silva files for divorce from "Sly", Sylvester Stewart and awards her custody of their 24-month old son (Sly had disappeared with his son and was in hiding at the time)...

1974) Muhammad Ali KOs George Foreman in the 8th round of their heavyweight title fight in Zaire...

1975) The New York Daily News runs the headline: "Ford to City: Drop Dead" a day after President Ford says he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City...

1976) Jane Pauley becomes co-anchor of "The Today Show"...

1984) Linda Ronstadt makes her operatic debut in "La Boheme" in New York City...

1984) Barry Manilow breaks Diana Ross's record at the Radio City Music Hall box office with sales exceeding $1.9 million (Ross's record is broken by $100,000)...

1989) Mitsubishi Estate Company, a major real estate concern, announces it is buying 51% of Rockefeller Group Inc. of New York (where Radio City Music Hall and Rock Center buildings are)...

1995) David Bowie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Pete Seeger, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles and The Velvet Underground are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Tom Donahue, known of the 'Father of FM Radio" goes in as a radio pioneer...

1997) A Cambridge, Mass. jury convicts British au pair Louise Woodward of second-degree murder in the death of 8-month old Matthew Eappen (the judge later reduces the verdict to manslaughter and sets Woodward free)...

2000) Comedian, 1st host of 'The Tonight Show', author and composer Steve Allen dies at 78...

2001) Michael Jordan returns to the NBA with the Washington Wizards after a 3 1/2 year retirement (the Wizards lose to the Knicks 93-91)...

Happy Birthday To...

1939) Motown songwriter Eddie Holland...

1939) Grace Slick...

1941) The Temptations' Otis Williams...

1945) 'The Fonz' Henry Winkler...

1947) The Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit...

Thursday, October 27, 2005

A tale of 2 World Series Champions separated by 18 years to the day but still connected...

October 27th is an historic date for both the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. On that date in 1986 the Mets won their second World Series title by beating the Red Sox in Game 7 of that fall classic 8-5. 18 years later to the day, the team that lost to the Mets, the Red Sox, would win their first World Series in 86 years with a 4-game sweep of the Cardinals just last year in 2004...

In 1986 the Mets World Series win was a bit anti-climactic because it followed the Buckner boot in Game 6. In 2004 the Red Sox World Series win was also anti-climactic in that they swept the Cardinals but more importantly because they had already done the impossible by beating the dreaded Yankees by becoming the first team in baseball history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in games...

Let's go back to this day one year ago to an event that was last done on September 11, 1918, the date the Red Sox won the World Series for the last time before winning it all on October 27, 2004. This was Red Sox play-by-play man Joe Castiglione's call: "swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship. Can you believe it ?...

More on the fall classic follows in my commentary...

More October 27 Memories...

1858) Roland Macy opens Macy's Department Store in New York City (it was Macy's 8th business venture, the other 7 failed)...

1904) The first rapid transit subway system (the IRT) opens in New York City (while this was referred to as the "first" rapid transit system, it was the 3rd system established. London had the 1st subway system in 1863 which was followed by Boston's in 1897)...

1938) Du Pont announces a new synthetic yarn: nylon...

1954) Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, married on January 14, 1954, are divorced...

1960) Ben E. King records his first solo releases, "Spanish Harlem" and "Stand By Me"...

1964) The Supremes release "Come See About Me"...

1964) Sonny and Cher walk down the aisle...

1966) "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians is #1...

1973) The Islanders beat the Rangers (3-2) for the first time in their young history...

1975) Bruce Springsteen appears on the cover of both 'Time' and 'Newsweek'...

1978) Sadat and Begin are named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize...

1985) The KC Royals become the 6th team to win the World Series after trailing 3 games to 1, beating the Cardinals...

1986) The Mets beat the Red Sox to win their 2nd World Series Championship (feature story)...

1987) Michael Jackson's "Bad" is #1...

1989) The World Series resumes after a 10-day delay due to an earthquake. The A's beat the Giants in Game 3, 13-7...

1991) The Minnesota Twins beat the Braves in Game 7 to win the World Series in one of the most thrilling fall classics of all time (5 of the 7 games are decided by 1 run, 4 in the last at-bat)...

1995) Gloria Estefan (who I had the pleasure to work with) performs for Pope John Paul II. She's the only pop artist to receive a call from the Pope to perform...

1995) Yolanda Saldivar is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Latina singer Selena...

1999) The Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves to win their 2nd consecutive World Series and 3 out of the last 4 years...

2000) Emmitt Smith breaks the NFL career rushing yardage record held by Walter Payton...

2003) Bank of America Corporation announces an agreement to buy FleetBoston Financial Corporation. The deal creates the second largest banking company in the U.S...

2004) Under the moon's reddish tint caused by a lunar eclipse, the Red Sox exorcise 86 years of agonizing losses by winning their 1st World Series since 1918 (feature story)...

2004) Barry Bonds 700th home run ball fetches $804,129 in an on-line auction. Steve Williams who came up with the ball in the bleachers on September 17 announces he's quitting his job as a broker's assistant...

Happy Birthday To...

1920) Nanette Fabray...

1922) Baseball Hall of Famer and Met broadcaster Ralph Kiner...

1924) Ruby Dee...

1939) John Cleese...

1952) Actor/director Roberto Benigni...

1958) Duran Duran's Simon LeBon...

1984) Kelly Osbourne...

Commentary...

One year to the day that the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years, Chicago, the other "Sox", win their first World Series in 88 years. Before winning in 2004, the Red Sox last won in 1918. Before winning last night in 2005, the White Sox last won in 1917...

This is also the 6th year in a row we have had a different team win the World Series which is proof that no longer are there 1 or 2 dominant teams in baseball, a good thing...

FYI, rooting for both the Mets and Red Sox (I know how weird that sounds) as I do it gave me great pleasure in writing today's feature story...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The Royal Order of Beatles...

This was the day in 1965 that the Beatles rocked the Palace. On October 26, 1965 the Queen of England awarded the Fab Four the prestigious MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace in London. The Beatles were now royalty...

The Beatles also made this date famous with other events in the 60s, 70s and 80s as highlighted below in my dateline of memories...

More October 26 Memories...

1955) "Rebel Without A Cause" starring James Dean premieres several weeks after the death of the 24-year old acting phenom...

1955) "The Village Voice" recently sold just days ago, is published for the first time...

1962) The Beatles perform at the Liverpool Empire. Also on the bill is Little Richard...

1965) The Beatles receive MBE honors at Buckingham Palace (feature story)...

1968) "Hey Jude" by the Beatles tops the charts for the 9th consecutive week...

1970) Gary Trudeau's "Doonesbury" premieres in 28 newspapers...

1971) Al Green's "Tired of Being Alone" goes gold...

1973) Paul McCartney & Wings release "Helen Wheels" in the U.K...

1978) Nick Gilder tops the charts with "Hot Child in the City"...

1980) 22-year old college senior Alberto Salazar runs his first New York City Marathon and sets a new course record of 2 hours 9 minutes 41 seconds...

1982) Australia's Men at Work top the charts with "Who Can It Be Now ?" (One of the groups I promoted while at CBS Records International)...

1984) Paul McCartney promotes his film "Give My Regards To Broad Street" and its soundtrack album on "Good Morning America"...

1985) Umpire Don Denkinger's controversial 1st base call helps Kansas City beat St. Louis in Game 6 of the World Series (see my commentary)...

1988) The Beatles' 1967 film "Magical Mystery Tour" is released on home video...

1990) William S. Paley, founder of CBS Inc. dies at 89...

1990) Wayne Gretzky becomes the first NHL player to reach 2,000 points...

1991) Former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry begins a 6-month sentence for cocaine possession...

1994) Wilbert ("Kansas City") Harrison dies of a stroke at 65...

1996) The Yankees come back from a 2-game deficit to beat the Braves to win the World Series, their 1st since 1978...

1996) Federal prosecutors clear Richard Jewell as a suspect in the Olympic park bombing...

1997) The Florida Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series after only 5 years of existence...

1998) The Mets potential free-agent all-star catcher Mike Piazza signs the most lucrative contract in major league history when he agrees to 7 years and over $91 million dollars from the Mets...

2000) The Yankees become the 1st team in more than a quarter of a century to win 3 straight World Series championships by beating the Mets in Game 5 of the "Subway Series" (see my commentary)...

2002) Chechen rebels siege hostages at a Moscow theater. Russian special forces use a deadly knockout gas in an attempt to rescue hostages but 129 of the 800 plus captives die...

Happy Birthday To...

1942) Bob Hoskins...

1947) Hillary Rodham Clinton...

1947) Pat Sajak...

1947) Jaclyn Smith...

1962) Dylan McDermott...

1963) Natalie ("10,000 Maniacs) Merchant

1984) Figure skater Sasha Cohen...

Commentary...

I have 2 baseball related stories, both are connected to the World Series. ESPN recently interviewed former umpire Don Denkinger who blew (admittedly) an obvious call at 1st base in the 1985 World Series that not only led to Kansas City winning the game but the World Series also. The other story is about being at Game 5 of the 2000 World Series...

Don Denkinger was pretty sure he made the right call on that play but when he saw the video replay after the game, realized he blew it. What followed were hate letters and even death threats from irate Cardinal fans. His family was also threatened. Denkinger has the photo of that play on his wall along with highlights of his career. When asked why he simply answered that he wanted a reminder that people can make mistakes in their lives. If ESPN ever runs that piece again make an effort to watch it...

Story 2 is a sad one for me. Diane and I were at Game 5 of the 2000 "Subway Series" between the Yankees and Mets and when Mike Piazza hit a long drive to the warning track that Bernie Williams had in his sights, I turned to Diane and said "we're out of here". I did not want to see the ball come down in Williams glove for the 3rd out of the game nor see the Yankees celebrate on Shea Stadium soil...

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

"Congratulations Red Sox, 1986 World Series Champions"...

That was the message flashed on the Shea Stadium scoreboard in the bottom of the 10th inning with the Mets trailing the Red Sox 5-3 with 2 out and nobody on in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Red Sox win ? Whoa, wait a minute. That premature message of congratulations would be short lived with what followed...

Gary Carter singles to left. Pinch hitter Kevin Mitchell singles to center. Series MVP Ray Knight singles to score Carter with Mitchell going to 3rd and the Mets move within one run of the Red Sox, 5-4 with 2 on and 2 out. Calvin Schiraldi replaces Bob Stanley to face Mookie Wilson. Stanley quickly gets ahead of Mookie, 0-2. With Boston one strike away from winning their 1st World Series since 1918, Stanley wild pitches Mitchell home to tie the game 5-5 as Knight advances to 2nd. Wilson fouls off a few pitches and we'll let Vin Scully make the call as he did on that night 19 years ago today: "...and now the winning run is on second with two outs, three and two to Mookie Wilson...a little roller up along first, behind the bag! It gets through Bill Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!"...

Win it they did, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 10th inning, setting up Game 7 of the 1986 World Series which would be won by the New York Mets. Some interesting factoids about that classic Game 6 in my commentary...

More October 25 Memories...

1961) Dion tops the charts with his biggest hit, "Runaround Sue"...

1962) Addressing the U.N. Adlai Stevenson demands Russian ambassador Zorin to explain the presence of missiles in Cuba saying "I am prepared to wait for my answer untill hell freezes over"...

1964) Viking Jim Marshall runs 66 yards in the wrong direction for a safety (oops, all end zones look the same don't they ?)...

1964) The Rolling Stones make their TV debut in America on "The Ed Sullivan Show"...

1965) The Rolling Stones release "Get Off Of My Cloud"...

1968) Yoko Ono announces that she's having John Lennon's baby...

1974) Dionne Warwick & the Spinners collaborate on the #1 hit, "Then Came You"...

1981) In one of the more bizarre George Steinbrenner sagas, "The Boss" claims that he broke his hand in an L.A. elevator in a fight with Dodger fans (during the 1981 World Series)...

1983) "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton is #1...

1986) The Mets rally for 3 runs in the 10th inning to win Game 6 of the World Series (feature story)...

1990) Evander Holyfield KOs Buster Douglas for the heavyweight boxing title...

1990) The New York Daily News goes on strike (it lasts through March, 1991)...

1991) Rock promoter Bill Graham dies in a helicopter crash at 60...

1992) Singer/songwriter Roger Miller dies of cancer at 56...

1993) Horror film actor Vincent Price dies at 82...

1994) Susan Smith claims that a black carjacker drove off with her 2 sons but later confesses to drowning them. She will be convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence...

1996) Frank, brother of Joe, Torre receives a heart transplant...

1999) Golf pro Payne Stewart and 5 others die in a Learjet crash in South Dakota...

2003) The Marlins' Josh Beckett pitches 'The Fish' to the World Series Championship with a 2-0 whitewashing of the Yankees (Florida wins their second WS title in 7 seasons)...

2003) Florida State's Bobby Bowden becomes the winningest coach in major college football history with his 339th victory as the Seminoles beat Wake Forest 48-24...

Happy Birthday To...

1923) Giant hero Bobby Thomson...

1928) Marion Ross...

1940) Bobby Knight...

1942) Helen Reddy...

1948) Celtic great Dave Cowens...

1954) Captain of the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal U.S. hockey team Mike Eruzione...

1971) Pedro Martinez...

Commentary...

In anticipation of a Red Sox championship when it looked like the Sox would win Game 6 of the '86 World Series:

Roger Clemens shaved soon after being removed from the game, hoping to look good for the celebration...

Before being called on to pinch hit, Kevin Mitchell was busy making flight plans to return home to San Diego. According to Mitchell, just before Stanley's wild pitch, Mets 3rd base coach Bud Harrelson said to be prepared for a ball in the dirt...

Keith Hernandez had gone to manager Davey Johnson's office and was drinking a beer during the 9th inning and later claimed that Johnson's chair brought the Mets good luck...

Newly installed NL president Bart Giamatti a major Sox fan was seen muttering profanities about manager John McNamara's decision to keep a hobbled Bill Buckner in the game in late innings. Just prior to the start of the series Bill Buckner during a TV interview for a Boston station jokingly brought up the fear of allowing the other team to score the winning run on a ball going through his legs...

3rd base umpire Harry Wendelstedt asked Wade Boggs to give him his hat once the game ended, to add to his personal collection...

Bob Costas was already in the Red Sox clubhouse in preparation for the celebration...

Postponed by rain, Game 7 was televised opposite 'Monday Night Football' (Giants-Redskins) and received a Neilsen rating of 38.9 versus an 8.8 for MNF. And of course, the Mets won Game 7, 8-5 to win their second World Series Championship...

Monday, October 24, 2005

Remembering Jack Roosevelt Robinson...

Jackie Robinson was a 27-year old rookie when he became the first black player in major league history, so it stands to reason that we wouldn't have this multi-talented athlete with us that long. Jackie would give us more talent and excitement in 10 years than some players who played twice as long. Jackie Robinson would debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947 and win Rookie of the Year honors in his first season. He would finish his career with a .311 batting average and an MVP award in 1949, the same year he would lead the National League with a .342 batting average. He appeared in 6 World Series including the year the Dodgers won the fall classic in 1955. He was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1962...

After Jackie had played his last game as a Dodger, the only team he would ever play for, on September 30, 1956 he was sold to the cross-town rival Giants but Robinson chose to retire at 37 instead. Robinson, a 4-sport star at UCLA joined the corporate world following his retirement, becoming a vice-president with the Chock Full O' Nuts corporation, then served on the board of the NAACP until 1967...

Robinson's final years were marked by tragedy, losing his elder son, Jackie, Jr. to an automobile crash in 1971. His health deteriorated due to the diabetes that plagued him in mid-life. He was virtually blind and suffered severe heart problems before passing away on October 24, 1972 at the age of 53. By his side, as she was throughout his life was wife Rachel who Jackie had met at UCLA...

In 1997, Jackie's famous #42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball, never to be worn again. It was the first and only such honor awarded a player...

Some personal memories of Jackie Robinson in my commentary...

More October 24 Memories...

1929) The stock market crashes on 'Black Thursday'...

1931) The George Washington Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey opens...

1945) The United Nations officially comes into existence...

1949) The cornerstone for the U.N. Headquarters is laid in Manhattan...

1962) The U.S. blockade of Cuba officially begins...

1967) Lulu is #1 with "To Sir With Love"...

1973) Heavy fog causes a 65-car collision killing 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike...

1980) Paul McCartney is honored by the Guinness Book of World Records for being the best-selling songwriter and recording artist in music history...

1987) NBC technicians accept a new contract, ending a 118-day strike...

1988) The Islanders' Mike Bossy retires...

1989) The Reverend Jim Bakker is sentenced to 50 years for fraud (in 1991 his sentence is reduced to 18 years and he's released after serving 5)...

1989) Hank Ballard, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Bobby Darin, the Four Tops, the Four Seasons, the Kinks, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the Platters, the Who, Simon & Garfunkel are all inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...

1992) The Toronto Blue Jays become the 1st team outside the U.S. to win the World Series (over the Atlanta Braves in 6 games)...

1997) Former NBC sportscaster Marv Albert is spared a jail sentence after a court room apology to the woman he sunk his bicuspids in during a sexual encounter...

1999) Ricky Williams of Texas University becomes the leading scorer in Division 1-A history with his 2 TD's against Baylor to give him 428 career points (breaking the record of Roman Anderson (who ?) of Houston in 1989)...

2002) Army veteran John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo are arrested in connection with the Washington D.C. area sniper attacks...

2003) The last commercial SST Concorde flight lands in London...

Happy Birthday To...

1926) Former Giant QB Y.A. Tittle...

1936) David (Ricky's older 'bro) Nelson...

1936) The Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman...

1947) Kevin Kline...

1975) Patriot running back Corey Dillon...

Commentary...

When I would go to Ebbets Field with either my sister or cousin (both Dodger fans) we would often wait in the player's parking lot to get autographs after the game. This is something you could do without paying for it in the 50's. Most of the Dodgers were good guys and would give you an autograph if you got to them before they would hurry off to their cars but one exception was Jackie Robinson who would quickly brush by you and be off. Little did we know of the death threats and hate mail he received that made him uneasy with fans. We wouldn't find that out until his playing days were over...

In Jackie Robinson's final playing days his hair had already started graying and he walked more deliberately with a limp off the playing field. He was literally aging as you watched him. You just knew you were seeing the end of a brief but great career...

Jackie would die 16 years after playing his last game, on this date, October 24th in 1972...

Friday-Sunday, October 21-23, 2005

"Stay fair! Stay fair!...

Flashback to October 21, 1975. How can we ever forget Carlton Fisk looking up at his drive to left field, waving his hands toward fair territory with mouth wide open, begging the ball to "stay fair, stay fair" ? To refresh your memory, this was the 12th inning of Game 6 of the World Series between the Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds with the score tied 6-6. If Fisk's ball is fair it's a home run and there is a Game 7. We would have a Game 7 as the ball went barely inside the foul pole at Fenway Park...

That 7-6 Red Sox win is to this day one of the greatest World Series moments in history. But that win wouldn't have been possible without a 3-run pinch-hit home run by Bernie Carbo in the bottom of the 8th. Red Sox right fielder Dwight Evans contributed big time also with his circus catch stopping a Cincinnati threat in the 11th. A record total of 12 pitchers were used in this come-from-behind victory by the Red Sox...

There was another game after the 4-hour marathon that ended at 12:33, a bit of an anticlimactic affair won by the Reds as Cincinnati would win this World Series in 7 games but the highlight of the series was Game 6. Reds manager Sparky Anderson described Game 6 as "probably as good a ball game as I've ever seen". Pete Rose added, "this was some kind of game". Not disagreeing was Carlton Fisk who said "it was a fantastic game"...

More October 21 Memories...

1957) The Elvis Presley movie "Jailhouse Rock" premieres...

1958) Buddy Holly records "True Love Ways", It Doesn't Matter Anymore" & "Raining in my Heart" in his last recording session...

1959) The Guggenheim Museum opens to the public...

1960) JFK and Richard Nixon clash in their 4th and final presidential debate...

1973) The A's beat the Mets in 7 games to win the World Series and Dick Williams announces that he's stepping down as A's manager after the game...

1975) Carlton Fisk wins Game 6 of the World Series (feature story)...

1976) The Reds sweep the Yankees in 4 games to win the World Series...

1976) The Knicks retire Willis Reed's #19...

1988) Former Philippine President Marcos and his wife Imelda were indicted on fraud and racketeering charges (Marcos would die before his trial and Imelda would be acquitted in 1990),,,

1992) Madonna's erotic photograph book "Sex" is released. 500,000 copies are sold in the first run...

1998) Following a 4-game sweep of San Diego in the World Series, The Yankees set a major league record of 125 wins for a regular and postseason combined...

Happy Birthday To...

1928) Whitey Ford...

1940) Manfred Mann...

1941) Steve Cropper...

1942) Judge Judy Sheindlin...

1949) Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

1956) Carrie Fisher...

Saturday, October 22, 2005...

The Rocket goes off...

Mets catcher Mike Piazza was again the target of Roger Clemens in Game 2 of the Subway World Series between the Mets and Yankees on this date in 2000. Beaned by Clemens in July, this time Mike had the shard of his bat hurled in his direction that cleared both benches before order was restored. Piazza was running to first on a ball that would go foul when Clemens picked up a piece of Mike's bat and threw it in his direction. Piazza was stunned and 'The Rocket's' "I thought it was the ball" explanation hard to swallow...

The game resumed with Clemens allowing but 2 hits, striking out 9 in a 6-5 victory over the Mets. While Joe Torre would go on to defend his pitcher he did add "It was just emotional. Should he have done it ? No". Meanwhile Clemens insisted "there was no intent there". No one except possibly Roger Clemens ever believed it...

More October 22 Memories...

1939) In the first televised pro football game, Brooklyn defeats Philadelphia 23-14...

1950) The Los Angeles Rams set an NFL record by defeating the Baltimore Colts 70-27. It was a record score for a regular season game...

1960) Cassius Clay wins his first professional fight...

1962) John F. Kennedy addresses a TV audience about the Russian missile bases in Cuba...

1966) The Supremes become the first all-female group to score a #1 LP with "Supremes a Go-Go"...

1966) The Beach Boys release the classic "Good Vibrations"...

1975) The World Football League disbands...

1975) The Reds beat the Red Sox in the 72nd World Series...

1978) Bill Rodgers wins the New York City Marathon while Grete Weitz sets a world record for females in 2:32:29.8...

1979) The government allows the deposed Shah of Iran to be treated at New York Hospital, a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage crisis...

1981) The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization is decertified for its strike the previous August...

1988) Elton John sells out Madison Square Garden for a record 26th time...

2002) The 13th and final attack linked to the Washington-area sniper kills a bus driver who is shot to death...

Happy Birthday To...

1917) Joan Fontaine...

1938) Christopher Lloyd...

1942) Annette Funicello...

1943) Catherine Deneuve...

1945) Leslie West...

1945) The Rascals' Eddie Brigati...

1952) Jeff Goldblum...

Commentary...

Living close enough to New York Hospital at the time the Shah of Iran was hospitalized in 1979 gave me an eye-witness view of the beginning of demonstrations against the United States. Located on First Avenue, crowds of irate demonstrators began assembling, shouting and marching in protest. The demonstrators started on First Avenue but then marchers took their protest to the U.N. This continued until the Shah left the hospital. It would lead to the hostage crisis in Iran...

Was this government right to allow the deposed Shah to be hospitalized here ? Absolutely. What was not expected was the devastating reaction to it...

Sunday, October 23, 2005...

The 1983 Beirut bombing...

What many consider the beginning of anti-U.S. attacks by Islamist groups took place in April of 1983 when the U.S. Embassy suffered a suicide bombing that took the lives of 16 Americans, a total of 63 fatalities and hundreds of others were wounded. What followed on this date in 1983 was far worse...

On October 23, 1983 at 6:20AM, a yellow Mercedes delivery truck packed with explosives barreled into U.S. Marine headquarters located at the airport in Beirut, collapsing the 4-story building into rubble and another bomb about 20 seconds later ripped apart the French paratrooper barracks. When the smoke had cleared 241 American servicemen were dead, 58 French paratroopers perished as well. It was the deadliest single-day death toll for the Marine Corps since World War II. To this day it's the deadliest post-World War II attack on Americans overseas...

Air strikes were launched in retaliation, the Marines were moved offshore and while responsibility for the attack remains uncertain, it is believed that it was the Hezbollah militant group, backed by Iran and Syria that was responsible...

This event is considered by many to be the beginning of the War on Terror...

More October 23 Memories...

1929) The Great Depression begins with the stock-market crash...

1945) Dodger President Branch Rickey announces the signing of UCLA football star Jackie Robinson to a baseball contract...

1956) NBC broadcasts the first video tape coast to coast. It's a tape of Jonathan Winters performing...

1965) "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by the Byrds is released...

1973) President Nixon agrees to turn over the Watergate tapes (uh-oh)...

1978) CBS Records raises its LP prices $1 to $8.98...

1979) Yankee manager Billy Martin is involved in a barroom fight with a marshmallow salesman (you couldn't make this stuff up)...

1983) The Beirut bombing (feature story)...

1991) Clarence Thomas is sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice...

1993) Blue Jay outfielder Joe Carter becomes the 2nd player to hit a walk-off World Series home run and for the first time a team from outside this country wins the fall classic...

1995) A jury in Houston convicts Yolanda Saldivar of murdering Tejano singer Selena...

1996) The civil trial of O.J. Simpson opens. Simpson will be found liable for the deaths of ex-wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman...

Happy Birthday To...

1931) Hall of Fame pitcher and now Senator of Kentucky Jim Bunning...

1940) Songwriter Ellie Greenwich...

1940) Soccer great Pele...

1942) Michael Crichton...

1959) Weird Al Yankovic...

1962) Patriot backup quarterback Doug Flutie...

1965) Former Met and Yankee pitcher Al Leiter...

Thursday, October 20, 2005

The Boston Red Sox make baseball history and they do it at Yankee Stadium...

After losing the first 3 games of the ALCS to the Yankees, the Red Sox would become the first team in baseball history to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3 games to none and they did it with authority. Johnny Damon's 2 home runs (one a grand slam), 2 by Mark Bellhorn and one by Big Papi, David Ortiz left little doubt as to the outcome of this game. Add to that, 6 innings of 1 hit, 1 run pitching by Derek Lowe and you have a convincing 10-3 win by the team that was forever under the 'Curse of the Bambino'. That curse was annihilated forever by this decisive victory...

Boston joined the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 Islanders as the only teams in professional sports history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win a 7-game series and they did it in 'The House that Ruth Built', Yankee Stadium. With Alan Embree pitching with 2 out in the 9th inning, pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra's ground ball to Pokey Reese at second base put the Red Sox in the record books...

Not even Bucky ("bleepin') Dent throwing out the first pitch and putting Sox management in the Babe Ruth Suite could deter these Red Sox who would celebrate on the field, on the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium...

More October 20 Memories...

1956) Bill Haley & the Comets and Elvis Presley perform on the same bill at Brooklyn High School in Cleveland...

1960) Ralph Houk replaces Casey Stengel as Yankee manager...

1960) The Elvis Presley film, "G.I. Blues" premieres...

1961) Bob Dylan's self-titled debut LP is released...

1962) The Four Seasons release "Big Girls Don't Cry"...

1968) Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy & Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis walk down the aisle...

1973) The Steve Miller Band releases "The Joker"...

1973) Special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox is fired by President Nixon. Attorney General Richardson, Deputy Attorney General Ruckelhaus and Solicitor General Bork resign in protest...

1976) The Nets sell Julius "Dr. J" Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers...

1977) 3 members of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die in the crash of a chartered plane...

1978) The Police perform at their first U.S. concert at CBGB's...

1979) The John F. Kennedy Library in Boston is dedicated...

1981) The Knicks beat the Nets in the first NBA game played at Meadowlands Arena...

1987) Subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz is sentenced to 6 months in jail...

1991) Clint Black and Lisa Hartman say their "I do's"...

2004) The Red Sox beat the Yankees (feature story)...

Happy Birthday To...

1925) Newspaper columnist Art Buchwald...

1937) Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal...

1939) The Tokens' Jay Siegal...

1946) Connie Chung...

1950) Tom Petty...

1953) Ex-Met Keith Hernandez...

1971) Snoop Dogg...

Commentary...

Red Sox fans waited a long time to beat the Yankees so October 20, 2004 is and always will be a day of infamy and may have been a bigger victory than the team's eventual sweep of the Cardinals in the World Series that would follow. Not only did they win, they won convincingly and made baseball history in doing it...

While the 'Curse of the Bambino' wouldn't finally be lifted until the Sox won their 1st World Series in 86 years, mark October 20th as the day it really happened...

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Black Monday...

Up until October 19th, 1987 was a pretty benign year. President Ronald Reagan was winding down his second term in office with just over a year left, the economy was good with a boom expected soon. We were flocking to the movies again to see "Three Men and A Baby", "The Cosby Show" was TV's #1 show, Spuds Mackenzie and Max Headroom became household names and best of all, regular gas was only 95 cents a gallon. Things were good, until October 19th...

The term 'Black Monday' was new to us but to those who were alive in 1929 they well remember when the stock market crashed and 'Black Monday' followed 'Black Thursday' and was in turn followed by 'Black Tuesday'. We didn't have a 'Black Friday' because they closed the market that day to recover from the horrific 'Black Thursday' that not only left people broke but jumping off buildings as well. 'Black Monday' 1987 wasn't anywhere as severe but we lost almost a quarter of our economy (22.6%) that day. Not only did we take a hit but markets all over the world did as well. On 'Black Monday' the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its largest one day decline in history...

Music oftentimes reflects current events and so it did on 'Black Monday', October 19, 1987. One of the biggest hits of the day was by Crowded House. It was called "Don't Dream It's Over" and the #1 hit that day ? "Bad" by Michael Jackson...

More October 19 Memories...

1953) Julius LaRosa was fired on the "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" TV show because "Julius had lost his humility". Godfrey didn't mind losing one of his "friends" however...

1959) Patty Duke at the age of 12, makes her Broadway debut in "The Miracle Worker"...

1960) The U.S. imposes an embargo on all exports (except medical supplies and certain food products) to Cuba...

1969) The Temptations top the charts with "I Can't Get Next To You"...

1969) VP Spiro T. Agnew calls anti-Vietnam War protesters "an effete corps of impudent snobs" (which sent protesters scurrying for dictionaries)...

1973) Ringo Starr releases "Photograph"...

1977) The supersonic Concorde makes its first landing in New York...

1983) The U.S. Senate approves a bill establishing a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr...

1985) "Take On Me" by a-ha tops the charts (it's the first #1 hit for a group from Norway)...

1986) Cyndi Lauper tops the charts with "True Colors"...

1987) "Black Monday" (feature story)...

1987) It's 'musical chairs' time again in the Bronx: Woody Woodward resigns as Yankee GM with Lou Piniella replacing him. Billy Martin is named Yankee manager for the 5th and final time...

2004) Curt Schilling, bloody sock and all, pitches the Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Yankees setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 for the AL pennant tomorrow...

Happy Birthday To...

1922) Columnist Jack Anderson...

1931) Spy-novelist John le Carre...

1937) Pop-artist Peter Max...

1945) John Lithgow...

1962) Evander Holyfield...

1967) Amy Carter...

1970) Former SNL comedian Chris Kattan...

Commentary...

What I remember most about 'Black Monday' was listening to the buzz that was going on at CBS International by my fellow workers about selling their shares of CBS stock while it was still at a good price. Not knowing how low the market would go I did and it was a good decision to make. Hundreds of thousands of people did the same thing but somehow the market stabilized despite all the sell orders...

Looking back on a bad day for America, it doesn't seem that it took long at all for the economy to recover and recover it did. In retrospect, 'Black Monday' was just a temporary hit that we took. This of course, in light of events like 911 and hurricane Katrina paled in comparison of things to come...

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Reg-gie...Reg-gie...Reg-gie !!!

With weather more suited for football than baseball, the 56,407 at Yankee Stadium assembled for World Series Game 6 were shivering in their seats on the night of October 18, 1977 as Reggie Jackson came to the plate in the 4th inning with the Yankees trailing the Dodgers 3-2...

Reggie who walked in his first at-bat on 4 straight pitches faced Burt Hooten with a runner at first base. Jackson didn't waste any time, swinging at the first pitch and lining a drive into the right field seats for a 4-3 lead that chased Hooten from the game. On Reggie's next at-bat in the 5th inning, this time facing Elias Sosa with a runner at first, one pitch, another home run in the right field seats to put the Yankees comfortably ahead of the Dodgers 7-2. With chants of "Reg-gie, Reg-gie, Reg-gie" filling the stands, Reggie Jackson was one home run away from baseball immortality. Knuckleballer Charlie Hough now pitching in the 8th. Hough floated a slow knuckler up to the plate and Reggie deposited it 450 feet away into the black seats in the bleachers in deep center field. Reggie became "Mr. October" with those 3 home runs, each hit on the first pitch offered...

The Yankees won Game 6, beating the Dodgers 8-4 and won the World Series 4 games to 2. But it was Reggie Jackson who was the big story of this fall classic as he accomplished the impossible, hitting 3 home runs in 1 game, 5 overall. No one, including the great Babe Ruth, ever achieved what Reggie did that night in the Bronx. 3 home runs in one game and 5 overall are World Series records...

To no one's surprise, Reggie Jackson was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1977 World Series...

More October 18 Memories...

1954) WNBC Radio changes call letters to WRCA...

1957) Paul McCartney debuts with the Quarry Men in Liverpool...

1964) The Animals begin their first U.S. tour...

1968) The U.S. Olympic Committee suspends Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving a black power salute as a protest during a victory ceremony in Mexico City...

1969) Rod Stewart joins Small Faces...

1969) The Jackson Five make their first TV appearance on ABC-TV's "Hollywood Palace"...

1969) The government bans artificial sweetners known as cyclamates because of evidence they cause cancer in laboratory rats...

1971) After 34 years, the final issue of "Look" magazine is published...

1974) A female companion throws a pot of boiling grits at Al Green and then commits suicide...

1975) Simon & Garfunkel reunite on 'Saturday Night Live'...

1976) Chicago tops the charts with "If You Leave Me Now". It's the group's 11th top 10 hit but their first #1 hit...

1977) Reggie Jackson makes World Series history (feature story)...

Happy Birthday To...

1921) Jesse Helms...

1926) Chuck Berry...

1928) Keith Jackson...

1933) Peter Boyle...

1939) Mike Ditka...

1956) Martina Navratilova...

1958) Thomas "Hitman" Hearns...

Commentary...

My first personal Reggie Jackson memory concerns my son Rob, a pre-teen at the time who sent one of Reggie's Topps baseball cards to his apartment in Manhattan hoping for an autograph. Months went by, no autograph, no valuable baseball card. Then one day it happened, Rob's self-addressed envelope was in the mailbox and yes you could tell there was something in it. Inside the envelope was the Topps card with Reggie's famous autograph...

Memory #2 is from the interview of Yogi Berra I did in the Yankee dugout prior to a game in 1980. The interview was for a Watermark "Soundtrack of the Sixties" show. Former Yankee batboy and friend Joe D'Ambrosio set that interview up for me, thank you Joe. When I got through with the interview, I asked Reggie if I could ask him a few questions, which he declined to do. Reggie didn't want to be an afterthought and asked me why I didn't ask him earlier. Reggie was quite the showman that day. Reggie doesn't really carry on conversations, he holds audiences. He was explaining to any Yankee who would listen, why he used a black bat instead of a white one. The explanation centered around being harder for position players to see a white ball against a black bat after it comes off the bat. It didn't make sense to me or probably to the assembled Yankees but it did make sense to Reggie and who could argue with the player who on the night of October 18, 1977 became "Mr. October" forever ???

Monday, October 17, 2005

This World Series rocks...

A funny thing happened on the way to Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, well not that funny...an earthquake ! The Bay Area Fall Classic was interupted by, of all things, a quake registering 7.1 on the Richter scale resulting in 67 deaths, 3,100 injuries and a whopping $7 billion in damage...

While there was no damage at either Candlestick Park in San Francisco or Oakland's Alameda County Stadium, Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent postponed Game 3 for 10 days, moving it to October 27th. Some critics called for cancellation of the remainder of the Series out of respect for victims of the quake but most felt that it would be better to move on as part of the bay area's healing process..

When the World Series resumed the Oakland A's took a commanding 3-0 advantage in games over the Giants and would close out the Series with a win the following day in Game 4 to sweep San Francisco in 4 games...

This was a bittersweet championship for Oakland, dedicated to the victims of the San Francisco earthquake. How can we ever forget the scenes of twisted expressways with cars and their passengers hanging on for dear life, the broken streets, the house fires, people running for their lives, the total devastation caused by an earthquake ? The Oakland A's may have won the World Series but the Bay Area won the hearts of the world...

More October 17 Memories...

1919) The Radio Corporation of America is created...

1933) "News-Week" appears on newsstands for the first time. The name of the magazine is later changed to "Newsweek"...

1960) Billboard Magazine reports that Dion & the Belmonts are breaking up...

1962) The Beatles make their first appearance on Britain's Grenada TV Network...

1962) "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers tops the charts (the Halloween hit will re-enter the charts in 1970 & '73 reaching #10 in 1973)...

1964) "She's Not There" is released by the Zombies...

1964) The Yankees fire manager Yogi Berra...

1967) "Hair" premieres at New York's Public Theatre...

1969) The New York Nets move from Comack to Island Garden in Hempstead...

1970) Eric Clapton releases "After Midnight"...

1972) Chuck Berry has his first & only #1 hit, "My Ding-a-Ling"...

1973) "The Way We Were" starring Barbra Streisand & Robert Redford premieres...

1974) The Oakland A's win their 3rd consecutive World Series beating Los Angeles in 5 games...

1978) The Yankees beat the Dodgers in 6 games to repeat as World Champions...

1979) "Beatlemania" closes at the Winter Garden Theater after 920 performances...

1979) Mother Teresa wins the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the destitute in Calcutta...

1985) Lou Piniella is named Yankee manager...

1988) Dallas Green replaces Lou Piniella as Yankee manager (Steinbrenner strikes again)...

1988) Phil Collins reaches the top of the charts with "Groovy Kind of Love" (The Mindbenders went to #2 with the original version in 1966)...

1989) The Bay Area World Series is rocked by an earthquake (feature story)...

1991) The legendary Tennessee Ernie Ford dies at 72...

1997) The remains of Che Guevara are laid to rest in his adopted Cuba, 30 years after his execution in Bolivia...

1999) Santana's "Supernatural" tops the charts, the group's first #1 hit in 28 years...

2000) Just in time for Halloween, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum opens in Times Square...

Happy Birthday To...

1921) Tom Poston...

1930) Jimmy Breslin...

1938) Evel Knievel...

1941) Jim Seals (Seals & Crofts)...

1948) Margot (Lois Lane) Kidder...

1962) Mike ("Beavis & Butthead) Judge...

1972) Eminem...

Commentary...

ABC-TV had started its pre-game show leading into Game 3 of the 1989 World Series when the earthquake hit and before they lost their transmission you saw a worried game crew that somehow managed to remain calm despite the swaying in the pressbox and then some shaky live camera coverage before the lights went out when the electricity was turned off in the ballpark. Remarkably there was no major structural damage at Candlestick Park...

While what transpired in the World Series took a backseat to the earthquake and resulting devastation, it should be noted that Oakland pitcher Dave Stewart started 2 games, winning both, struck out 14 in 16 innings of work and had an overall Series earned run average of 1.69. Dave Stewart was voted World Series Most Valuable Player...

Friday-Sunday, October 14-16, 2005

On the brink of nuclear war...

The buildup of Russian missiles in Cuba started as a decision made by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in May of 1962 to threaten the welfare of the United States from a scant 90 miles away. By late July over 60 Soviet ships were steaming their way to Cuba, many carrying military material that included nuclear warheads. This is the dateline for the Cuban Missile Crisis. It began on October 14th and ended November 20, 1962...

In late August a U-2 flight photographed a new series of SAM missile sites being constructed in Cuba but as early as September 4th, President Kennedy told Congress there was no threat to the U.S. trying to buy time and gather evidence which could be shown to the world about what was developing into an imminent and deadly threat. In a televised address on October 22nd he did just that. Photos of the installation were shown for the first time and the president and his cabinet vowed that an attack by the Soviet Union would be responded to in kind. JFK then placed a naval quarantine on Cuba preventing further Soviet shipments of military weapons...

What developed over the next 38 days was downright frightening. It was the closest we would come to nuclear war in the 20th century. U.S. troops numbering over 40,000 were poised to attack Cuba and war planes were prepared to scramble from Florida. The Soviets would back down however, removing their missiles from Cuba. The world breathed a sigh of relief that was almost audible. We would not have that nuclear war that everyone feared...

Dean Rusk, a trusted member of JFK's cabinet would capture the moment with this statement, "We went eyeball to eyeball and the other fellow just blinked"...

More October 14 Memories...

1926) A.A. Milne's book "Winnie-the-Pooh" is published...

1947) Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to break the sound barrier...

1957) Elvis Presley releases "Jailhouse Rock"...

1962) The Cuban Missile Crisis begins (feature story)...

1964) Martin Luther King, Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize...

1966) Grace Slick makes her 1st appearance with Jefferson Airplane...

1972) "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by the Temptations is released...

1973) Willie Mays gets his last hit as the Mets beat the A's in Game 2 of the World Series...

1977) Bing Crosby is the victim of a fatal heart attack at 74...

1979) "Rise" by Herb Alpert is #1...

1979) Wayne Gretzky, "The Great One" scores his 1st NHL goal...

1980) Bob Marley plays his last concert...

1984) Tiger manager Sparky Anderson becomes the 1st manager to win 100 games and a World Series in both leagues...

1985) Joe Namath's #12 is retired as the Jets beat Miami 23-7 on Monday Night Football (Good thing Suzy Kolber was too young to cover the game)...

1986) Holocaust victim Elie Wiesel wins the Nobel Peace Prize...

1987) Jessica McClure, 18 months old, falls down an abandoned well in Midland, Texas. She is rescued 58 hours later...

1988) "Red Red Wine" by UB40 tops the charts...

1990) Leonard Bernstein dies at 72...

1993) Rolling Stone magazine ranks Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video, #1 in video history...

1998) Federal authorities charge Eric Robert Randolph with the 1996 Summer Olympic bombing in Atlanta...

Happy Birthday To...

1910) Coach John Wooden...

1916) Former surgeon general C. Everett Koop...

1927) Roger Moore...

1938) John Dean...

1939) Ralph Lauren...

1946) The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward...

1978) Usher...

Saturday, October 15, 2005...

"I Love Lucy" debuts...

One of the most popular TV sitcoms in history, a series that ranked top 3 for 6 of its 10 years, made its debut on October 15, 1951. "I Love Lucy" has made people laugh for over half a century and they haven't stopped yet...

Lucille Ball insisted that real-life husband Desi Arnaz play her TV husband as well, not a popular choice considering Desi, a Cuban, spoke a pigeon-english at best (as in "'splain it to me Lucy"). Lucy got her way with TV executives and Desilu Productions was on its way to becoming a multimillion-dollar industry...

When "I Love Lucy" ended in the fall of '61, "The Lucy Show" debuted in '62 and ran for 6 seasons. That show would become "Here's Lucy" which would run until cancelled in 1974. "Life With Lucy" was a short-run 2 month series that would start and end in 1986. Lucy, 75 at the time decided she had had enough. Lucille Ball would die of congestive heart failure in 1989 at 78...

In my commentary I'll mention some of the all-time favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes...

More October 15 Memories...

1959) "The Untouchables" premieres...

1962) Bobby Richardson grabs Willie McCovey's line drive for the final out as the Yankees win their 20th World Series over the Giants in 7 games...

1964) Nikita Krushchev is removed as Soviet Premier and replaced by Alexei N. Kosygin...

1968) Led Zeppelin make their debut performance in England...

1969) The Madison Square Garden (MSG) TV Network begins with an NHL game between the Rangers and North Stars...

1970) Brooks Robinson is the offensive and defensive star of the 67th World Series as Baltimore beats the Reds in 5 games...

1971) Rick Nelson is booed when he performs new material at an oldies show at Madison Square Garden (hmmm, could be a reason to write a hit record)...

1973) "The Tomorrow Show" hosted by Tom Snyder debuts on NBC-TV...

1976) The 1st VP debate features Walter Mondale vs. Bob Dole...

1977) "Rumours", the Fleetwood Mac LP is released (I think it's still on the charts)...

1977) "Slip Slidin' Away" by Paul Simon is released (those are the Oak Ridge Boys you hear doing backup vocals)...

1977) Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" goes to #1 and stays there for 10 weeks (read my comment on "Rumours")...

1979) The Knicks retire Walt "Clyde" Frazier's #10...

1986) The Mets beat the Astros 7-6 in the longest postseason game in history to-date (16 innings) to win the NL pennant...

1988) With 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning, an injured Kirk Gibson hits a dramatic 2-run home run ("I don't believe what I just saw") to give the Dodgers a 5-4 win in Game 1 of their World Series with the A's...

1989) Wayne Gretzky of the LA Kings picks up his 1,850th point to pass Gordie Howe to set a new NHL record for points scored...

1991) The Senate narrowly confirms the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, 52-48...

2002) ImClone's Sam Waksal pleads quilty to insider trading (uh, oh, Martha)...

Happy Birthday To...

1908) John Kenneth Galbraith...

1917) Arthur Schlesinger Jr...

1924) Lee Iacocca...

1942) Penny Marshall...

1946) Richard Carpenter...

1959) Sarah (Fergie) Ferguson...

Commentary...

It's hard to rank my favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes so I won't. I will give you my 5 favorite episodes in no particular order because they're all so good. 1) "Vitameatavegamin", 2) Lucy stuffing her mouth with chocolates flying by on a conveyor belt, 3) Lucy stomping on grapes in Italy to make wine, 4) Lucy pinned to her kitchen wall while baking bread and 5) Lucy (along with Ethel) trying to steal John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theatre...

I hope my list conjures up some good memories and laughs as you visualize your favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes...

Sunday, October 16, 2005...

Truly Amazin'...

October 16, 1969 is a day that will live in infamy (if I might borrow that FDR line). 57,397 was the actual attendance at Shea Stadium that day although I'm sure it's grown to at least 5,739,700 by now. Countless millions more were glued to their TV sets as the New York Mets would wait no longer for a World Championship trophy. When the flyball hit by future Met manager Davey Johnson landed in leftfielder Cleon Jones glove, the New York Mets had defeated the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles in 5 games to win their first World Championship...

The road to the Mets championship was clearly in site when they won the National League pennant with a 3-game sweep of the Braves 10 days earlier. 22 days earlier they beat the hated Cubs to win the East...

A Wall Street parade down "the canyon of heroes" awaited these Amazin' Mets as New York City and a world of underdog fans celebrated...More in my commentary...

More October 16 Memories...

1923) The Disney Company is founded...

1943) Welcome to the new world Chicago. The Windy City opens a new subway system...

1956) The Elvis Presley film "Love Me Tender" premieres...

1957) "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke is released...

1963) The last issue of 'The New York Daily Mirror' hits the newsstands...

1969) The Mets win their 1st World Series (feature story)...

1971) "Theme From Shaft" by Isaac Hayes is released...

1978) Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla is elected pope. He takes the name John Paul II...

1987) Rescuers free Jessica McClure from the Midland, Texas well...

1995) Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan leads the "Million Man March" in Washington, D.C...

2000) Chevron announces that it's buying Texaco for $35 billion...

2002) President Bush signs a congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq...

Happy Birthday To...

1925) Angela Lansbury...

1941) Tim McCarver...

1946) Suzanne Somers...

1958) Tim Robbins...

1977) John Mayer...

Commentary...

When the Mets won the World Series in 1969 they were only 8 years old, having entered the National League in 1962. They went from the lovable losers of Casey Stengel to the best team in baseball under the direction of manager and Brooklyn Dodger hero Gil Hodges...

The tickertape blizzard that greeted the Mets on lower Broadway was a fitting tribute to a team that was the laughing stock of baseball and shouts of "We're No. 1" cascaded down the 'canyon of heroes'. Wall Street shut down. Instead of making money they were making confetti. The world was a better place now that the Mets were champions...

And what did the players think ? Ron Swoboda put it this way, "We did it!". "This is the summit" was the quote by 3rd baseman Ed Charles. "The Glider" also offered this, "we're no. 1 in the world and you just can't get any bigger than this." But outfielder Cleon Jones put the cherry on top when he said "some people still might not believe in us, but then some people still think the world is flat"...

Thursday, October 13, 2005

The 1st World Series walk-off home run...

Bobby Thomson's 'Shot Heard Round The World' is the most famous of all walk-off home runs but did you know that there have only been 2 game ending home runs in World Series history ?

The first walk-off home run in World Series history was authored by Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates on this date, October 13 in 1960. The home run by 'Maz' gave his 'Buckos' a Game 7 win and world series championship with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the 9th inning of a game played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Who can ever forget leftfielder Yogi Berra (yes he was playing leftfield) waiting, hoping and praying that somehow, some way, the ball wouldn't go over the wall and he could play the carom back to the infield. A dejected Berra walked slowly off the field when it didn't. Bill Mazeroski would become a Pittsburgh hero forever and the section of the leftfield wall where the ball went over the wall has been preserved after Forbes Field was demolished...

In all, there are a total of 13 walk-off home runs in World Series History but only 2 have won the fall classic. Mazeroski's was the first on this date in 1960. The second walk-off World Series home run was hit by Joe Carter in 1993 when the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Phillies...

More October 13 Memories...

1843) The B'nai B'rith was founded in New York City...

1960) Richard M. Nixon and JFK hold their 3rd televised presidential debate with Nixon in Hollywood and Kennedy in New York...

1960) Bill Mazeroski hits the first walk-off home run in World Series history (feature story)...

1960) The Drifters top the charts with "Save The Last Dance For Me"...

1963) The term 'Beatlemania' is coined when a Beatle appearance on the BBC's "Sunday Night at the Palladium" almost turns into a riot...

1967) The first game of the new American Basketball Association is played...

1970) Janis Joplin's ashes are scattered off the coast of California...

1974) Ed Sullivan dies at 73...

1974) Billy Preston is #1 with "Nothing From Nothing"...

1985) Cardinal rookie Vince Coleman is injured prior to the NLCS when he's caught in Busch Stadium's automated tarpaulin...

1996) Jet kicker Nick Lowrey breaks Jan Stenerud's NFL field goal record with his 374 field goal...

1998) The NBA cancels the first 2 weeks of the season because of a lockout of players...

1999) The JonBenet Ramsey grand jury is dismissed after 13 months when there's not enough evidence found to charge anyone in the 6-year old's strangulation death...

Happy Birthday To...

1925) Margaret Thatcher...

1941) Paul Simon...

1944) Chicago's Robert Lamm...

1946) Demond Wilson of 'Sanford and Son'...

1959) Marie Osmond...

1969) Nancy Kerrigan...

Commentary...

Whether you observe or not, today is Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and intense introspection. It is the holiest day of the year for Jews and culminates at the end of Rosh Hashanah. As you remember the loved ones who have passed and make amends in your intonement, here is a wish for a good year ahead with peace and love in your life...

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Remembering John Denver (1943-1997)...

It was on this date in 1997 that we lost, in my view, the most underrated singer-songwriter of his era when John Denver's experimental plane fell out of the sky and into the sea off the coast of Monterey, California...

Consider the legacy of hits that Denver left us with: "Leaving On A Jet Plane", "Take Me Home Country Roads", "Sunshine On My Shoulders", "Rocky Montain High", "Annie's Song", "Calypso", "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" and "I'm Sorry". The only song he didn't write was "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" which topped the charts along with "I'm Sorry". "Country Roads" went top 3. Three of his singles ("I'd Rather Be A Cowboy", "Sunshine" and "Annie's Song" (written for wife Annie) were all million sellers. In all, Denver had 14 gold and eight platinum albums in the U.S. alone. According to SONY Records, John Denver is one of the 5 top-selling artists in the history of the music industry. Pardon the pun but that record speaks for itself...

Maybe it was his "gosh", "golly", "far-out" folksy demeanor that was dismissed by music critics to not take John Denver seriously as one of our greatest singer-songwriters. The record buying public knows better...

More October 12 Memories...

1492) Columbus reaches the New World when he sights a Bahamian Island believing he has reached East Asia...

1920) Construction of the Holland Tunnel begins (when will it be finished ?)...

1920) Man o' War wins a match race with Sir Barton to finish with a record of 20-1...

1938) Filming begins on "The Wizard of Oz"...

1957) Little Richard publicly renounces "Rock 'n' Roll" and embraces Christianity...

1960) Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe at the podium during a UN dispute...

1964) Manfred Mann tops the charts with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"...

1967) Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg comes back after only 2 days rest in an attempt to beat the Cardinals in the 7th & final World Series game at Fenway Park. In a game I was fortunate enough to witness, Lonborg runs out of steam, the Red Sox lose 7-2...

1968) John Sebastian leaves the Lovin' Spoonful to go solo...

1970) "Jesus Christ Superstar" opens on Broadway...

1971) Early rocker Gene Vincent dies at 36 from a ruptured stomach ulcer...

1975) Rod Stewart appears with Faces for the last time before going solo...

1978) Sid Vicious is arrested for the murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Vicious (Sex Pistols) dies of a heroin overdose before his murder trial begins...

1986) One strike away from the World Series, Angel pitcher Donnie Moore gives up a game-tying 2 run homer to Dave Henderson of the Red Sox who win in 11 innings and win the AL pennant by winning the next 2 games against the Angels (Moore would commit suicide a few years later)...

1991) Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw say "I do"...

1997) John Denver is killed in a plane crash at 53 (feature story)...

1999) NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain dies at 63...

2000) 17 crewmembers die when U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole is attacked by terrorists in Yemen...

2001) An NBC assistant to Tom Brokaw tests positive for anthrax after opening a letter addressed to Brokaw...

Happy Birthday To...

1932) Dick Gregory...

1935) Sam (Sam & Dave) Moore...

1935) Luciano Pavarotti...

1950) Susan Anton...

1968) Hugh Jackman...

Commentary...

In addition to an exceptional career in the music business, John Denver accomplished several other things including writing the autobiography "Take Me Home". His TV career included frequent appearances on "The Muppet Show" and several specials. Denver worked extensively on conservation projects, founding the Windstar Foundation. He also had a keen interest in the causes of and solution to world-wide hunger...

Denver received critical acclaim for his acting role opposite George Burns in "Oh God!" and at the time of his death was filming an episode of the "Nature" series which centered on the natural wonders that inspired many of his best-loved songs. The special records his final journeys into the wilderness and contains his last song, "Yellowstone, Coming Home", composed while rafting along the Colorado River with his son and young daughter...

John Denver was 53...